Interview with Saif Ali Khan

Do you think KURBAAN has not clicked at box-office because the masses seem to prefer comedies these days?

Though I am aware of the fact that today everybody makes comedies; there is nothing wrong in being serious. The flavors keep on changing as far as Bollywood is concerned. Some films set the trend, whereas some follow the trend. I feel that because comedy is the flavor of the season, it is good that KURBAAN has been released now. I readily agreed to be a part of KURBAAN, because a filmmaker like Karan will not approach any actor unless and until he has a well-etched role for him. I also knew that Rensil D'Silva was a director to watch out for.

How was the experience of playing a character like Ehsaan in KURBAAN?

I liked playing the character of Ehsaan in KURBAAN. Ehsaan looks like a very intelligent, nice, warm kind of a guy but is actually deeply tormented and quite dangerous too. I should say that it was fun to play a character, who is not what he seems to be. As an actor, you do many films and enact various parts. It was nice for me as an actor to let the background music communicate many times. It is an anti performance and hence it was fun playing it. I made it a point to use the medium of cinema to communicate.

As an actor do you feel it is essential to relate to your role?

Though I feel that it is very essential to relate to your role as an actor, I should also confess that I did not relate to the role of Langda that I played in OMKARA. However all said and done I should also say that Ehsaan's reactions could be the same as that of mine. I tried to understand the headspace of the guy. I thought that it was an interesting role. It is interesting to note that though KURBAAN was a film with the backdrop of terrorism; it was quite an anti terrorist film.

What is Rensil D'Silva's contribution to the film as a director?

This is the right time for some one from the Ad world like Rensil, who has the right sensibility, to make his bow in films. With Rensil at the helm of affairs, I knew that KURBAAN could not have been the regular Hindi film with a terrorism background.

What do you think about your experiment as an actor vis-a-vis films like BEING CYRUS and LOVE AAJ KAL?

I am happy that my experiment at taking up films of different genres like BEING CYRUS and LOVE AAJ KAL has been received well. As an actor, I try to re-invent myself with every new film. I like to work with intelligent actors who know what they are doing. It is just my gut instinct. I have learnt from my mum's career. I am of the opinion that people like the fact that a mainstream actor is trying to do something even if the film does not click at the box office.

Can you elucidate?

Sometimes if you are off beat, you can really get creative. I feel that it is time to do something new, something that people do not associate you with. Like the role of the Sardar I did in LOVE AAJ KAL. The entire credit ought to go to Imtiaz Ali for having had the implicit faith in me that I could carry off my role in the film.

What is your role as a producer?

My idea, as a producer, is to make good films. Why should we ask people who are intelligent to go to Hollywood? Why should only mediocre people be there in Bollywood? I am happy, as an actor as far as Bollywood is concerned and have no plans whatsoever to try my luck in Hollywood. In any case, I feel that Bollywood is a fun term and should not be taken seriously.

After TASHAN, did you agree to do KURBAAN just to be together with Kareena?

In TASHAN I was cast opposite my red belt since Akshay Kumar was cast opposite Kareena. Kareena and I do not have to do a film to be together. I can always visit her on her sets and she can also do vice versa. She is very professional. I still remember her as an intense actress who was very spontaneous in L.O.C. She is very focused and controlled as an actress.

In what way have you grown as an actor?

I confess that though Kareena was not bad when she had started her career with REFUGEE, I was quite bad. I have grown over the years and groomed myself as an actor. I am learning every day and growing. You learn from all kinds of situations- some obvious, some not so obvious. I'd say that films like PARINEETA, DIL CHAHTA HAI were milestones in my career while YEH DILLAGI was the turning point in my career

Do you hold any grudge against any director who did not use your potential in your initial stages as an actor?

It was not that the directors did not recognize the potential in me earlier. To tell you the truth, there was no potential in me earlier. Language of cinema has changed with DIL CHAHTA HAI. Only those who are frustrated and unsuccessful hold a grudge against directors who had thrown them out of their films in the early stages. I do not hold any grudge against Rahul Rawail who threw me out of BEKHUDI in which I was cast opposite Kajol and replaced me with Kamal Sadana.

Vivek is sorry no more!

Vivek Oberoi on love, life and a fresh innings in Bollywood.

You have got some good reviews for your role in Kurbaan.

