Theatre has taught me a lot'

After playing boy-next-door kind of characters in many TV shows including Sumit Sambhal Lega, actor and musician Namit Das proved his talent with films like Sui Dhaaga and Pataakha (both 2018), and then upped his game with negative roles in web shows Abhay and the much-talked-about Aarya co-starring Sushmita Sen. Talking about how acting happened to a trained singer, Namit says, “Acting was completely accidental and as it was accidental, I didn’t expect much from whatever I got. I was doing it for the fun of it and was easy about it.”
He said his college had a pretty active theatre scene, and joined. “Someone noticed me on stage and then it all began. I always call myself ‘an accidental actor and a hesitant musician’” he added.

Namit’s performance has been appreciated across all platforms. “I do think theatre played a strong role. Theatre installs some sort of discipline in an artiste which is needed for you to grow. My early years with ace theatre directors Atul Kumar, Sunil Shanbag, Rajat Kapoor and others were great,” he reminisces.
Stressing that a lot of effort goes into theatre rehearsals for that one hour on stage, he said  “if you apply that sort of discipline in front of the camera it helps your performance.”
Noting that theatre acting and acting in front of the camera are different, he feels films and OTTs are not that different. “On stage the focus is on your body and when in front of the camera the focus is on your heart. Even though it has a different approach, acting is like an umbrella,” he said.  

Talking of the various experiences of acting, Namit said “Theatre gives you a different sort of high like a drug, because of performing in front of a live audience. Being in front of a camera needs a different set of skills, where you are being guided by the director and there is the process of editing which comes into play.”
Sharing that, “over the last six — seven years I have been really enjoying myself in front of the camera,” the actor described his experience of working in Aarya as fantastic. “Ram Madhwani is a magician,” he added.
Namit looks at the story and the character before signing up for a project. “It’s not about the roles being big or small, it’s about having an impact. I want to be part of really good stories,” he explains.

He learned to be patient and happy in 2020 amidst the crisis of the pandemic. “The year had been very special to me, it gave me Aarya, A Suitable Boy and Mafia, enabling me to walk ahead. I have no future plans; the road ahead is open and I am walking on it and looking at the beautiful things around. I believe in not planning for the future and living in the present,” he concludes.