Showing posts with label Pooja Shetty Deora. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pooja Shetty Deora. Show all posts
I believe in doing stories I feel attached to-Sonam Kapoor
8:08 AM
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; September 17, 2019)
After the socially-relevant movie, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, in which she became the first mainstream actress to play a lesbian, Sonam Kapoor aka Sonam K Ahuja is ready to charm the audiences with her next, The Zoya Factor. Based on Anuja Chauhan’s book by the same name, it’s about a girl who is considered lucky for the Indian cricket team. The captain, however, rubbishes the theory. Sparks fly between the two, ending in a romance. “It’s a lighthearted film. There’s no special message and it’s not trying to say anything. After an intense film like Ek Ladki... I wanted to do a fun film,” Sonam smiles. While she reveals that she’s been lucky for her father Anil Kapoor, as after her birth, he got a spate of hits, she feels that hard-work goes hand-in-hand with luck and destiny. Excerpts from a freewheeling chat...
Had you read the book before doing the film? Whose idea was it to adapt it for screen?
I’ve read a lot of Anuja’s books. I already own the rights to her Battle For Bittora, and we’re trying to produce it. The script is ready and we may make it next year. I had read The Zoya Factor, which is a great book. I was offered the film when it was with other production houses like Saregama and Red Chillies. There was always talk about me doing the film, but it was never made. Then, Aarrti Shetty and Pooja Shetty acquired the book’s rights, and called me up. They felt only I, and nobody else, could play the role. I thought the same, and was glad they offered it to me. Also, after doing an intense film like Ek Ladki Ko, I thought in this day and age, especially because of all the horrible stuff that’s going on in the world, when you go to the theatre, you want to see a fun film and The Zoya Factor is that.
Was it fun shooting for the film, too?
Yes. The weird thing was this film is all about luck, but everything just kept going wrong every day. For example, I had to put on weight and perm my hair. In the book, the character is a little plump and has frizzy hair. Since I’m not chubby and have poker-straight hair, I decided to perm them because it would have been difficult to curl them to that extent every day. So, I went to one of the best salons in the city. They forgot to put a protector on my head so that my hair is not damaged by the perming product, and my hair got burnt. Nobody knows about this, but that’s what happened. I also gained 10 kilos for the role, and it was hard to lose the weight. I’ve had mean things said to me, like ‘you’re looking so fat’. Some people asked if I was pregnant! Thankfully, I’ve lost that weight. I love doing comedy and I was working with my chacha (Sanjay Kapoor) and Dulquer Salmaan for the first time. It was a lot of fun.
Your uncle Sanjay Kapoor plays your father in the film. How was it working with him?I worked with my dad in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga and now my chacha plays my father in The Zoya Factor. Our family is entrenched in films. We eat, breathe and live movies. It was great to work with my uncle because I realised he has absolutely no ego. You’re working with your niece, who’s the lead of the film, but you have no qualms about it, and you’re happy to be a part of it. I’ve always been respectful of my chacha. Actually, I don’t even think of him as my uncle, he’s like a friend since he’s the youngest (brother) in the family and I’m close to Maheep (Sanjay’s wife).
How much do you believe in luck and destiny?
I believe a lot in destiny and that luck has to be on your side. But I also believe it has to be a combination with hard work. Just because everything is written, you can’t just sit on your bum and expect it to happen. Whatever I’ve learnt about work is from my dad and I haven’t seen a more hard-working man than him. He’s extremely talented and possibly the best actor in India; at the same time, he’s been in the right place at the right time.
To what extent has your career been about luck and how much has destiny played a part in it?
I’m born into a certain family, right? That’s destiny. I come from a film family and I decided to assist Sanjay Leela Bhansali on a movie. Ranbir (Kapoor) was already on it and I knew him since I was a child. When I applied for the job, SLB didn’t know I was Anil Kapoor’s daughter because nobody had ever seen me at events, as I hadn’t been photographed before. Ranbir told him, ‘My friend is coming for the job of an intern’. He was making Bajirao Mastani with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan then, not Black. When I met SLB, he said, ‘I want to cast you in my film’. That, I guess, is destiny because without even knowing I’m Anil Kapoor’s daughter, he told me that. Of course, I had to audition after that.
