Veteran character artist, Vinay Jain, is satisfied with the graph of his character in Zee TV show, Ishq Subhan Allah. “Shahbaz Ahmed is a very determined, focused and ambitious man. His only grouse in life is that he can’t get the power and privilege of the Shehar Qazi. No wonder, he engineers his son Kabir’s (Adnan Khan) wedding with the latter’s daughter, Zara (Eisha Singh).”
“Having said that, his is not a black character, but more grey; he really loves his family, even rushing to Kashmir to save Zara and Adnan, as in the current track. I try my best to act as naturally as possible. You will never see me doing over the top stuff.”
Since the premise is triple talaaq, what do you feel about it? “We don’t want to sensationalize stuff. We are topically tackling the social reality issue concerning women’s empowerment. But while doing so, we are making sure that we are totally truthful and comprehensive about our portrayal. I don’t think anybody will have an issue, but if they do, we will face it.”
Your show is really picking up. It is now number 2 across all Hindi GEC channels. “It always feels nice to be part of a very high-rating show. Everything has fallen into place. We not only have a great story, but spot on casting too. Also, I credit the cinema style shooting; the visual richness does play a huge role.”
Vinay, who has been around for years, regards this and his previous show, Ek Shringaar Swabhimaan, as his best. “I am looking forward to much better work in this show and in the future.”
Coming to gen-next actors, he feels they are very devoted to work and want to learn. “On set, if they like my scene, they come forward and ask what and why.”
He does not feel that character artists fail to get their due. “It is all teamwork. The show can’t run on leads alone.”
Looking ahead, he would want to do more films (The Legend of Drona and 13B: Fear Has a New Address) and yes, web series as well. “As a true artist, I am always looking for juicy roles across all mediums. I have also dabbled in theater.”
“Working in TV and stage are as different as chalk and cheese; dealing with the camera has its own charm, while communicating directly with audiences gives you a separate high.”
We wish him luck.