Priyadarshan's comedy is like none other…
"His comedy is known to be unique, it doesn't stem from only the dialogues, or expressions, and it comes from the plot, from the situation. His comedy is so rooted that anybody can crack up watching it. Even when you see someone cry, you will find yourself laughing. I was extremely serious, but people seeing me on the monitor were in splits. That's what makes his comedies a success. I have done roles with comic elements, but 'Chup Chupke' this is the first out-an-out comedy. "
Comedy is the toughest part of acting…
"After I gave my first shot for the film I was perspiring. That's how funny it is! Priyan has strong requirements from his actors, and to act in his films you have to be on a certain tangent; it took me longer than the rest of the cast because most of them, including Kareena, had worked with Priyan before. The moment I tuned in to his style, I was part of the gang.
The funniest thing about Kareena…
"An interesting quality in Bebo is that before an emotional shot she will be laughing and cracking up, the camera comes on and suddenly you'll see her howling. She's a complete natural. I am just the contrast, if I've to enact a serious scene, I'm in that frame of mind all day. In fact, I took a while to adjust with Bebo in our first film together. I got unnerved by her, I would be sitting in the corner and learning my lines, and she'd be chilling out. And when the camera turned on, she effortlessly gave her shot and walked away. That's a unique quality; very few actors are like that."
Off-screen chemistry v/s on-screen romance…
"I am aware that viewers have a lot of expectations from off-screen co-stars, but in 'Fida' Kareena and I we were not meant to be in love, I guess audiences' that and didn't get it. Hence, they were highly dissatisfied. Also the film had a negative ending, while we thought it was radically different, the people didn't stomach it. Our forthcoming films 'Chup Chup Ke' and 'Milenge Milenge' has more of what people are waiting to see. At the end of the day if a film is good it will be expected, if they don't like the film they will reject us."
Shikhar didn't surpass any expectations…
"I don't like passing judgments about a film after its release; sometimes good films don't do well and bad films do exceedingly well. Besides, another thing that worked against me was that I had three films in one month; for viewers it was an overdose of Shahid. Some went for 'Shikhar', others went for 'Vaah…Life Ho Toh Aisi', and the divided attention didn't help any of the films. The release time wasn't well planned; the last week of December is when people start holidaying and partying. I wouldn't watch a film on New Year's eve, so I can't complain if audiences didn't. I still think 'Shikhar' wasn't a bad film, John is a great director."
Your biggest fan…
"My brother - Ishaan. He watches all my films, even the ones that flop. According to him all my films are blockbusters. He's my ego-booster."
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