Saurabh Shukla makes judges, policemen and other men in charge seem recognisably human, usually with less fuss than the role invites. We value his understated humour, though supporting parts can leave too little room for it.
Fi1m perspective
Tapasvi Maharaj fits comfortably among the absurdities of PK (2014). Saurabh Shukla plays him without displacing Aamir Khan, whose innocent visitor remains the main attraction in Rajkumar Hirani’s religious satire. We laughed at Tapasvi because Shukla is willing to let him look ridiculous. He helps make the company agreeable, even when the plot needs more indulgence than we would like. The film’s good questions earn the evening, but its 153 minutes give them more space than they need.
The breakthrough had been Satya (1998), which he co-wrote and in which he played the gangster Kallu Mama. He subsequently became familiar as judges, policemen and officials, bringing understated humour to men whose jobs give them a certain importance. After a lean period, Jolly LLB (2013), in which he plays Justice Sunderlal Tripathi, helped revive his career and define that later casting. These parts suit his attention to reactions, although their recurrence can leave us wishing the next script would ask something different of him.
In Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Shukla plays Sergeant Srinivas, another man with official standing. It is a quick, warm romance that we recommend with reservations about its conspicuous coincidences and its rush from poverty to pleasure. Dev Patel supplies the human centre, and the film is a less useful introduction to Shukla than PK.
Shukla’s habit of inventing backstories and reacting in the moment is useful in such company: it gives him something to do beyond waiting for his next line. That is where we value him most, in the ordinary behaviour that makes an official seem like someone who exists outside his job. Small parts can ration that pleasure too strictly, and a familiar authority figure is no guarantee of a fresh character. Give him a comedy with room to react; PK is a sound place to start.
Biography
Saurabh Shukla is an Indian actor, screenwriter and film director who works primarily in Hindi cinema, with roles in a few Tamil and Telugu films. He began his career in theatre in the mid-1980s and joined the National School of Drama Repertoire Company in 1991. His first film role came in Bandit Queen (1994).
Shukla co-wrote the screenplay for the cult film Satya (1998), in which he also appeared, and went on to write other screenplays including Calcutta Mail (2003). He is known for supporting roles in Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Barfi! (2012), Jolly LLB (2013) and Jolly LLB 2 (2017), as well as Slumdog Millionaire (2008), in which he played Sergeant Srinivas. For his performance as Justice Sunderlal Tripathi in Jolly LLB, he received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Shukla trained at Khalsa College, Delhi, after his family moved from Gorakhpur to the capital when he was two years old. He has also directed films and continues to work in theatre.
