MUMBAI: It was while directing actors that filmmaker Vinay Jaiswal realised that he could act well as well. The director made his acting debut with the short film Cheetiyaan recently and says that he enjoyed it. “Acting has always been inspiring and the craft is extremely challenging. Why I thought of acting was because I wanted to express myself with the craft. It started with writing and directing, I started doing voice overs in my films and commercials, then explaining actors on set about how I was looking at creating a particular character.

People on set kept saying that I can actually act well. One day, I decided to look at the craft from the other way round and try experiencing it,” says Vinay, who also directed Homecoming starring Taapsee Pannu.

He adds, “Cheetiyaan is my debut film as an actor-director. I wanted to make this film from a long time. Somehow things were not working out. I wanted some big actors to do this, finally, I decided to do it myself."

Talking about the thought process behind making the film, he says, “My friend Maddy and I were talking one day at my house about this Hindu- Muslim divide. He, being a religious Muslim, told me a few things which I agreed and disagreed and vice versa. I remembered hateful things being fed and drilled in my mind when I was a child and the same was true for him as well. That’s how we thought of this concept. The uniqueness is how people create big differences and divide themselves over the smallest of things.”

The film also stars Akhlaque Khan and Vinay is all praises for the actor. “He is a good actor and is a great human being. He is a man with his head on his shoulders and mind open as sky and is a great friend and an artist,” he says.

Talking about his future plans where acting is concerned, Vinay says, “I want to play interesting and real characters. Let’s see what comes my way.”