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Why did Boman Irani find it difficult to work with Vinod Khanna?
Boman Irani's next film 99 is directed by debutant directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK. Boman stars alongside Cyrus Broacha, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu as well as veteran actors Mahesh Manjrekar and Vinod Khanna. We caught up with the funnyman, who talks about stepping aside to let Cyrus take charge of the pranks, working with his idol Mr. Khanna and why positive thoughts are a much better option than numerology.
Did you give them any tips on direction?
See, a film is a collaborative work. The director doesn't just tell an actor to stand there, sit there and say the lines. We are not robots; we work organically. Before we start to shoot, we rehearse the scenes. I have gone through each and every scene with the directors months in advance. So when we get to the set, we have an idea of what we are doing. If we feel that it is not working out, we make changes. Nothing is fixed. It was an absolute joy to work with fresh talent from our film industry.
Tell us about your costars.
We haven't any songs. Why is that?
There are only two songs in the film. It is more plot-based. It's a thriller with a lot of tension as well as comedy. It's about betting and gambling. We are laying a huge bet and lives are at stake. Songs are very important sometimes but in this case, it is not what we are selling the film with. You should watch the film because it is fast-paced, has an interesting plot, interesting characters and is slick and energetic.
Does 99 have a numerological aspect to it?
I don't believe in numerology. If you are positive, all numbers sound good; if you are negative, all numbers sound bad. So if I say that number 7 is lucky for me, I am positive about it so it will work for me- my mind tells me to work in that direction. I am a believer of positive thinking. Numerology is not my style.
Did Cyrus and you play pranks on your costars?
I have not played any sort of pranks this time because if Cyrus and I both played pranks then the film would never get completed. I thought that one person only should do it. Because of Cyrus, we had to work an extra 10-12 days. With his jokes, nothing is memorable. I used to feel like shooting him with a gun when we used to work together!
You are working with senior actors Mahesh Manjrekar and Vinod Khanna for the first time. What did you think about them?
Mahesh plays this arrogant bookie and he does it with such calmness and style. He is so crude in the film but he does it in his own style which looks cool. Whenever he said something, we felt like laughing. For example, if I said I wanted to do something, he would say, 'kaun hai be tu?" and I would laugh. It may not be a funny line but he says it in a particular way to make it funny.
And Vinod Khanna?
It was very difficult for me to work with him simply because I am a huge fan and then there I was trying to play a game with Mr. Khanna. So before shooting, I would sit and talk to him for hours. I asked him about all his films- Khun Pasina, Hera Pheri, Inkaar - and we discussed everything. After that we got friendly and only then did I have the courage to play the game with him.
People of my generation found Vinod Khanna to be the man's man. He is a very sweet and humble person and treated me like a new actor; like it was his job to make me feel comfortable. He made me feel as if I was the most important person on the set and I think that helps an actor with his performance. It's the duty of an actor to make other actors feel comfortable and I thank him for it.
Boman Irani's next film 99 is directed by debutant directors Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK. Boman stars alongside Cyrus Broacha, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu as well as veteran actors Mahesh Manjrekar and Vinod Khanna. We caught up with the funnyman, who talks about stepping aside to let Cyrus take charge of the pranks, working with his idol Mr. Khanna and why positive thoughts are a much better option than numerology.
Tell us about 99.
The film is set in the year 1999 and it is about betting in cricket. When a batsman is stuck on 99 runs it is very hard for him and an emotional moment as they are just short of a century. It is also sad for those who have bet on him. All the characters in the film are like that in their lives; they are stuck on 99; they cannot score a century. 99 is about whether they score the century of their lives or not. The film is also set in the year '99 when the cricket betting scam broke out. The film is set against that backdrop. It's part fact, part fiction and pure fun.
Your look in the film is quite dashing. What's the reason behind the image change?
I look dashing in the posters and only in the last two or three scenes of the film. In those scenes, my character goes to bet so he grooms himself in a certain way. Otherwise he is just sucked into betting. He thinks he is intelligent enough to get rich so he makes a big bet put his money into a big bet and Kunal and Cyrus came from Mumbai for vasooli of the bet. Mostly he just gets beaten in the film. But in the end, he is dressed like that because he has to look like an upper class gambler.
Was it a nightmare to work with two young debutant directors?