Please continue...
At that time, Shraddha (Kapoor), Katrina (Kaif), Deepika (Padukone) — we were all auditioning together. Even for Delhi-6, I had to audition first. So, I think it was a combination of luck, destiny and hard work. Because I’m sure there are lots of girls who are prettier, more talented or more hardworking than me but it’s always about being in the right place at the right time. At the same time, if you don’t work hard, and if you don’t have talent, you cannot survive.
Was it Neerja that changed your career’s trajectory and the kind of roles you wanted to do?
I would say that it was after Raanjhanaa. Out of the 18 films that I have done, three have been unsuccessful. If I had to look back at my career, I would say Delhi-6 and Saawariya were great for me. Aisha was also amazing and so was I Hate Luv Stories. Then I did three films — Mausam, Thank You and Players — which didn’t work. Straight after that, I did Raanjahnaa, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Khoobsurat and Neerja. There was a period of two years when my films didn’t work. After that, I haven’t had films that did not work. When I did Raanjhanaa, I was 26, now I am 34 — so in eight years, I have done pretty much okay. I don’t think I’m doing that badly.
Do you choose your scripts by gut feeling?
I don’t believe in gut feeling. I believe in doing stories that I feel attached to. Also, I like to work with good people. It has to be a combination of the two. I’ve been offered big films by some directors with whom I didn’t want to work either because I didn’t like them as people, the way they spoke to me or how they portrayed women. But I’ve worked with filmmakers like Ram Madhvani (Neerja director) who had helmed only one film Let’s Talk, 10 years before that. I have worked with a Shelly Chopra Dhar in Ek Ladki, Shashanka Ghosh in Khoobsurat — he had done just one film Quick Gun Murugun. I’ve worked with filmmakers like Rajkumar Hirani, R Balki, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. I believe in collaborating with people who are like-minded, progressive, and who want to make good cinema. It doesn’t matter what the length of the role is, as long as my character is of importance.
From doing a cameo to being a part of an ensemble cast and playing lead roles, you have done everything in your recent releases...
Yes, even Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB), I did because I was working with Rakeysh and his team after Delhi-6. Also, I thought if I have to do two songs and four scenes, I would rather do that in a film like BMB than any other typical commercial film. In a movie like Pad Man, I am there throughout the second half and it’s a film that says something amazing. In Neerja and Khoobsurat, I am there from the beginning till the end. I know that I have to be a part of scripts that mean something, that challenge me; stories that are entertaining, or have a message.
We can't make total commercial or masala films; we are aware of our limitations-Pooja Shetty Deora and Aarrti Shetty
8:27 AM
They look different, they think different. But when it comes to work ethics, producers Pooja Shetty Deora and Aarrti Shetty jam like no other. Giving it our all is how they describe work on the soon-to-release The Zoya Factor
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; September 15, 2019)
Pooja Shetty Deora and sister Aarrti request that we meet at Juhu's chic members-only club, Soho House. They are going to be at a song location recce prior. The two are producers on Sonam Kapoor's upcoming film, The Zoya Factor, based on Anuja Chauhan's bestseller. "Pooja is so out of place at these recces," Aarti says. "It's dirty, it's hot, it's dusty, she thinks. The choreographer told her, 'please, leave. You are too posh for these surroundings'." Pooja has a rebuttal. She thinks the younger sister is equally awkward during financial discussions. "I tell her, please stay quiet. She can't talk money to save her life!"
They are daughters carrying forward the legacy of Manmohan Shetty, the man who founded Adlabs Films Ltd., a films processing studio that at one point was handling 90 per cent of Bollywood's business. He eventually expanded to film distribution and is remembered for setting up the city first IMAX dome screen. Shetty was instrumental in kickstarting Mumbai's multiplex culture, and later went on to produce hits like Munnabhai MBBS. It's at his firm, Walkwater Media Ltd. that Pooja holds the post of managing director and Aarti heads the creative division.
