Showing his true artistic colours

HOW ACTOR KARAN SINGH GROVER IS USING PAINTING TO EXPRESS HIMSELF

by ASJAD NAZIR

THERE is a lot more to talented actor Karan Singh Grover than his dashing good looks, chiselled physique and famous actress wife Bipasha Basu.

The talented actor is one of the most successful Indian TV stars of all time, has made the leap to cinema and ventured down multiple other creative avenues. The latest addition to the dashing star’s creative bow is art, and he was due to unveil his work at a high-profile art exhibition, which had to be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

He is very much staying connected to his creative passions during the Covid-19 lockdown and is also continuing to inspire fans with his fitness regime.

Not surprisingly, he was full of energy when Eastern Eye caught up with him during the lockdown to discuss his creative journey, fascinating foray into art, future plans and more.

What first connected you to creativity?

I don’t really know what first connected me to creativity; in fact, I feel that it’s always been there in me. Being an actor is also being an artist, and I have been acting since school and college days, so I think creativity has always been there from the very beginning.

How do you look back on your acting journey?

My journey as an actor has been insightful. I have learnt a lot of things and try to learn something new everyday. I had the opportunity to work with wonderful people, and if you have a knack for learning, you will eventually end up grasping things from people, but only if you have that kind of mind and eye for learning.

Which of your roles has given you the greatest satisfaction?

Dr Armaan Malik from Dill Mill Gayye and Asad from Qubool Hai were great characters, yet very different from each other. I see a lot of scope for actors to perform those roles, but I got lucky. Armaan was a very cool one.

What led you towards art?

I used to always draw and doodle, but never gave it a serious thought and would throw it away later. But one day, Bipasha  (Basu) saw what I was making and asked me more about it. She was curious and found it interesting. She encouraged me to create more such art and that led me to take my drawing seriously and professionally. Also, (art curators) Penny and Manvinder have been a god-send. All these people have been very encouraging and patient. The India Fine Art Gallery has also boosted my confidence as an artist.

Tell us more about the work that you have produced?

The art work that I have done is mostly related to spirituality. I never thought of specifically doing it, but it kind of just happened and made me understand a lot of new things. New revelations keep happening when you are doing something new and that’s what happened with me. The dots kept connecting, a major synchronicity happened and then everything just made for a pretty picture. My art in the first series is called Ascension and that has about seven to eight pieces.

What about the other pieces?

The second, Arch Angels, is about the colours of the rainbow and what they represent, who and why. The third is called Master Of Signs – it is related to the signs or signals sent by God and what they mean. It is basically what God is trying to tell us or guide us. The last one is Trinity. It is about ‘veil’, ‘proceed’ and ‘unveil’. I believe that veil is something more than what we merely see, something more beyond the spectrum of light. Proceed is taking a spiritual journey and going to the point of infinity, but by proceeding inwards. Unveil is the world beyond the veil, in my perception.

What has inspired you to create these art pieces?

Everything around me inspires me. Just like the plants at my home inspire me. Some days they are very happy and sometimes they are gloomy. If we pay attention to them, you will see that they too express; it’s just that we need to pay attention to it, which we don’t. The clouds, sunrise, sunset, my beautiful wife, butterflies and everything else inspire me. I wake up at 5am everyday to see the sunrise.

Is there any one piece of art you have created that is closest to your heart?

I can’t really choose as I have made them all with my heart. We are a part of each other.

How disappointing was it for you to postpone your much awaited art exhibition?

Unfortunately, the place that we all are in is messy and serious, and only we are to be blamed. I would love to share my art with everyone soon, but the situation that we are in now needs to be looked after first. I know we all will overcome this phase. We are luckier than our forefathers, who saw a lot of bloodshed and other crises. We will too be out of this soon.

What is your plan in the art space?

I think everyone has more or less the same plan, which is to become better in whatever we do and help ourselves, help each other and get beyond this crisis. So I will think about a plan once we are out of this better and together.

Who is your own artistic hero?

Everyone who creates something is a hero. But if I had to choose one then I would select Banksy. There’s so much to his work, and it’s not just plain and basic art. It has a message. His art is inspiring and encouraging for many people.

What makes for good art?

Everybody sees something good in an art. So, something that you see and makes you feel good is good art in my opinion. It is all about what we feel after seeing something.

You have explored various creative mediums, are there any more you wish to explore?

I want to and will explore all other mediums of art, that’s my purpose. I want to understand, learn the art and share it with everyone. I have already thought of art installations that I would want to create and also do pottery. There’s a lot of exploring and lots of learning left to do.

What are your other passions away from work?

My passions away from work are fitness and also loving my very beautiful wife.

How much does being in the creative field help you personally?

Being in the creative field and art really helps me. I cannot imagine myself in any other field. There is so much that needs to be expressed and had I been in any other field, I would have exploded or imploded and both are not good. Art helps me personally and how. It helps me to stay sane. It is great to achieve something that you are truly passionate about.

Tell us more…

People have become very monotonous and robotic and are following a certain flow of life each day till they exist. They probably haven’t explored what they want or are too scared to go for their passion and that’s sad. Our life is in our hands.

If you could master something new, what would it be?

It would be telekinesis, which is the power to control objects with your mind. It’s a skill that we all have, but somehow have forgotten about. I hope our future generation has it as a part of their curriculum.

What is the best advice you ever got?

Not a direct advice, but there are these words said by a teacher, Ido Portal. He started a form of workout called ‘movement’. He said that we should always be in a right frame of mind. Nobody is more or less advanced, and if we are in the right frame of mind, we get to learn a lot from everything. So you never conclude anything, but are in the process of learning everyday. I am not much of a religious person, but more of a spiritual person. The whole concept of Sikhism is based on that. Those are really great words. If you understand what it means then you are actually disabling your ego to a large extent, which is very good.

Today, what inspires you in life?

Everything inspires me.