Farhan Akhtar says he only concerns himself with giving the best performance he can in a film
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 29, 2019)

He’s proved his finesse in all departments of filmmaking, be it directing a film like Dil Chahta Hai (2001) which brought in the ‘cool’ factor in modern cinema, acting in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013) and hitting the bullseye, or even singing in Rock On!! (2008). Clearly, Farhan Akhtar is yet to find something he can’t do.

Currently working on his next, Toofan, with filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, we ask Farhan if shouldering a film makes things tough for him, and he says, “I don’t see it as any kind of additional pressure. My job is to give the best performance I can in the film. And that is something I think about every single day. I don’t want to wake up in the morning and start thinking about ‘Friday ka box office’! (laughs)”

Toofan will see Farhan step into the shoes of a boxer. And the actor recently revealed on social media that he suffered a hairline fracture during the shoot. How is the experience turning out for him so far? “There’s still some way to go before we complete the shoot. I had a great time working with Rakeysh on Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, and I feel happy and fortunate to be able to collaborate with him on another special script which is equally demanding. The demands of a sports film are completely different. You need discipline for a film like that. I have never boxed before in my life, until I got into this film,” admits the 45-year-old.

He adds that there was a lot of prep that went into this role. “We started prep in March this year, and here we are. Boxing is a very demanding sport — to develop a mindset of a boxer, and the body language athletes have, which you cannot just pretend to have. If you compare a good dancer to a bad one, there’s no way the latter can pretend to be good. Similarly, with boxing, you can’t pretend to be a good boxer, you have to be able to do it,” shares Farhan.

The actor was recently seen in The Sky is Pink, which might have not been able to rock the box office, but did garner him some good reviews. He is happy with whatever the film did, apart from how it gave him a chance to reunite with Priyanka Chopra Jonas. 2019 had another surprise in store for him — his production, Gully Boy, was selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars. Excitement is palpable in his voice as he tells us, “It was an absolutely joy when it was announced. I’m extremely thankful to the film federation that they chose Gully Boy. I’m so happy for Zoya (Akhtar; director and his sister) and everybody associated with that film. We have our work cutout now. The final nominations will be announced in January 2020. Between now and then, we have a lot of work to do. We have to try and get as many people from the Academy to come and watch the film. Only then will we realise how far it is going to go, that’s very crucial.”