In a career spanning over 35 years, Jaaved Jaaferi has worn several hats with equal élan — model, actor, voice artiste, dancer, choreographer and politician, to name a few. However, he hasn’t ticked off his wish to wear the director’s hat yet. He says, “I have directed a few ad films in the past. I could have forayed into film direction, if I had somebody who would have taught me time management. With direction you get to head a creative process. I would like to do that, hopefully soon.” In a chat with us, Jaaved speaks about the projects he missed out on, his son Meezaan Jafri and more. Excerpts:

Now that his son Meezaan has forayed into Bollywood, how does Jaaved guide him? He replies, “One thing that I learnt from my father (the late actor Jagdeep) is that you should treat your work as worship and not take it lightly. I’ve told Meezaan the same. I have explained to him not to keep material objectives because when you do that, you tend to take up any and every project to make it happen.” 

Jaaved adds, “I also tell him to not go by the number of social media followers; they don’t make your film work. If that was the case, then every Salman Khan movie would have been a superhit and would’ve crossed Rs. 500 crores. So, I tell him that kaam pe focus karo, aapka kaam bolega.”

However, there is one role that the actor would like to see his son in. “I would like Meezaan to play Anil Kapoor’s role if Meri Jung is ever remade. That’s a strong role and he’s got the personality to pull it off.”

Recalling the opportunities that he missed, the Dhamaal actor reveals, “After Boogie Woogie, I was approached for a talk show by the same channel. Things didn’t work out from my side and I missed the window. The channel eventually made Movers & Shakers. I regret not doing that.”

Another project that Jaaved had the opportunity to be a part of was Anurag Basu’s Life In A Metro, which didn’t materialise. He shares, “Irrfan had some other commitments and couldn’t take it up. So, the makers approached me. Things were almost finalised when Irrfan said he could do the film. I feel it wasn’t a film that was supposed to happen with me.”

But the actor doesn’t have regrets. “I can’t keep regretting or fretting over things that weren’t meant to be. I believe that what you have in hand is what you make the best of,” he says.

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Fondly remembering his late father, the legendary Jagdeep, who passed away last year, Jaaved says, “He had immense love for the country, its people and culture. His dedication towards his craft was inspirational. He would always say that it is an actor’s job to provide wholesome entertainment to a person who is spending a part of his hard earned money to watch you perform. There were things that I wanted to tell my father and there were things that I wanted to do for him.”

Anurag Basu on future project, Jagga Jasoos, Metro sequel and next film, which was hit by the pandemic
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 12, 2020)

While many have been feeling angry, restless and caged-in during the Coronavirus lockdown, Anurag Basu’s friends have been messaging him, saying, “You must be happy because you’re always in a state of perpetual lockdown.” The director admits with a laugh that periodically, he does go underground for five-six weeks, when he cooks for the kids and goes into his corner. “When the lockdown started, I imagined it wouldn’t last longer than two-three weeks and compiled a long to-do list, comprising writing and other stuff. I haven’t even got started on it,” he sighs.

Well, for many, who were hurtling along at a crazy pace with little time for family, the last few months have been an eye-opener and life-changing. What about him? “Hamare liye yeh naya nahin hai; my life changed back in 2004 (when he was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, a type of blood cancer, and the doctors gave him around two months to live). Since my wife Tani was seven months pregnant at the time with our elder daughter, Ishana, I set myself small targets, starting with three months, so I could see my child. Then, a couple of weeks more… a month, two months, six months, a year... Taking baby steps. I went back to the set while my chemotherapy was still on, wearing a mask,” he flashbacks.

He cheated the Big C and, in the process, his priorities and lifestyle changed. “Now, Ishana and Ahana (younger daughter) are imbibing it without me telling them to. Those who knew me earlier will tell you this one is very different, new and improved Anurag,” he chuckles, adding that it started with small changes and the process continues. “Poora insaan toh nahin badal sakta, but my concept of right and wrong changed.”

While on the topic, one wonders if Ranbir Kapoor confided in him when he learnt that his father, Rishi, had cancer. “He did. I was among the first few to know,” admits the filmmaker. “We discussed what line of treatment he should take. I shared the number of my doctor with him and they spoke to him and told me what they had decided.”