As students of Maneckji Cooper and Jamnabai Narsee schools, Pooja and Aarrti would head to the lab every Saturday in a bid to spend time with their father, who kept odd hours. "He'd buy us classics like Raj Kumar's movies and The Sound of Music. So, movies were always a part of our lives," says Aarrti, who went on to assist Ram Gopal Verma, Shimit Amin and Karan Johar on their productions. "I think the movies we want to make should have some twist, offer a glimpse into a world that the audience may have never seen before. For example, with Zoya, it's the world of cricket but like never before. I don't think we can make total commercial or masala films. You need a skill for that, and we are aware of our limitations. We are still very young in the journey," Pooja admits.
The duo bagged the rights to Chauhan's 2008 novel from Shah Rukh Khan's production firm Red Chillies Entertainment, where it had been lying locked for three years. The film, scheduled to release this month, stars Dulquer Salmaan, Malayalam superstar Mammootty's son. He plays a cricketer while Kapoor is a successful advertising executive who turns into a good luck charm for India's cricket team during the World Cup.
After their first release via Walkwater, Tere Bin Laden (2010), the Shetty sisters say they realised the importance of being hands-on. They apply this philosophy to the movies and Imagica, the 130-acre theme park in Khopoli, they run. "If you are not there for every stage [of the business], the results are not [in line with] your vision. When the park was being set up, we were there all day, coming home slathered in mud. We didn't have a life, but that's how we work," says Pooja. Aarrti has learnt from the sister. "I once had a problem with a script and let it go. Later, I told myself, I will never let that happen again. Sometimes, Pooja joins me at creative meetings, and says, we have been talking about one scene for two hours. We have to, because it's not resolved."
When they are not collaborating on movies, they are Netflixing. But that's only when Pooja is not busy playing a mother. She and husband, politician-entrepreneur Milind Deora became parents last year to a daughter through surrogacy. "Sleep has reduced," she laments, "and so has socialising. I see my friends once in three months. I slot film meetings only after lunch. My mother helps out a lot. There is a room in fact, at my maternal home in Juhu, that's done up exactly like the room I have for my daughter at our Worli residence. I can't take on any more work, because I love my sleep, and don't get enough. But, I want to do both, be a parent and a professional." Aarrti calls this fiction, arguing, "But you are always sleeping! I sleep half of what she sleeps."
And Pooja isn't afraid to bring work home. Milind is around when she wishes to discuss films, and she has an opinion on his political career. "It's a crisis for sure," she says candidly about the Congress party's future following the Lok Sabha election debacle and its leader Rahul Gandhi's resignation. "It's been a hard couple of years. We often talk about what we can do next."
What next, in the immediate short term revolves around The Zoya Factor, which she calls a hatke comedy. And you know it matters to the both of them when Pooja says, "Not all movies work. But you have to put in your best, and be invested in every way possible. Otherwise, what's the point?"
Dulquer Salmaan, Sonam Kapoor get ready for film adaption of The Zoya Factor
8:13 AM
The actors have been paired for the first time in the screen adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s best-selling novel, The Zoya Factor, which rolls in August. The story weaves cricket into a rom-com
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2018)
Mirror (January 22) had earlier reported that South sensation Dulquer Salmaan and Sonam Kapoor will feature in the screen adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s 2008 novel The Zoya Factor. Director Abhishek Sharma recently completed the final draft of the script and will start shooting in August. The film will release on April 5, 2019.
“Cricket woven into a rom-com and touching on superstition and luck, it’s an amazing book for a screen adaptation. The book has many layers, characters and tracks, so it took Neha Rakesh Sharma some time to pen a tight screenplay and Pradhuman Singh to write the dialogues. Now, we’ve gone back to Anuja who’s happy with the script to polish it and work on additional dialogues as nobody knows the characters better than her,” informs Abhishek, pointing out that the challenge is bigger when the book is a bestseller and fresh in people’s minds.