Yes. I have not stopped smiling since the film's release. At one of the trials, Bebo (Kareena Kapoor) and Saif (Ali Khan) did tell me that I was good in the film. Then Karan (Johar) and Rensil (D'Silva)also told me the same thing. I had not seen the film till then as I was shooting in Hyderabad. It was a nice feeling when Karan told me 'finally you make me proud.' I saw the film just a day before its release and I had knots in my stomach. I was very nervous but I was with people who have always been kind to me. There were Shah Rukh and Gauri, Imran and his fiancée Avantika, Yash uncle, Davidji (Dhawan). They all hugged me and said I was good.

• Why have you not done a romantic film after Saathiya?

Honestly, I really don't know. Kurbaan has got a romantic track but Mission Istanbul and Shootout At Lokhandwala had zero romance. I have not done an out-and-out romantic film and I am really looking forward to doing one.

• People are saying that you have changed and that you want to leave the controversies behind and concentrate only on your work.

I wanted this for a really long time. However, after Shootout ... things did not fall in place. Almost four years ago, when I did Omkara, I saw Saif getting under the skin of the character Langda Tyagi. I loved the work ethics. That's when I thought that I should stop doing what I was doing, but I had a backlog to finish. Then my close friend Amit Chandra sat me down and helped me streamline my life so that I could practically achieve what I was trying to. Now, I have learnt not to take anything for granted.

• How did Ramu and you patch up?

I don't think patch up is the right word as we were never at loggerheads. I will never have the audacity to say anything against Ramu and as an artiste, I will always be indebted to him for giving me Company. But when he called me and told me 'I will never work with you again', I was shocked. Now, when he called me and said that he had something for me, I was so happy. When I met him, he said that he could see the same passion in my eyes again and gave me Rakta Charitra. I felt exactly the same on the first day of Rakta Charitra that I felt on the first day on the sets of Company. Ramu made me feel so comfortable.

• You have done some amazing stunts in Prince, something which you are not known for.

Yes. Kookie Gulati is quite a whiz kid. I did so many things that I cannot possibly explain — right from learning how to skateboard, doing parkour, learning cable work, to action training. I had to put so many things into my system that after the training session, things became easier.

• You have said that you are done with apologising to people.

I made a mistake and it is human to make mistakes. Personally, I think it's humbling and it's also building character to stand up and say I made a mistake and please forgive me. It is always an ego-based thing to say that why should I apologise. It is a real man who can say 'I am sorry' and that too in public. I have said sorry to the assistant director whom I was rude to, I have said sorry to the movie star whom I had a fight with and I even said sorry to the director I snapped at.

• I have not done an out-and-out romantic film and I am really looking forward to doing one

Love in the time of terrorism

It could be a reaction post the 26/11 terror attacks or just the fact that terrorism is a global phenomena, but filmmakers have never before been so keen to highlight this evil on the big screen.

And the emphasis on this is laid by the fact that two production houses known for their romantic films, have taken a huge leap and have made movies on this topic. We are talking about Yash Chopra’s production house that’s known for movies like Chandni, Lamhe and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge; and Karan Johar who has made feel-good movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham to the more recent Dostana and Wake Up Sid. Yash Chopra’s banner has already brought out its offering on terrorism in the form of New York that was directed by Kabir Khan and starred John Abraham, Katrina Kaif and Neil Nitin Mukesh. Karan on the other hand produced the recently released and highly-acclaimed Kurbaan that stars Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi. While the movie is what Karan calls a “love story” it was a subject that Karan couldn’t stop thinking about. He asked Rensil D’Silva to write and develop it for him. He later asked Rensil to direct the project. “The story addresses this evil that has become a global phenomena,” he says.

But it was director Kunal Kohli, who surprised everyone with Fanaa in 2005. Easily one of the most successful films that had terrorism as the backdrop, Fanaa handled the issue very well. “Movies that are relevant to that particular time always click with the audience. Like Naya Daur or Namak Haraam that the audience remembers for those particular eras,” points Kunal, who has also directed Hum Tum, Mujhse Dosti Karoge! and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. Speaking about Fanaa he says that the movie worked because it was a Hindi ‘picture’. “It had the right elements put together. It’s is very important to make your film entertaining. If you feel socially responsible and want to give a message you have to make it entertaining and not sound preachy,” he says. He feels that people liked the movie because the common man was the protagonist. “People found Rehan (Aamir Khan’s character) like any other man. He was a guide and a very mard character. He wasn’t just a boy, but a man,” says Kunal.

A trade pundit says, “As long as the director doesn’t get confused between making a love story or a film on terrorism it’s fine. In the end the audience has to feel for the characters.” Managing the commercial aspect and sending out a social message can be difficult. “Yes, it is very difficult. But that’s what the audience expects from you,” says Kunal.