There were no conversations during the treatment, but after the senior Kapoor returned from New York, just before Ranbir’s birthday on September 28, they had dinner together. “Neetu ji spoke about the treatment, Chintu ji, like always, was in his element, trying to dig into cake. Since he was not allowed to have sweets, Neetu ji tried to keep him away and this led to a fight between them. It was very cute,” he laughs. They met last on Ranbir’s birthday.

On April 30, we lost Rishi Kapoor. The day before, his good friend, Irrfan Khan, who was also battling cancer, breathed his last. Anurag was distraught. He admitted that, on Irrfan’s urging, he had scripted a sequel to his 2007 musical drama, Life In A… Metro. Irrfan, who was hilarious as the socially inept bachelor boy Monty in Part 1, was the first actor to be signed on. “I know I’ll make Metro again, I just wish I could have made it with Irrfan, too,” Anurag sighs.

For now, there’s Ludo, which is completely ready and was to open on April 24. The on-going Coronavirus pandemic has delayed the release. “I completed it in a year,” he exults. That’s quick, given Jagga Jasoos took so long. “Jagga went completely out of control. But I had made Gangster in six months. Ranbir was very busy at the time, with Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Bombay Velvet and Tamasha, and I was just sitting at home. It was frustrating at that time, but I am not blaming anyone. Film hi aisi thi. I had entered a zone that took a lot of time,” he reasons, pointing out that it is easier to make films when you repeat yourself, but when you ask yourself what new to do, the answer takes a long time to present itself, particularly later in your career. What’s heartening is that, over time, more so during the lockdown, there have been lots of tweets, messages and positive reviews from those who caught up with it, finally. “It was not a flawless film. On the contrary, it had lots of flaws. But we are all proud of Jagga Jasoos.”

So, what next? Anurag shares that he has four subjects ready, but he’s not sure which one to go with. “That was one of the the things on my to-do list. I haven’t decided yet,” he admits. Is one of them the Kishore Kumar biopic? Anurag confirms the same, saying he has worked on the subject too long and too hard, to let it go and move on. “Too much energy and passion has been invested in it, which is why it keeps popping up,” he acknowledges, pointing out that the problem isn’t only about rights. “The family is keen to make the film, but there are lots of issues. I need support from someone to push it through. But whenever I make it, it will be with Ranbir.”

Meanwhile, is he happy with Ludo? “People who have watched it liked it. I remember Barfi! for all the fun we had while making it. Jab shooting mein mazaa aata hai, toh film theek hi ban jaati hai. We had a blast during Ludo, too, there was the same synergy and energy in the team,” he signs off on an ebullient note.

Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 9, 2020)

“Do you know Irrfan’s (Khan) character in Life In A…Metro was originally a Bengali by the name of Debu? In the film’s first photo shoot, he was wearing a dhoti and a topor. But while we were shooting his first scene, I could visualise Irrfan in the climax, entering the station on a horse. Since Bengali grooms don’t come to their wedding on a ghoda, I told him we’d have to take the shot again and this time he should introduce himself to Konkana’s (Sen Sharma) Shruti as Monty. Irrfan being Irrfan, just laughed and went along,” narrates the film’s writer-director Anurag Basu, whose musical drama, revolving around the lives of nine Mumbaikars, opened 13 years ago, on May 11.

That wasn’t the only impromptu decision Anurag took. While driving from his home in Goregaon to Koperkhairane station in Navi Mumbai where the last scenes were shot, he was mulling over Shilpa Shetty and Shiney Ahuja’s track. In the original script, she was to leave the city with him. But plagued by second thoughts, he texted all his female colleagues, and even his wife Tani, asking for their opinion. “They all insisted that she should give her marriage with Kay Kay Menon a second chance for the sake of their daughter. When men write female characters, they tend to make them more feminist than they really are,” Anurag offers by way of explanation. The last-minute change, he admits, left Shilpa bemused, and she still hasn’t forgotten this twist in the tale.

In the film, Shilpa and Kay Kay’s marriage had turned into a union of two indifferent strangers, with the latter involved in a clandestine affair with his sister-in-law’s roommate and his office colleague, Neha, played by Kangana Ranaut, whom Anurag describes as “ghar ki ladki”. He informs that his Gangster leads, Kangana and Shiney, were the first to come on board. Irrfan was a little miffed that despite their long TV association, Anurag had not cast him in Gangster. “I made up with a role in Metro which showcased his lighter side, which I was acquainted with from our TV shows. As Monty, Irrfan was a riot,” asserts the director, admitting that the idea of a Metro sequel came from the actor who passed away last week. “I had approached him to play Ranbir’s (Kapoor) accident-prone, adoptive father in Jagga Jasoos. He was busy with other films then, and since Jagga Jasoos’s dates were all over the place, we couldn’t collaborate on that project. But he told me, ‘Chal, Metro sequel banate hain.’”

