Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; June 26, 2018)

After four years of waiting in the wings, Sooraj Pancholi has started shooting for his second film, Time To Dance, with newcomer Isabelle Kaif (Katrina Kaif ’s sister), in London. He is relieved and excited to finally face the camera again. The actor spoke to BT about the long interval between his first two films and his impending court case. Excerpts...

Time To Dance has come your way after a long wait. In the last four years, there was talk about several films that you were expected to headline, but none took off…
That phase was as confusing for me as it was for everyone else. It has been a long journey since Hero (2015). I read a lot of scripts, but I didn’t find anything that challenged me. Also, none of the films that I had heard during that phase took off; maybe they were ill-fated or maybe, I wasn’t destined to be a part of them. It all happens for the best. What I am doing now is more challenging than whatever I was offered.

Are your parents (Aditya and Zarina Pancholi) happy that you are back on set?
My parents stay in the next wing of my building and all they knew then was that I used to go for dance rehearsals. Now, they are very happy that I am rightfully occupied. Things are moving for me. I’m hoping to start shooting for another film in August.

After such a big launch, waiting for so many years for the second film to take off can get frustrating for an actor, right?
When Hero released, it wasn’t the best time for the movies, but though the film featured newcomers, it did good business. People expected bigger numbers from my film for obvious reasons. If Hero had released today, it would have done very well, like Baaghi 2 (2018) and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018). Also, at that time, looking at the business, not too many people wanted to back a new actor and run a risk. Times are a lot better now.

Were people apprehensive about you because you were a newcomer who had an impending court case?
See, if I was a producer, even I would think about these things, as there is lot money riding on actors. I have charges levelled against me. At the onset, people probably didn’t cast me because they wanted things to settle down. While I completely believe in our legal system, it has taken time. It took five years for my trial to merely start. I don’t know how long it will take before it ends. I will have to battle this throughout.

Talk was that although producers were keen to work with you, some actresses refused to be paired with you...
Not everyone, one or two actresses did have apprehensions and they made it evident. Strangely, the films I was being offered weren’t with top heroines. Like a football-based film, which only had male characters. There was no part for a girl or a love story. Also, an actress doesn’t refuse a film only because a director or an actor is bad, it’s also because they often feel that they have insufficient screen time. Everyone has ups and downs, and people behave in a certain manner, which you can’t do much about.

Do you think the perception about you has changed after the trial began earlier this year?
No. I think till it doesn’t end and even after it ends, people will still think that I come from a known family and so, we must have pulled strings. I am not thinking much about this. I have been blamed for something grave and I will have to live with that all my life. Even after my case is over, it will haunt me.

Do you think you will be able to move on and fall in love again?
Of course, I will. It has been five years. I mean, I was blamed for something that I feel was unfair. I was 21 then, I am 27 now. When I look at 21-year-old boys, I feel they’re all my younger brothers who don’t know what it is to be put behind bars at that age. Trust me, age has nothing to do with maturity, although at 21, a boy is considered an adult.

What does love mean to you today?
It’s a feeling which I am very open to and I have experienced it again after Jiah (Khan) passed away. I believe that if one relationship fails, it doesn’t imply that the next one doesn’t stand a chance. If I don’t think that way, I will be stuck for life in a time warp. Life has to go on. I was in a beautiful relationship recently which is in a confused state right now.

Talking about your contemporaries, Harshvardhan Kapoor and Tiger Shroff have had at least two releases each. Tiger has raced further ahead. Does the competition around you ever make you nervous about what lies ahead?
I feel that if I didn’t go through a tough phase in my life, things would have been incomplete. I am happy that I am going through a difficult phase. It can’t get worse than this. The future will be easier, whether good or bad, I am prepared for everything. Had everything been perfect, maybe I would not have been equipped to deal with tough times in the future. My experiences have made me a mature person. My only question is: Everyone will move on, and make my life a dinner table discussion, but what about the years that I have lost?

Most newcomers have found their backing in influential people or production studios. Do you feel the lack of it?
I am still very close to Salman Khan. He hears all the scripts that come to me. He sits through all the narrations. He’s pretty much there for me all the time. I don’t expect too much from him, but he does a lot for me. Now, it’s my job to find my way through.

Have people from the industry extended their support to you?
People from the industry have been very nice to me, but I am not concerned about them because they know everything. Everyone here knows everything about everyone. It’s just that no one wants to come out and say anything because they have nothing to do with it. They think, ‘If he’s doing well, we will sign him in future’. If my case is still on after the two films in queue, and if these films do well, then the ride home might get a little smoother.