Dulquer will play Nikhil Khoda, the captain of the Indian Cricket Team in the film for which Fox Star Studios is collaborating with Aarti and Pooja Shetty Deora, with Sonam as Zoya Singh Solanki, an advertising agent. “She was the first person that came to my mind as she’s as bubbly as Zoya and after seeing Neerja, I’d sent her an autographed copy of the book requesting that she read it. We both got busy with our respective commitments after that but a few months later, Sonam checked with Aarti, a close friend of hers, on the status of the screen adaptation,” Abhishek reminisces.
He admits he wasn’t too exposed to Dulquer’s work until Aarti showed him the trailer of Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani. “I knew immediately that this was the boy we were looking for. In the book, Nikhil is from the North but in our film, he hails from the South but speaks good Hindi,” reveals the director, adding that Dulquer is a brilliant actor with expressive eyes and makes a great pair with Sonam. “I later saw parts of Bangalore Days and Comrade in America and was most impressed.”
He recently did a photo shoot with his lead pair. It was a quick shoot as he was wrapping up another film and Sonam was rushing out of town. “We didn’t get to chat much but I’m sure it’s going to be a great shoot as they respect each other’s work,” asserts the filmmaker, adding that Dulquer, a cricket enthusiast, will start prepping for his part closer to the shoot, besides joining Sonam for readings and workshops.
The book was about a client service rep who is pulled away from a Shah Rukh Khan shoot to go cut a commercial for a soft drink with the Indian cricket team whose disciplinarian captain cuts into her time forcing her to stay back. Meanwhile, the players learn that Zoya was born at the moment the Indian team won its first World Cup in 1983. They also discover that if they have breakfast with her, they return victorious and vice versa, leading Zoya to become a lucky charm for not just the boys in blue, but also the president of the cricket board and the country at large. The only one who is sceptical is the newly appointed skipper, Nikhil. Zoya and he are at loggerheads even as they are drawn to each other, and cola majors and other cricket boards try to steal her away while in the thick of World Cup action. Prod Abhishek on whether he has made any changes to the original story and he says, “A few for which I convinced Anuja. The story is now set in 2011 before India lifted its second World Cup and we have shifted base from Delhi to Mumbai,” he says with a smile.
Varun Dhawan approached to play hockey legend Dhyan Chand in biopic?
11:08 AM
Subhash K Jha (DNA; June 11, 2016)
It’s been four years since Ashok Dhyan Chand, son of hockey legend Dhyan Chand sold the movie rights of his father’s life to producers Pooja Shetty and Aarti Shetty. Nothing happened. There was some discussion with Shah Rukh Khan. But the matter was dropped.
However, it now seems the Shetty sisters have taken the project to Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and the project is finally moving ahead.
Says a source from Dharma, “Pooja and Aarti sounded Karan out about the Dhyan Chand project. He loved the idea and agreed to co-produce the film. Karan approached Ranbir Kapoor to play Dhyan Chand. Ranbir, for reasons best known to him, declined the offer. KJo then took the project to his other favourite Varun Dhawan, who is quite keen on playing the hockey legend. He even made his father David Dhawan hear the story. Karan Johar then approached Fox Star Studios, who are keen to get on board.”
There is only one hitch. A very major one. Apparently, Karan Johar, Varun Dhawan and Fox Star do not want the film to be directed by debutant director Rohit Jaisingh Vaid.
Says a source, “It was Rohit, who bought the rights for the biopic on behalf of the Shetty sisters. The right to direct the film cannot be taken away from him unless Rohit voluntarily forfeits it. This, he is in no mood to do.”
Given the scenario the Dhyan Chand biopic seems to be in a stalemate.
Says the source, “Rohit rightly feels he has the right to direct the Dhyan Chand biopic. But Karan and Fox Star
feel Rohit’s inexperience goes against him.” Let’s see who blinks first!
The other hockey biopic
Varun’s Dilwale co-star is the only other actor to have starred in a movie based on the hockey. Chak De! India, which won Shah Rukh Khan a lot of critical acclaim and also moolah at the box office. The movie was loosely inspired by the life of Mir Ranjan Negi. Negi was the hockey goalkeeper of the Indian team during the Asian Games 1982. During the Asian games, India lost to Pakistan. This was a humiliating experience for Negi. Later in his life, Negi coached the National Women’s hockey team and the team went on to win Gold at the Manchester Commonwealth games. Inspired from the incident, Chak De India had Kabir Khan (played by SRK) leading his gang of girls to to victory in a similar manner.