When Irrfan repeated this to him, during the Qareeb Qareeb Singlle promotions, Anurag sat down to take the story further. “Metro 2 mujhe Irrfan ke saath hi karni thi,” he sighs, heartbroken over the loss. Will it happen now, you wonder, and he says, “I don’t know… I really don’t know.”

He repeats the “I don’t know” phrase when you wonder how this anthology of stories connected through characters whose lives were entwined, came together. After a reflective pause, he points out that Murder and Gangster, which came in quick succession, were in the same space, with the Bhatt stamp, so, he wanted to try something very different. “Films like Metro were common in the West, but we had not experimented with the narrative here,” he points out.

He used a unique narrative device, with a rock band popping up at crucial plot points to take the story forward through songs which otherwise did not fit into the screenplay. The Metro band was headed by the film’s composer and Anurag’s dear friend, Pritam, and included Suhail Kaul, Soham Chakraborty and Bangladeshi singer James. Was it easy getting them to face a movie camera? “Pritam wanted to lose some weight. I told him to grow a beard instead, to look like a rock star. He used to be clean shaven before Metro, but hasn’t lost his beard since. I wouldn’t even let him shave off his beard or cut his hair to get married because we were still shooting the film,” laughs Anurag.

He goes on to confide that Shiney’s character, Akash, a struggling theatre artiste, whom Shilpa’s Shikha is drawn to, grew out of his own experiences on stage. “The play he performs was one of mine, I called it Collage when we brought it to Mumbai. Akash was very close to me,” Anurag acknowledges emotionally.

His biggest fanboy moment was directing his idol Dharmendra. “I remember when we were shooting at Sion station, it was as if all of Dharavi had descended there that day. I was amazed by Dharam ji’s fan following,” he says, the awe still evident in his voice. And how did he persuade the senior actor to kiss Nafisa Ali? “I told Dharam ji that it was Nafisa ji’s suggestion and vice versa. They both agreed and I got away,” he signs off with a laugh.

Film critic Raja Sen pays tribute to the actor who strove for the precise pitch and could make every gesture appear special
Raja Sen (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 3, 2020)

Cocaine. It was the first thing I spoke to Irrfan Khan about. It was 2006, on the sets of Life In A Metro. 20-something and childishly eager, I asked whether he’d done cocaine in order to play an addicted stockbroker in his last, Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota? “Yeah,” he nodded, “I had to.” The recorder was on. Irrfan saw my face and laughed. “See, as an actor you have to understand what it does. To your behaviour, movements. It was new to me toh… examine karna pada.” He didn’t enjoy it (“kaafi hectic hai”) and I wondered why he’d do that for a middling film. “Because it is new! Ek nayi cheez… Why else do we act, yaar? Plus, the film is by Naseeruddin Shah. Who knows what he will notice? What he will expect?” I remember the way he tapped his nose. “Isiliye… homework.”

The way he tapped his nose. Those words make you picture him, visualise how he must have done it, that ephemeral Irrfan-ness rendering the moment impossible to forget or mimic. Where do we begin to talk about an actor who made every gesture special? Perhaps one hails the movements themselves: the way Irrfan sculpted the silent beats, the way he reacted to actors around him when they spoke, the way he let his eyes do the heaviest lifting. Good actors deliver loaded dialogue in ways that make the words sing — Irrfan made us read between the lines.

In The Lunchbox, he unwraps food from a brown paper bag and picks up a novel as he eats. The care with which he smoothens the dog-eared page and straightens his spectacles before he starts shows how ritualistically the widower has done this for years. In Slumdog Millionaire, he supervises the electrocution of the young hero, but finds an instant to look away, discreetly and distastefully. In The Darjeeling Limited, as a villager whose young son’s body is brought to him, his first alarmed act is to lift the entire body, hoisting the boy’s chest to his ear like an errant pocketwatch, to see if he still beats. In Paan Singh Tomar, he collapses after breasting the tape in an early race, taking a telltale pause before he falls, as if looking to see if it’s okay to let go, okay for the runner to finally fall.

