Kaala Paani actor Sukant Goel: ‘I've been lucky with what I've got to play because, mostly, the directors have come to me’

Sukant Goel in a still from Netflix series Kaala Paani. (Image courtesy Netflix)

As a self-absorbed hustler who has high ambitions to grappling with guilt and seeking redemption, Chiranjeevi or Chiru has possibly the most interesting character arc in Netflix’s critically-acclaimed survival series Kaala Paani. But Sukant Goel, the actor who played Chiru with such conviction, is not a stranger to tough roles.

The 38-year-old Muzaffarnagar-born actor has so far played the hero’s slightly goofy friend in Kapoor & Sons (2016), a man who visits a deserted countryside only to be told that the people there have eaten the others in the horror anthology Ghost Stories (2020), a ‘baby-faced’ manager who tries to molest Parineeti Chopra’s character Sandy in Sandeep aur Pinky Faraar (2021), a double role of sorts in Anurag Kashyap’s sci-fi mystery Dobaaraa (2022) and a man driven by jealousy to commit some heinous crimes in last year’s stylish neo-noir crime comedy thriller Monica, O My Darling. A solid theatre background and an abiding interest in getting under the skin of the character has ensured that Goel never goes unnoticed, whether it is on stage or on screen.

In a candid chat, the chemical engineer-turned-actor reveals what went behind making his character come alive in Kaala Paani and his journey so far in theatre and films. Edited excerpts:

How have the reactions been to the show and to your character?

Overwhelming mostly! People have been messaging me, including people from Andaman Islands or those who have lived there and they are very happy that I picked up their dialect and tried to represent it truthfully. That had actually been my biggest fear that the islanders should not see it and think it is a cheap imitation of what they are. I was taking risks and now there are rewards. My peers have also told me that they have felt inspired and asked me to break down my process of playing this character. There’s nothing more I can ask for as an actor.

Chiranjeevi or Chiru is unlike any character we have seen you play. Did you have any apprehensions when you were offered the role?

I’m glad that it is not similar to anything I have played before because that is what you want as an actor. I was reading a lot of audition scripts but there was nothing interesting. When this came my way, I actually asked the casting director and even the directors why they chose me. I was wondering if it will be a case of misappropriation if I am playing a Tamil character. My own politics was getting a little disturbed by that but I wanted to take up the challenge. I was also asked to audition for Ketan’s character (played by Amey Wagh) but I was more excited for Chiru because I knew I would really have to break it down and figure something which is not from my body.

Your character goes from being an absolutely selfish person to someone who is willing to even sacrifice his own life for the sake of others. Can you tell us about getting into the headspace of Chiru?

The writing guides everything and then you fill in the gaps which the writer has left for you to discover between two journey points. There were a few things I kept in mind. Firstly, Chiru likes himself tremendously and that becomes very important because when that aspect is upset, the ground slips from under his feet. So, it was important for me to be self-absorbed as Chiru. The second thing the writer (Biswapati Sarkar) told me is that he loves his mother, which has to come across. Then the writer made the most interesting choice that when this character gets shaken by his mother’s death, the emotion that proceeds grief is anger at the people he blames. It is not until he hits the tribal person in frustration that the grief actually comes and then it is just a whole cloud of guilt. The kind of person he is, he needs validation that he is a good man and for that, he has to do something to make the guilt go away. Those were some of the key things in understanding this character.

Did it require any other prep from you?

Biswa gave me a few video blogs to look at for me to prepare for the role but I was still not able to figure out this character because he is the only one who is an insider, while most of the others were outsiders. I told my wife about it and asked her if I should go to Andaman and she told me to do that right away. Two days later, I was at Port Blair where I met a guy called Ravi who drives a taxi in Andaman and is a hustler. I roamed the islands for seven days with him in his taxi. He is a Tamilian who speaks Andamani Hindi. After the first two days, I stopped seeing it as a research trip but kept my ears and eyes open, understood the demography of the place, spoke to people and understood the way life works there. The feeling of being stuck there is so real. I was in Havelock when there was a cyclone announcement and everything shut down. I somehow negotiated my way on to a boat and went to Port Blair and took a flight back that day itself or I would have been stuck there for the next three days. When I came back home and started reading the lines, it started to change things for me. I tried it in the first group reading and it worked.

Sukant Goel. (Photo: Harnoor Juneja)

You have done a variety of interesting roles in movies. What attracts you to these complex characters?

I have been lucky with what I have got to play because more than me choosing the roles, the directors have chosen me, except for Sandeep Aur Pinky… for which I tested. That worked out and because of that, Dibakar (Banerjee) gave me Ghost Stories, Anurag (Kashyap) called me for Dobaaraa and Vasan (Bala) chose me for Monica. Kaala Paani was a script choice because I got an audition test for it. There is a human quality to the character that I look for. Even in Monica…, I saw it as Gaurav’s (his character) love story. So far, it has been me choosing to not do certain things. Maybe, in the future, I will be in a place where people will ask me to work in films and I have to exercise choosing more actively. I am still doing theatre and there is enough interesting stuff to do there. Cinema and theatre are equally important for me.

Your theatre work has also seen you play varied characters. Do you think of theatre as your training ground?

I don’t see theatre as a training ground. Initially maybe that is the idea because we don’t know so much about it. One comes in thinking one will get a film after doing it but I got addicted to it very quickly. I was doing workshops with Satyadev Dubey and I was so immersed in it that I didn’t even go around looking for auditions. That has helped me tremendously with anything I have done on screen. It was not intended to be a training ground but I cannot deny the training it has given me. It is a journey and you have to respect the medium fully and understand the craft to the deepest extent possible.

What’s next?

Nothing concrete as of now. I am working on readying a new play which I want to direct next year. I have also shot a pilot for a series and if that gets approved, we will do the rest of the episodes.