My grounding in theatre helps me: Cobra & Sardar fame Mohd Ali Baig

Actor Mohammad Ali Baig is elated with the response that he has been getting for his performances in Cobra and Sardar this year.
“People are coming up to me and talking about the interrogation scene in Cobra and my scene with Karthi in Sardar and telling me that these don’t come across as typical filmi performances,” the actor, who made his Tamil debut with Aruvi, tells us, and adds, “It is my grounding in theatre that helps me to hold against highly talented and exposed stars like Vikram and Karthi.”
He states that he and Vikram rehearsed for the interrogation scene in Cobra a couple of times.“My approach is to internalise the character that I’m playing. Right from a young age, I’ve seen my dad (the late theatre legend Qadir Ali Baig) perform on stage, and I used to wonder at how quickly he’d turn his body language into something different. So, when you get these kinds of off-the-beaten-track roles, you stretch yourself the extra mile to pull them off,” he explains.
He also credits his directors for the performances. “Be it newer filmmakers like Ajay Gnanamuthu and PS Mithran or senior ones like Imtiaz Ali and Suresh Krisnna, my directors share the script with me, explain my character sketch and also ask me to bring my inputs to the table, which is very collaborative,” he says.