Irrfan is a poem. A poem he himself read out loud.

He strived for the precise pitch, the sur, the mot juste. There was always authenticity to be plumbed and sought, and he hungered both to learn and unlearn. He cultivated screen presence to deliver blockbuster punchlines, then discarded it to play an unassuming Bengali man. His was not a linear life, looping from early art cinema to popular television, from independent English films to Hindi masala to global art house success, and then, finally and delightfully, to a confluence of both, commercial and radical cinema hand in hand. The actor of his generation? That feels too prosaic for a man whose performances crept up on us, touching us in ways films or viewers could scarcely predict.

That Irrfan face. Those electric eyes, that slack jaw, the mouth ever ajar, especially in the earlier films, as if unsaid sentences live on the tip of his tongue. His words, deep and lyrical lines delivered with a languor that suggested his mind lay in a hammock. In the real world, he had the swagger of a cowboy, shoulders preceding footsteps, but on screen it was about those he played — the complicated, tentative, un-spotless men — and he gave up his gait for theirs.

In 2016, sitting at his new apartment and discussing the TV series Fargo, I asked him about winning an Oscar — a hypothesis that given his trajectory I considered an eventuality. “That is an award that can change everything,” he had said, briefly chewing on the idea. “It can open up every choice for an actor.” Ah, Irrfan… so many marks left unmade.

Talking to him was always a rush. The self-awareness, the philosophical digressions, the boundless curiosity — how he deconstructed a character, how keenly he engaged with criticism. Fingers perpetually busied with rolling paper, he spoke unhurriedly, with many an ellipsis, plucking the right phrase out of thin air. The mot juste. Even without cameras, there was economy and precision.

Think of Piku. Where he, as the owner of a transport firm, is stung as he sits in the driver’s seat with hired help in the front, while the clients sit behind. He looks pointedly at Deepika Padukone in the rearview mirror. It is a slippery moment; what, after all, is wrong with the boy sitting up front? Irrfan doesn’t glare, instead compels her by holding her gaze. Fury would make his character appear classist, but this quiet, unyielding indignation makes it evident Irrfan is feeling disrespected. He doesn’t start the car till he gets his way. Here, his way is to persuade the audience and win the benefit of their doubt.

That is a masterclass — and that doesn’t just mean something for actors to learn from. Great performers offer up mirrors to lives like ours so we can steal from their characters, from perspectives to mannerisms, from reactions to epiphanies. Irrfan Khan, conqueror of the unknown, gave us all so much to observe, so much to understand. His performances, his fluidity, his tenderness, his existential silences. Thank you for the movies, Irrfan. Thank you for waging a war against the obvious. We’ll watch you forever. We’ll learn, forever. Thank you for the… homework.

MUMBAI MIRROR (April 30, 2020)

Eight months after her diagnosis, Nafisa Ali has beaten the big C and is looking forward to facing the camera again
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 4, 2019)

Naifisa Ali Sodhi’s Instagram post on Monday, seeking an “elegant role to portray in Indian cinema… a perfect script for a senior actress” has touched many hearts. She is quick to say that there is no “need to earn money” but if there is a small role which is exciting and motivating, she’d be happy to do it. “I want people to know that I’m doing better and not going downhill,” says the 62-year-old actress, alluding to her cancer diagnosis which came through in September last year. Her latest PET scan has declared her “cancer free” and she describes it as a “miracle”. “I still have to go for check-ups every three months and it will be five years before it can be said that the cancer is in remission, but it was still a good reason to reach for the champagne,” she exults.

In her first CA 125-test, which measures the cancer antigen 125 in the blood, the reading was an alarming 6,500 as against the normal under-30. “Today, it is down to eight after three rounds of chemotherapy that was carried out in two cycles and a big surgery,” Nafisa says, insisting that every woman undergo this test which can detect any kind of cancer.

She had been suffering constant and intense abdominal pain for months despite an all-clear CT Scan and Ultra Sound. Her tears prompted her radiologist friend, Dr R K Mathur, to persevere and some fatty tissues were detected in her colon and abdomen which were pushing her organs together. It wasn’t appendicitis as she’d imagined, laparoscopy, biopsy and other tests revealed cancer cells and acetes in the liquid bloating her stomach were responsible for those frequent, embarrassing burps. Flashbacking to the moment when she was told it was cancer, Nafisa says, “I told myself, chalo at least now I know I’m not a hypochondriac.”