Dhyan Chand's son to meet Karan Johar to track progress of biopic on the hockey legend
7:52 AM
Anirban Das (MID-DAY; August 21, 2015)
On Wednesday, Karan Johar tweeted about his next co-production starring Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt and that garnered a lot of attention. However, the filmmaker seems to have forgotten one of his earlier announcements — a biopic on hockey legend Dhyan Chand. Bothered by this, Ashok Kumar, former hockey player and son of The Wizard, has decided to visit KJo and find out how the project is progressing.
Karan had announced about collaborating with Pooja and Aarti Shetty for the biopic last October and that he had acquired the rights to it. Says Kumar, “I was first approached for the film three years ago, but there has not been any development since then. I want the film to start at the earliest.”
While he is willing to share his inputs with the makers, he claims that he has not been contacted yet. “I have been calling them to find out how the script is developing. During my recent conversation with them, I was informed that the budget has been chalked out, but the casting is yet to be done,” he adds.
He has now made up his mind to visit Karan on August 29. “That day marks my father’s birthday, which is celebrated as National Sports Day. I am planning to meet Karan in Mumbai to know about the development in the project,” he asserts.
On her part, Pooja says she isn’t ready “at this point” to give any updates on the proposed biopic. “We have collaborated with Karan Johar’s production house and are in the process of discussion. The script work has concluded. Any other information will be shared when the time is right. The film is not stuck,” she explains.
My wife says I'm great at my work but socially, I'm pathetic-Abhishek Sharma
9:26 AM
Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; November 8, 2014)
Abhishek Sharma, 36, loves
himself and everything about himself. His love for movies and music
makes him selfish. He is a daydreamer, who can look after himself
emotionally, but just can't take care of his stuff, for which he
needs his mother, sister and wife. Nothing makes him more happy than the
collective roaring laughter of people and thus, in his pursuit of
humour, he makes 50 jokes a day, even if 50% of them fall flat. He
hates crying and is shit scared when he sees a cop. Over a cup of coffee
ahead of his comedy The Shaukeens, he spoke to Bombay Times about his
twisted mind, his selfish nature and why he hates being judged.
Excerpts:
How did you come into films?
I was born in Delhi, but my father was from the Air Force, so we pretty much moved around all over the country, till we returned to Delhi, where I finished my schooling at Air Force Bal Bharati School. I did my graduation in publishing at the College of Vocational Studies and got active in theatre. I then joined NSD. While I did many years of theatre, I was hungry for more audience, so I made two short films and decided to come to Mumbai in 2004. I wanted to understand the business of filmmaking. I knew that I had talent and knew the technique, but didn't know how to get producers on board. And I thought it would be best to learn this from Mr Manmohan Shetty, as he was into financing, distribution as well as owned Adlabs at that time. I went and met one of his heads of one of his divisions, Pravin Nischol, to get any job, as I just wanted an entry and he hired me as a personal assistant. I would just make notes in the meetings, but very soon, got interested and joined the legal department, as there was a dearth of in-house people wanting to do that. Everyone was scared of legal work, but I liked contracts a lot. For me, contracts were also like scripts and I have a good eye for detailing, which got everyone excited. Slowly, for the next few years, I kept going up the ladder in terms of legal expertise, so much so that many lawyers thought that I was a lawyer. I was good at negotiating deals. Contracts taught me a lot about filmmaking. If you see a contract, you get to know everything about a deal. And that's how you understand the mechanics of how projects are created because it's all about give and take and a contract shows you that. That gave me a big edge as a director. I got the idea of Tere Bin Laden and I pitched the idea to Pooja Shetty. She loved the script and asked me, 'But who will direct it?' She couldn't believe her ears when I said I would. She agreed and I did my first film.
It's rare for a creative mind to be attracted to legal.
