Sumit Kaul: Had I put in more effort connecting with people my career

Actor Sumit Kaul, who plays Paresh Parmar in MAJ Productions’ (Mrinal Abhigyan Jha Productions) Janani—AI Ki Kahani, says that while performing well is important, networking is equally important to succeed in the industry. He adds that he lacks in this area.

“I believe there are two areas an actor needs to perform in to succeed; networking with casting directors, producers, directors etc and giving several auditions to land jobs and then performing as an actor once he or she lands the job. I have always worked harder on my performance on camera and not hard enough to stay connected with the people responsible for handing acting jobs. I think I have been more than appropriately rewarded for my overall work. Had I put in more effort connecting with people my career could have looked different and probably more illustrious. But I’m grateful for everything that has come my way,” he says.

However, he adds that you need great focus to achieve success. “The greater the ambition, the greater the chances of success in any activity, that is the truth. But too much ambition also means an imbalanced life. I have usually chosen balance over ambition and therefore have seen a gradual trajectory in my career. It’s always a choice. But ambition is not enough. If you’re not skilled in your work and you have poor work ethic, then no amount of ambition will help you go the long haul,” he says.

Ask him how he views opportunities, and he says, “I’m more of a “take opportunities as they come, and give it your all when you receive them” rather than ‘Go aggressively looking for opportunities, find them and make them count’. For a steep trajectory to the career, you have to be assertively invested in constantly pushing for new opportunities.”

I believe there are two areas an actor needs to perform in to succeed; networking with casting directors, producers, directors etc and giving several auditions to land jobs and then performing as an actor once he or she lands the job. I have always worked harder on my performance on camera and not hard enough to stay connected with the people responsible for handing acting jobs.

- Sumit Kaul

He adds, “I have always found it challenging when two opportunities come my way at the same time. I have chosen to depend on my intuition to choose in such situations, allowing the divine to guide me in the direction which is best for me. I continue to do that. I don’t know any other way.”

The environment on the set is also very important for performance, he says, adding, “I have changed my view on this topic over the years. Earlier I felt that the level of my performance is guided to a great extent by the environment I’m performing in and the people I’m performing in the midst of. However, in the last 3-4 years, I’ve realised, with the help of my acting coach Thierry Bleu, that the environment could guide the direction of the performance to some extent but the quality of the work lies in the preparation before coming on set and the ability to stay relaxed in the moment and being a vessel for what you feel rather than what you think.”