Ladakh lad dreams to make it big in theatre, tinsel town

He is fully conscious of his different accent and unconventional physical features, but this lad from Ladakh does not want to be bracketed into doing only certain kind of roles in Bollywood and is trying to challenge the filmi mores by choosing a few special projects and refusing to be slotted because of his distinct looks.

Ask Sonam Stobgias Gorky if he is likely to get typecast in India cinema and will be confined to the periphery owing to his not-so-hero-like features and he casually brushes the apprehension aside.

“I don’t think there will be any such problem. These days, directors are more bold and willing to experiment. They do not have any fixed ideas for their hero or heroine. They just go for performances. The mindset of the directors and the audiences is changing these days. So on that front, I am pretty confident,” says Sonam who idolises veteran actor Om Puri.

This first National School of Drama graduate from the sleepy and reticent region of Ladakh, well technically at least, who shot into the limelight after his performance in the film “The Last Monk” is doing many national and international projects with a “good and big role” in most of them.

What’s more if all works out well, he may also get to share screenspace with none other than the ace of acting - Aamir Khan!

“It’s too early to talk about it. Things are proceeding fine but let things get finalised,” says Sonam, whose NSD senior is penning the script of the film. The film to be set on the backdrop of naxal violence in eastern part of the country is still in the scripting stage and the talented Khan is believed to have shown a “keen interest” in the subject and is likely to give his nod for the project.

Though he has just started out and has only a couple of films to his credit, Sonam’s work is being acknowledged nationally and internationally. His second film “The Last Monk”, where he played a Khempo and an academic guide, was screened at Rotterdam Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival and South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) and Mumbai Association of Moving Images (MAMI).

“I was not very conversant with the English language then. It took me about six months to work on the dialogues and be able to deliver them in the film.” His hardwork paid off since his work was appreciated in various film festivals and he was even nominated for the Best Actor category in SAIFF.

Not many know that Sonam turned down a role in Farhaan Akhtar’s critically acclaimed ‘Lakshya’ a couple of years ago. But the man has no regrets for spurning the offer from one of the top notch directors of Bollywood.

“It was a very small role. Also, that time I was still studying and I was a little arrogant. But now I have matured and I know how to handle things,” he says trying in vain to hide a smile.

Born and brought up in ‘Little Tibet’, Sonam was the first Ladakhi to have won a Central government scholarship to study in the prestigious institution. “In a way, yes, I was the first from the region to have entered the NSD. There was a guy from Ladakh before me, but he was on a deputation from the Jammu and Kashmir government, while I cleared the entrance paper and was one of the 20 students who cracked the exam that year,” says the 29-year-old, whose first film was Shoojit Sircar’s “Yahaan” starring Jimmy Shergill and Minissha Lamba.

Sonam, who runs a theatre company — ‘Theatrix Himalay’ — is keen on developing the theatre culture in Ladakh and is holding discussions with his alma mater to organise workshops in the region and engage more people with the medium.

“Ladakhis are basically very shy people. They take time to open up. Theatre will give them confidence. I hold workshops in schools because I want children to experience theatre and take it more seriously and professionally,” says the actor.

It is love for his land and theatre that has compelled him to settle down in Leh and he refuses to shift his base to Delhi or Mumbai.

“I keep going to Delhi and Mumbai. I like doing films but theatre is indeed creatively satisfying. Besides, my celluloid experience gives me exposure and more recognition. People then have an invisible confidence in you and that helps me in expanding my theatre activity in Ladakh.”

— PTI

 

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