I have a very twisted mind and am a very paranoid person. Let me explain with an example. Once, I was flying from Mumbai to Delhi. This was just a few days post 9/11. So I am in the bus going to the aircraft and there are these two gentlemen talking some gibberish stuff that sounds Middle-Eastern. And I out of nowhere, have this opinion that they may be hijacking the plane, as they were talking in this animated way. Now, I am sitting in the plane and they are sitting, coincidentally, just behind me, continuing their animated discussion. So, I am preparing my mind on the eventuality that they may hijack the plane. We were travelling in Kingfisher Airlines, who used to serve metallic cutlery as against plastic cutlery served in other airlines. So, the air hostess brings in the food trolley with the metallic cutlery. And I am thinking how can they give metallic cutlery after 9/11? Plastic, I can fight with. The airline has given these two guys a weapon. So, I took out my knife and fork and kept it with me, all the time looking back. So, my plan was that if they do something, I too have my weapon and I will attack them. I just played the whole thing in my head. I was so paranoid that I kept the knife and fork till I landed which is when I returned it. The air hostess was wondering why I kept it in the first place. She couldn't figure whether I had forgotten to give it back or I had changed my plan of stealing it. Another time, I went to someone's funeral. And while people are concerned about the person who has died, I am thinking about how that person is crying, whether it is a genuine cry or not. You know how in a funeral, people are competing for a louder cry. It's like a crying competition out there and then my mind gets into a contest. Is she crying more or is he crying more? So, I am looking at one of them crying and thinking to myself, you were good, but have lack of conviction. I always observe people and am perceptive. But people close to me also tell me that I am selfish.
Explain how do you qualify yourself as selfish?
I am always chasing happiness for myself. Unknowingly while chasing that, I could also hurt you. Of course, I quickly apologise. But I am just not a social person and need to work on my relationships. I have a mind that works in two ways. I can be observing even myself with the two minds. If I want to watch a movie, I will. I will first force you emotionally, beg you and take you, but if you are in a bad shape and you say that you can't go then I will go anyways. You have to see me when I am entering a theatre. I am running as I have to be the first one there, much before the national anthem or the trailers start. When I am watching a film, no one exists for me. I don't hate kids, but my wife Indu and I spoke before we got married as we both don't want kids. We just want to live our lives to the fullest and enjoy it. When you have kids, you start living for them, which I don't want to do. It's just one life. After The Shaukeens, I am going to New York alone for a month. I will write and watch Broadway. I like doing that. It's so tiring to make a film that after that, you need to detach yourself. I am very difficult to get along with. My company is not bad and you will enjoy it, as I will make you laugh. But emotionally to connect with me is difficult. My wife tells me that you are great at your work and that is all that you should do, but you are pathetic socially.
Both your films so far have been comedies.
The biggest happiness I get in life is when people are laughing. To make someone laugh is my biggest dream. The roar of laughter of people is the best thing in the world. And that is why I love comedy. Even generally in life, I am always trying to make someone laugh. I like watching people when they are watching a comedy. I make friends with people, even if they are mean, if they can make me laugh. When people are laughing, it lightens the environment. I love making people laugh as I feel appreciated, but more than that, I feel I have given that person something special today. I laugh a lot and have the most obnoxious laughter. I laugh like a villain. I can be nasty with you to the extent that even you enjoy it and I can also be self-deprecating, but I will never insult you, as the purpose of humour is to make people happy. So, I can't make you happy by insulting someone. I am not clean-hearted as humour can never be clean, as you are always making fun to make people laugh. I got my sense of humour from my father. Comedy is always twisted. Comedy is always going to be offensive to someone. Comedy is not a genre, it's a style. While satire is sublime, farce is much more louder. So while Tere Bin Laden is satire and The Shaukeens is more like a buddy comedy like The Hangover. The body dragging scene in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is a farce. I love comics as they are the most unadulterated humour. I hate crying.
Is there a reason why you hate crying?