I think it is frightening to work with two directors and when they're debuting, it is even more frightening. What happens is one will say something and the other will say something else. But in this case, they did their homework well before they came on the sets. One took care of the visual aspect of the film and the other took care of the dramatic aspect. It worked fantastically well.
The film is set in the year 1999 and it is about betting in cricket. When a batsman is stuck on 99 runs it is very hard for him and an emotional moment as they are just short of a century. It is also sad for those who have bet on him. All the characters in the film are like that in their lives; they are stuck on 99; they cannot score a century. 99 is about whether they score the century of their lives or not. The film is also set in the year '99 when the cricket betting scam broke out. The film is set against that backdrop. It's part fact, part fiction and pure fun.
Your look in the film is quite dashing. What's the reason behind the image change?
I look dashing in the posters and only in the last two or three scenes of the film. In those scenes, my character goes to bet so he grooms himself in a certain way. Otherwise he is just sucked into betting. He thinks he is intelligent enough to get rich so he makes a big bet put his money into a big bet and Kunal and Cyrus came from Mumbai for vasooli of the bet. Mostly he just gets beaten in the film. But in the end, he is dressed like that because he has to look like an upper class gambler.
Was it a nightmare to work with two young debutant directors?
I think it is frightening to work with two directors and when they're debuting, it is even more frightening. What happens is one will say something and the other will say something else. But in this case, they did their homework well before they came on the sets. One took care of the visual aspect of the film and the other took care of the dramatic aspect. It worked fantastically well.
Did you give them any tips on direction?
See, a film is a collaborative work. The director doesn't just tell an actor to stand there, sit there and say the lines. We are not robots; we work organically. Before we start to shoot, we rehearse the scenes. I have gone through each and every scene with the directors months in advance. So when we get to the set, we have an idea of what we are doing. If we feel that it is not working out, we make changes. Nothing is fixed. It was an absolute joy to work with fresh talent from our film industry.
Tell us about your costars.
We have a great actor in the film, Amit Mistry. He has three scenes in the film yet he has left a mark with just those. And he is so much fun. Then of course we have Cyrus Broacha. He has done films before and is great fun in small doses- only in small doses! Kunal Khemu and Soha Ali Khan are great actors. I enjoyed making the film. I mixed with the crowd to make them comfortable and so that I was comfortable.
We haven't any songs. Why is that?
There are only two songs in the film. It is more plot-based. It's a thriller with a lot of tension as well as comedy. It's about betting and gambling. We are laying a huge bet and lives are at stake. Songs are very important sometimes but in this case, it is not what we are selling the film with. You should watch the film because it is fast-paced, has an interesting plot, interesting characters and is slick and energetic.
Does 99 have a numerological aspect to it?
I don't believe in numerology. If you are positive, all numbers sound good; if you are negative, all numbers sound bad. So if I say that number 7 is lucky for me, I am positive about it so it will work for me- my mind tells me to work in that direction. I am a believer of positive thinking. Numerology is not my style.
Did Cyrus and you play pranks on your costars?
I have not played any sort of pranks this time because if Cyrus and I both played pranks then the film would never get completed. I thought that one person only should do it. Because of Cyrus, we had to work an extra 10-12 days. With his jokes, nothing is memorable. I used to feel like shooting him with a gun when we used to work together!
You are working with senior actors Mahesh Manjrekar and Vinod Khanna for the first time. What did you think about them?
Mahesh plays this arrogant bookie and he does it with such calmness and style. He is so crude in the film but he does it in his own style which looks cool. Whenever he said something, we felt like laughing. For example, if I said I wanted to do something, he would say, 'kaun hai be tu?" and I would laugh. It may not be a funny line but he says it in a particular way to make it funny.
And Vinod Khanna?
It was very difficult for me to work with him simply because I am a huge fan and then there I was trying to play a game with Mr. Khanna. So before shooting, I would sit and talk to him for hours. I asked him about all his films- Khun Pasina, Hera Pheri, Inkaar - and we discussed everything. After that we got friendly and only then did I have the courage to play the game with him.
People of my generation found Vinod Khanna to be the man's man. He is a very sweet and humble person and treated me like a new actor; like it was his job to make me feel comfortable. He made me feel as if I was the most important person on the set and I think that helps an actor with his performance. It's the duty of an actor to make other actors feel comfortable and I thank him for it.
Link http://www.starboxoffice.com/newsDetails.aspx?xfile=2009/April/News_20090407_34
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