I am humbled with the response to my work: Anshumaan Pushkar

After playing powerful characters in shows like Grahan and Jamtara, actor Anshumaan Pushkar calls himself an actor who enjoys striking a right chord between spontaneity and method acting.

“I have struggled a lot and trained myself on the go with theatre being the only resort. So, for me acting is a balanced craft and that’s the reason I never wish to tag or restrict myself. I am humbled with the response my work has garnered and feel that this art of balancing has worked well for me,” says the young actor who was shooting in Varanasi before reaching Lucknow for another shoot.

A self-confessed attention seeker, Pushkar knew he was not meant for a routine job. The Kathmandu Connection actor says, “I am from Bihar, and it was while completing my MBA course in Mumbai, I felt I should try my luck in acting once. But, I couldn’t get through auditions at all. Soon, I joined Nadira (Babbar) maam’s theatre group and realised why I was failing in those auditions ‘kyoki mujhe toh acting ki ABC hi nahi aati thi’.”

Once he had a feeling that things will never work for him. “I was auditioning like crazy, waiting to get some work maybe just an ad to sustain in Mumbai. It was much later that I auditioned for Jamtara and knew ‘ke agar yeh nai kar paaye to sab bekar hai’ because it was a raw Bihari character and who could have portrayed it better than me.”

After playing a pivotal role in Grahan, Pushkar is overwhelmed with the kind of good projects coming his way.

“Thankfully, I’m being considered by makers for different characters but at the same time work has slowed down due to pandemic. We have to foremost consider our prior commitments that have been postponed due to the lockdown. At times you have two or three good offers at the same time, but you have to refuse. I remember veteran actor Anitaji (Raj) telling me that ‘humlog toh ek din mein paanch chhe shift kia karte thhey…’ I laughed because today that is next to impossible for us because projects are planned differently today.”

Calling UP and Lucknow his lucky charm, Pushkar adds, “Lucknow has been there in almost all my projects, some or the other way. Last month, I was in Varanasi, again I am back here. Let’s see where this fascinating connection eventually takes me (smiles).