They say when you cry, you feel light, but I feel heavy. I am just scared of too much of my emotion. My problem is that I can get into depression really fast. My school days were the worst for me. While most people love school, for me, it was prison, be it wearing a uniform and having a defined time for everything. There was too much authority. I don't like that much authority. Maybe that is why I have fear for cops due to their uniform and authority. I am so scared of cops that I feel in my past life I must have been a criminal. I don't like to be told what to do or follow social norms that are hypocritical. I took Commerce in Class XI, but my balance sheet never matched, even though I knew that I was bright and better than what my marks were suggesting. I had failed in a couple of subjects in Class XI and felt disappointed. I hated the marks system and that is the reason I don't go to award functions as I hate being judged. I don't like human beings competing for these small little things. I feel that appreciation should come without any prejudice. For me, nothing can beat the collective roaring laughter of people, as only that makes me feel satisfied.
How did you come into films?
I was born in Delhi, but my father was from the Air Force, so we pretty much moved around all over the country, till we returned to Delhi, where I finished my schooling at Air Force Bal Bharati School. I did my graduation in publishing at the College of Vocational Studies and got active in theatre. I then joined NSD. While I did many years of theatre, I was hungry for more audience, so I made two short films and decided to come to Mumbai in 2004. I wanted to understand the business of filmmaking. I knew that I had talent and knew the technique, but didn't know how to get producers on board. And I thought it would be best to learn this from Mr Manmohan Shetty, as he was into financing, distribution as well as owned Adlabs at that time. I went and met one of his heads of one of his divisions, Pravin Nischol, to get any job, as I just wanted an entry and he hired me as a personal assistant. I would just make notes in the meetings, but very soon, got interested and joined the legal department, as there was a dearth of in-house people wanting to do that. Everyone was scared of legal work, but I liked contracts a lot. For me, contracts were also like scripts and I have a good eye for detailing, which got everyone excited. Slowly, for the next few years, I kept going up the ladder in terms of legal expertise, so much so that many lawyers thought that I was a lawyer. I was good at negotiating deals. Contracts taught me a lot about filmmaking. If you see a contract, you get to know everything about a deal. And that's how you understand the mechanics of how projects are created because it's all about give and take and a contract shows you that. That gave me a big edge as a director. I got the idea of Tere Bin Laden and I pitched the idea to Pooja Shetty. She loved the script and asked me, 'But who will direct it?' She couldn't believe her ears when I said I would. She agreed and I did my first film.
It's rare for a creative mind to be attracted to legal.
I have a very twisted mind and am a very paranoid person. Let me explain with an example. Once, I was flying from Mumbai to Delhi. This was just a few days post 9/11. So I am in the bus going to the aircraft and there are these two gentlemen talking some gibberish stuff that sounds Middle-Eastern. And I out of nowhere, have this opinion that they may be hijacking the plane, as they were talking in this animated way. Now, I am sitting in the plane and they are sitting, coincidentally, just behind me, continuing their animated discussion. So, I am preparing my mind on the eventuality that they may hijack the plane. We were travelling in Kingfisher Airlines, who used to serve metallic cutlery as against plastic cutlery served in other airlines. So, the air hostess brings in the food trolley with the metallic cutlery. And I am thinking how can they give metallic cutlery after 9/11? Plastic, I can fight with. The airline has given these two guys a weapon. So, I took out my knife and fork and kept it with me, all the time looking back. So, my plan was that if they do something, I too have my weapon and I will attack them. I just played the whole thing in my head. I was so paranoid that I kept the knife and fork till I landed which is when I returned it. The air hostess was wondering why I kept it in the first place. She couldn't figure whether I had forgotten to give it back or I had changed my plan of stealing it. Another time, I went to someone's funeral. And while people are concerned about the person who has died, I am thinking about how that person is crying, whether it is a genuine cry or not. You know how in a funeral, people are competing for a louder cry. It's like a crying competition out there and then my mind gets into a contest. Is she crying more or is he crying more? So, I am looking at one of them crying and thinking to myself, you were good, but have lack of conviction. I always observe people and am perceptive. But people close to me also tell me that I am selfish.
Explain how do you qualify yourself as selfish?