A diagnosis by surgical oncologist Dr Harit Chaturvedi and British specialist Dr Peter Harper revealed it was Stage 3 of primary peritoneal cancer which had spread. Fortunately, her kidneys, pancreas and liver are safe, but all the other organs have been removed, leaving a scar from near the ribcage all the way down south. “I could only wear a kaftan for weeks before moving to yoga pants. It took a while to walk with help to the park in Defence Colony (Delhi). I had to keep telling myself, ‘I’ve got to do this’ and take each day at a time. Today, when I see people with fear writ large on their faces in the hospital, I hold their hand and tell them to believe in themselves and not give up. The spirit must be strong,” she asserts with a sunny smile which has been flashing bright all through her battle. “I’m a simple soul, I thrive on small joys, it pains me to see people troubled. I realised that through my smile I can reach people faster and if I can change some lives, there is nothing better.”

When prodded on her other Insta post, which addressed Zaira Wasim’s decision to quit acting, saying, “work is something which is your choice, it is your freedom, your independent right. There are many pressures young people are surrounded by... but if you have a choice, make sure you think and make the right choice”. Nafisa had added that when she looks back, she wishes she listened to herself and not her father. She says Zaira’s post transported her back to when she was 20 and flooded with offers after her National Award-winning debut film, Junoon. “This girl’s journey seems similar and I wanted to impress upon her that this is her journey and so the decision must be hers and no one else’s,” she reasons.

She returned to the screen with films like Life… In A Metro for which old friend Dharmendra recommended her strongly to Anurag Basu. “Post its release, a young lady lawyer at the airport told me that her siblings and she had initially opposed their mother’s wish to live her life the way she wanted to but after seeing the film, they had arranged her second marriage with her childhood friend. And I knew my reason for doing the film had been achieved,” she beams.

Nafisa also featured in a Malayalam crime thriller, Big B, with Mammootty in 2007, after director Amal Neerad overrode her reluctance saying he’d written the role with her in mind. “It got me awards and acclaim and last year, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 was a great holiday,” she laughs, looking spiffy in the new haircut that daughter Armana’s children Aamair and Aariana have given her. All that hair cascading to her waist is gone after chemotherapy, as have her eyebrows and eye-lashes, but she is unfazed.

She’d earlier told Mirror (Nov 21, 2018) that she had to get well by June to welcome her third grandchild. “Ayaan was born early because Pia’s BP shot up in the eighth month. I was in Australia then with my mother and brother and saw him only after a week, but it was amazing holding him in my arms. My family has surrounded me with so much positivity, my son Ajit left Mumbai for six months to be by my side. When there’s so much of love, you must fight back,” she signs off with another sunny smile.

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; October 4, 2018)

Shilpa Shetty Kundra may be missing from the silver screen, but the actress has constantly been reinventing herself — she was among the first ones to make the transition from films to television when she judged a dance show. Later, she participated and won Celebrity Big Brother. She has her YouTube channel through which she promotes healthy recipes, yoga and fitness.

Recently, the leggy actress ventured into radio and lent her voice for the part of Draupadi in Mahabharata. Now, she is hosting a dating show, Hear Me, Love Me. Here, Shilpa talks about embracing different mediums, and what will bring her back to the big screen.

Films, TV, radio and now the digital platform. You are straddling all the mediums...
(Laughs) Yes, I think digital is one of the most sought-after mediums. It is convenient to access, and you can watch it at your time. It’s the way forward — I have been watching a lot of web series. When I was approached to host Hear Me, Love Me, the concept appealed to me. I watched the original Israeli series and found it hugely entertaining. Also, the show caters to the millennials. So, I’m addressing a different set of audience.

What is the show about?
It is a dating show — normally, it is always left to the boy to choose, but here the ball is in the girl’s court. And, as a host, I will be helping the woman find love. When you watch the show, you’ll see whatever I say is from my experience. I would be advising the girl as I would to my younger sister. Some of the girls who came on the show shocked me. They were clear about what they wanted from the guy. When I was dating many years ago, I had no such clarity. Here, the girls would come with a prototype, but on the show, they would go for somebody opposite of that! The show’s USP is that the woman doesn’t get to see the three guys, with whom she goes on a date. But they will see his world, the family and in the process, fall in love with what they are doing. By the end of it, she has to pick the guy on the basis of his personality after which, his face is revealed.      

