Sardar Sohi LIVING ON THE EDGE

 There are very few things in acting that are self-learnt. But in my opinion, most of the other things are God gifted. For example, people can upgrade their equipment and learn technical things.

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What qualities do you think make any artiste great?

 Artistes can practice and work on their voices too. Only if they have got a gram in their voice. They cannot fake their voices. So, when we say a person is a great actor, the thing is they were born that way.

Talking about me, there are so many things God has blessed me with. My guru always told me that I have a strong voice and expressive eyes. Acting is done from the inside. A person can't cry just by changing expressions on his or her face. You need to feel things. Another question is how sensitive are you? This also counts. If you are sensitive and sensible, it becomes easy for you to act. Sensitivity and sensibility, these two things make an actor extraordinary. Let me give you an instance. Great actors like Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar were very sensitive. They used to get angry like kids. It's difficult to handle such real artistes. Subhash Ghai handled both of these actors very well. Only directors like him could do that.

You are one of the best villains in our Punjabi industry. Who inspired you to do negative roles?

Negative roles are my favourite, as I told you earlier that my guru Mr. Harpal Tiwana used to say that I have a gram in my voice and very expressive eyes, hence villain roles would suit me. I remember I was playing a negative character in the play Chamkaur Di Garhi. Om Puri did the same role as the villain in the play, before me. It was a challenge for me to do that part because of the expectations. I worked very hard for that role and everybody loved it. Harpal Tiwana called me his second Om Puri after watching my performance.