I am always chasing happiness for myself. Unknowingly while chasing that, I could also hurt you. Of course, I quickly apologise. But I am just not a social person and need to work on my relationships. I have a mind that works in two ways. I can be observing even myself with the two minds. If I want to watch a movie, I will. I will first force you emotionally, beg you and take you, but if you are in a bad shape and you say that you can't go then I will go anyways. You have to see me when I am entering a theatre. I am running as I have to be the first one there, much before the national anthem or the trailers start. When I am watching a film, no one exists for me. I don't hate kids, but my wife Indu and I spoke before we got married as we both don't want kids. We just want to live our lives to the fullest and enjoy it. When you have kids, you start living for them, which I don't want to do. It's just one life. After The Shaukeens, I am going to New York alone for a month. I will write and watch Broadway. I like doing that. It's so tiring to make a film that after that, you need to detach yourself. I am very difficult to get along with. My company is not bad and you will enjoy it, as I will make you laugh. But emotionally to connect with me is difficult. My wife tells me that you are great at your work and that is all that you should do, but you are pathetic socially.
Both your films so far have been comedies.
The biggest happiness I get in life is when people are laughing. To make someone laugh is my biggest dream. The roar of laughter of people is the best thing in the world. And that is why I love comedy. Even generally in life, I am always trying to make someone laugh. I like watching people when they are watching a comedy. I make friends with people, even if they are mean, if they can make me laugh. When people are laughing, it lightens the environment. I love making people laugh as I feel appreciated, but more than that, I feel I have given that person something special today. I laugh a lot and have the most obnoxious laughter. I laugh like a villain. I can be nasty with you to the extent that even you enjoy it and I can also be self-deprecating, but I will never insult you, as the purpose of humour is to make people happy. So, I can't make you happy by insulting someone. I am not clean-hearted as humour can never be clean, as you are always making fun to make people laugh. I got my sense of humour from my father. Comedy is always twisted. Comedy is always going to be offensive to someone. Comedy is not a genre, it's a style. While satire is sublime, farce is much more louder. So while Tere Bin Laden is satire and The Shaukeens is more like a buddy comedy like The Hangover. The body dragging scene in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro is a farce. I love comics as they are the most unadulterated humour. I hate crying.
Is there a reason why you hate crying?
They say when you cry, you feel light, but I feel heavy. I am just scared of too much of my emotion. My problem is that I can get into depression really fast. My school days were the worst for me. While most people love school, for me, it was prison, be it wearing a uniform and having a defined time for everything. There was too much authority. I don't like that much authority. Maybe that is why I have fear for cops due to their uniform and authority. I am so scared of cops that I feel in my past life I must have been a criminal. I don't like to be told what to do or follow social norms that are hypocritical. I took Commerce in Class XI, but my balance sheet never matched, even though I knew that I was bright and better than what my marks were suggesting. I had failed in a couple of subjects in Class XI and felt disappointed. I hated the marks system and that is the reason I don't go to award functions as I hate being judged. I don't like human beings competing for these small little things. I feel that appreciation should come without any prejudice. For me, nothing can beat the collective roaring laughter of people, as only that makes me feel satisfied.
Sidharth Malhotra is the face of Aquamagica, India's newest water party destination
7:46 AM
BOMBAY TIMES (September 20, 2014)
Sidharth Malhotra has been
signed on as the brand ambassador of the new water-party destination,
Adlabs Aquamagica. Pooja Shetty Deora of Adlabs said, “The youth today
has a very Go With The Flow philosophy and we wanted a space that
embodies this. Sidharth is a youth icon, who
embodies our philosophy.“
Sidharth said, “Just like the brand philosophy, I believe in going with the flow in life and can't wait to take my friends there the next time they ask me, 'Where's the party?'“ Located off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Aquamagica is just a drive away from Mumbai and Pune.
Sidharth said, “Just like the brand philosophy, I believe in going with the flow in life and can't wait to take my friends there the next time they ask me, 'Where's the party?'“ Located off the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, Aquamagica is just a drive away from Mumbai and Pune.
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