In real life, have you played Cupid to anyone?
(Laughs) Unfortunately, no. I am not good at that. 

How is it shooting for a web show?
The shoot for this was tedious. For a TV show, normally, we can shoot it at our own time, but here we had to film in 12 hours and there had to be a correlation between the studio and the three guys who were at different locations like Pune, Madh Island and Worli. Cameras were strapped to their chests and each of them had to get a stipulated time with the girl. We couldn’t lose light and a certain portion had to be shot at a particular time. I used to shoot for Super Dancer, get to a hotel, stay overnight and start shooting for Hear Me, Love Me in the morning.  

Will you be judging the next season of Super Dancer?
Yes, we will be shooting from November end or December.

Tell us about your radio show Mahabharata.
In my career span, I have never played a mythological character, so it was beautiful to essay Draupadi in Mahabharata. Normally, we get a script and breathe life into the character, but here, Draupadi is a larger-than-life character, something we have read and heard about since childhood. She was a strong, smart character. She was the chosen one by Krishna because he knew he had to bring his yug to an end, and he needed somebody who could be selfless and become his aid. Draupadi knew what was happening to her was unjust and blamed Krishna for it as she felt he could have avoided it. That’s when he tells her that in the course of history, every action creates a reaction and that she is born for a higher cause. And, she was the one who literally spearheaded the war.

There is talk of Anurag Basu making a sequel to Metro. Will be you be a part of it?
Anurag is a dear friend of mine. Whatever he makes, it will be epic. It was great being a part of that anthology (Life In A...Metro), but I don’t know if I will really feature in the next one. He hasn’t spoken to me.

Do you have plans of making a comeback to films?
I’m already in the midst of doing really interesting stuff, and I’ll play it by the ear. But, yes, now I’m ready to read scripts. Also, a good director is a prerequisite for me to do a film. I need a director who will paint a character that I haven’t portrayed before, only that will interest me in making a comeback.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 20, 2018)

STREE 2
Everyone wants us to spin a sequel of Stree and discussions on the new film are currently on. I am really looking forward to Part 2 of the horror-comedy because the kind of response we have been getting to the film since its release on August 31 is simply overwhelming. People are watching it twice, even thrice and I can’t wait to get back to it .

EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA
I feel like I’m a part of Anil (Kapoor, co-star) sir’s family. He showers me with so much love. And Sonam (Kapoor, co-star) is a dear friend. Being on the sets of this film has been wonderful, I couldn’t have asked for a better team. We have just one day of shoot left. And as the tagline goes, it’s a “syaape wali love story”.

SWAGAT HAIN
This film marks yet another reunion with Hansal Mehta sir, who is currently working on the script. It is slated to go on the floors sometime next year. While we are attempting something new with Turram Khan, this one is in a space that we already connect with.

TURRAM KHAN
Turram Khan is a small-town fun film. I think Hansal sir (director and frequent collaborator) is hilarious and I’m glad that he’s finally making a comedy. We share a great rapport; he’s practically family. Nushrat Bharucha (co-star) and I are reuniting eight years after LSD-Love Sex Aur Dhokha. I’ve seen her other work, she’s a fantastic actor. Luv (Ranjan, producer) is known for his great writing and his happy-happy films so it’s a fantastic team coming together.

MENTAL HAI KYA
Shooting for the film is on its final leg presently. It is such a quirky script, I had a lot of fun shooting for it with Kangana (Ranaut, co-star) and the team. The film is scheduled to release next year.

IMLI
Another collaboration with Kangana, this one will roll early next year. Getting to work with (director) Anurag Basu is like a dream come true as I’m a huge fan of his work. The story of Imli is heart-touching and my co-star is a wonderful actor, one of the best in the country today. Working with good actors makes my job easier so I’m always eager to team up with talent like Kangana.

5 WEDDINGS
5 Weddings is a small film that I did a couple of years ago. I have immense respect for our director, Namrata Gujral. She is a wonderful lady.

MADE IN CHINA
The treatment of this film is simple yet different. I’m playing a Gujarati businessman. It’s the story of dreams, aspirations and family ties packaged as a quirky comedy. We are shooting in Ahmedabad and it’s been a lot of fun. Mouni (Roy, co-star) is a dedicated actor. We have shot a couple of scenes together and she takes her work extremely seriously.

LIFE IN A METRO 2
I can’t comment on this now. We’ll talk about it at the right time.