Since his debut in 2016 with Mirzya, Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor has steered away from conventional Bollywood cinema and the typical “hero” image that comes with it. Any regrets? No. In fact, the actor says that with his choice of films, filmmakers can see that he has set out on a different route. After turning producer with his last project, he now wants to try his hand at writing, too. In a chat with BT, Harsh Varrdhan opens up about his new-found love for photography, the joy of becoming a mama soon and his views on the way our cinema is shaping up and more. Read On…

I have always received appreciation for my projects like Mirzya, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, AK vs AK or Spotlight (Ray) from a certain section of the audience and I am happy about that. I have always been picky and patient. I don’t mind waiting for the right project to come my way. Even for my last release, Thar (which he also produced), I received positive feedback. I got great reviews from the international media as well. There was a lot of positivity on social media too. I couldn’t hope for more. A response like this has certainly been like a validation for me for sure.

With this, one can be sure that the audience is ready for this kind of content. We are in times where you can experiment with content which wasn’t the case 10 years ago. With my choice of projects, filmmakers can see for themselves that I have set out on a different route. There are filmmakers who have appreciated me and my choices. People cannot predict my choices. This is what makes it exciting for me and there is no plan or strategy in that sense.

First of all, I don’t think I have any fans. I have a certain section of audience who has liked my work and my choice of cinema. They would be disappointed if I do the typical commercial films. These are the people who count on me for not doing the typical stuff and giving them a different kind of an experience with my projects. Obviously, that audience might not be even 5 or 10 per cent of the fan-following that a huge star in our country enjoys. Whatever it is, I want to keep the trust and loyalty of that audience. In the end, I want to do my kind of cinema whether it releases on OTT or in theatre, that doesn’t matter.

These days people just take off on the internet as they don’t have anything to do besides making fun of famous people. They don’t know how humorous Varun Dhawan as a person is. His humour is very tongue-in-cheek. I am sure he meant that I have been doing off-beat, alternative films. He just framed his statement the way he did, and then you have these people sitting there on social media to pull you down. For someone who has been in the industry much longer than I have, it was very encouraging of him to say that. His words have been very reassuring. Once again, let me put it out straight, I don’t think what I do is parallel cinema. I think I do very normal films. It is just that my movies are a little different compared to the typical Bollywood masala format. That doesn’t mean they are parallel films, but are just regular films that anybody can watch and understand.

These days I have taken to photography using a film camera. The last few pictures I posted on social media were clicked using a film camera. You load a roll, do the settings, make sure the light is right, shoot and then develop the roll before you get to see the final picture. It isn’t instant like the digital camera we use these days. I find this process very beautiful. I began exploring this after Rohan Mehra (actor, son of Vinod Mehra) gifted it to me a couple of months ago. Likewise, recently my family got me a film camera from Germany, too. While that works as a way to relax and unwind, I also like to put on music and go for walks around my house in Mumbai. I like to lift weights, travel and watch a lot of movies. I play sports like football and cricket. I love playing both the games, but I don’t as I am scared if I get injured, it will result in my work schedule going haywire.

Honestly, I don’t know what’s the next thing I am going to produce. In the near future, I see myself only taking up projects strictly as an actor. Oh yes, at some point, I would definitely like to write something for myself. It is on my career’s to-do list for sure. I do write a lot. In fact, I went to college to be a writer.

Yes, I am excited. Let’s just hope that the delivery is normal and Sonam is okay. Honestly speaking, I am not good with kids. It is a new experience for all of us. So, let’s see how it goes.

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While his father, actor Anil Kapoor, and sister, Sonam K Ahuja, are mainstream film actors, Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor chose to not take the same path. The actor has been doing unconventional projects and is proud of the way his career has shaped up so far. “I see the same repackaged, rehashed version of most films. I find them really boring and feel all actors are interchangeable in that format (mainstream cinema). There is no novelty to any of it. It’s a cycle of the same thing, with a couple of alterations here and there,” says the 31-year-old, who was last seen in the film, Thar.

Harsh says there is no dearth of good content, but such subjects either get stalled or go to the “bigger stars”. The actor explains, “Sometimes, such films (movies with unconventional storylines) don’t even get shot. Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018) and Thar are the kind of films that make very little compromise in terms of creativity. That’s why they stand out.”

Since he is particular about the kind of projects he signs, the actor, who began his career with director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya (2016), has only done a handful of films so far. “I am not the kind of actor who has to do back-to-back projects. It takes time for all my films, because they are not typical Bollywood films,” he ends.

In the first 20-odd years of his Bollywood screen life, Akshay Kumar seemed content being the quintessential mainstream action hero. The khiladi tag that he earned pushed his box-office equity to an all-time high. However, in the last six years his whole attitude to work has seen a sea of change. Not content with just being the highest annual money-spinner in Bollywood, courtesy the three-four movies he does on an average, the actor has chosen to cover ground by taking on myriad roles.

A quick glimpse at his filmography, and you will notice that he has transitioned from action to romance, comedy to social films as smoothly as a gladiator. “It wasn't a planned move,“ he says. The actor is proving to be an image changer with the variety of films that he is doing. He explains that his voracious appetite for acting led him to films like OMG: Oh My God!, Special 26, Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty, Baby, Gabbar Is Back, Airlift and Rustom. “While I enjoy doing hardcore commercial movies and have a great attitude towards slapstick comedies like the Housefull franchise, I maintain that for an actor to increase his shelf life, he has to constantly dabble in genres.“

Talking of how the recent Academy Award-winning film Spotlight made the world aware of the sexual abuse that was practised by the clergy; he rues that in our side of the world, we do not take adequate interest in 'real' issues. “Airlift went on to become the hit it did. However, before the film released I don't think many of us were even aware that 1,70,000 Indians were evacuated from Kuwait and that we had a Guinness World Record for the biggest human evacuation. That wasn't the case with Spotlight. People were aware of the subject way before the film released and winning an Oscar is the ultimate glory for this film. When Hollywood sinks its teeth into something, they ensure that they create awareness of the subject at every level,“ explains the actor.

He also feels that post OMG, the film that focused on blind faith (people took part in wasteful rituals like pouring oil and milk over deities instead of using the resources to feed the poor) at least, some people have started to look at these practices in a new light. “I'm planning to make a sequel to OMG. The subject has potential,“ he informs. But of course, what is most important to him is not toeing the line. “Acting is challenging only if you keep evolving. While Rustom and Airlift give me the opportunity to play real characters, films like Housefull 3 give me the liberty of doing slapstick comedy and being goofy. Believe me, it is hard to do comedy. I keep warning people not to run down comedies because it is harder than you can imagine. I have immense respect for Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler because they have excelled in this genre. These films have a faithful global audience too,“ says Akshay.