Abhishek and Chunkey's Interview

Apparently it was easier for Abhishek to get under the skin of his character in Karan Johar's romantic drama 'Kabhi Alvida...' than J.P. Dutta's 'Umrao Jaan', a period film.

'Actors always bring a lot of themselves into their characters. At the end of the day the character is being performed by the actor and the character must therefore have elements of the actor. It's very important for me to identify with the character I play. Otherwise, I can't play him convincingly,' said Abhishek, who confesses he is bowled over by co-star Shah Rukh Khan's humility and hard work.

'When you work with him you realise he's Shah Rukh Khan not because he tries to be, but because he's amazingly good at what he does. I was bowled over by him as an actor and a human being.'

Excerpts from the Interview:

Why are you suddenly so out of the media loop?

It wasn't intentional. It's just unfortunate. I've been travelling abroad and in India, shooting. I haven't had the time to sit and talk to anyone lately.

Your plate certainly looks full.

I've always worked at this pace. I've to work with what I've got and deal with it to the best of my abilities. I'm still trying to complete one film before moving on to the next.

You've two acutely antithetical films - 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna' (KANK) and 'Umrao Jaan' coming up one after the other.

It's only after I did my first period film 'Umrao Jaan' that I realised how modern we tend to be in our everyday conduct as individuals. I had to try and forget my natural body language and demeanour and re-acclimatise myself. That was a challenge.

Then again, when you've a director like J.P Dutta saab, he guides you through any complexity. Interestingly, I came to 'Umrao Jaan' straight from KANK, straight from as 'Karan' in New York to Lucknow in the 19th century.

A very challenging time for you as an actor?

Apparently in Johar's film you play a character very close to your heart?

Actors always bring a lot of themselves into their characters. At the end of the day the character is being performed by the actor and the character must therefore have elements of the actor.

Karan knows me so well. He has used a lot of my personality for my character in KANK. But let me tell you, it's very important for me to identify with the character I play. Otherwise, I can't play him convincingly.

How was it working with Shah Rukh Khan in KANK?

Only after you work with Shah Rukh do you truly understand why he is who he is and why he enjoys his position. He's such a humble and unassuming person in real life.

When you work with him you realise he's Shah Rukh Khan not because he tries to be, but because he's amazingly good at what he does. My advice to any actor who works with him is to interact with him off the sets for a week before shooting begins. I was bowled over by him as an actor and a human being. I've never seen a more hard-working actor.

You seem totally bowled over.

I really hope I get to work with him again and again. Shah Rukh is an immensely generous actor. He almost concentrates more on getting the other actor's performance right in a scene than his own!

When I was stuck in a scene he readily helped me out. The amount I've learnt from him about conduct as a person and an actor is insurmountable. He truly deserves his superstardom.

And Preity?

KANK was our first film together apart from a little bit of work together in 'Salaam Namaste', when she was just lying on an operation table and screaming. She was no longer lying down in KANK. But she was still shouting at me. She's brilliant in KANK.

She claims you can out-chatter her.

With Preity it's a bit of an ego problem. Since I'm a very sore loser, I've to try and outdo her in talking. I love Preity. She's one of the nicest persons I've met. So I'm looking forward to working with her again in Shaad Ali's 'Jhoom Baraabar Jhoom'.

You're also doing the sequel to 'Dhoom'?

One of the plus points of doing a sequel is you already know the character. I play the same character. Then there's an equation already built with the crew. So, you automatically get into the groove.

The exciting part is to build a new mood in the given parameters. We can't serve the same thing to the audience. It's a new cast and a new plot. Hopefully, it will be much better and bigger than the first 'Dhoom'.

And Hrithik Roshan?

'Dhoom 2' is my second film with Hrithik after 'Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon'. He isn't just hardworking, he's seven notches above that. Through his hard work he pushes me to work. What's wonderful about actors like Shah Rukh and Hrithik is they aren't just concerned about their own performance but also their film. It's great fun just hanging out with him. 'Dhoom 2' is a party.

How's it working with R. Madhavan in Mani Rathnam's 'Guru'?

We got to know each other really well when I was doing a remake of his Tamil film 'Run'. I'm very fond of Maddy and his wife Sarita. It's wonderful to get in front of the camera with Maddy.

How's it working with Rathnam again?

'Yuva' was a turning point in my career. And all credit to Mani for this. 'Guru' is a challenge. Mani likes to push his actors. He likes to break conventions. He gives you a scene, then you work it out as logically as you can. He then takes it and flips it around completely. He likes to go against the grain. The actor had better rise to the occasion.

What's on the anvil?

After Shaad's film is over I'm doing a film with my friend Goldie Behl. 'Drona' is the working title. After Goldie's film I go on to Ram Gopal Varma's 'Sarkar 2'. Then I move on to Rakeysh Mehra's 'Delhi-6'. After that it'd Rohan Sippy's film next year.

You and Mehra go back a long way.

Yes, I'm very excited to finally work with him. Rakeysh and I were supposed to do our first feature film together. It never worked out. We've been trying to collaborate for 10 years now. I'm glad we finally cracked it. 'Delhi-6' is a very interesting subject.

My criterion to endorse a brand is simple. Would I use the product and am I comfortable endorsing the product? It's very important for the brand ambassador to have faith in the product. I believe in the products I endorse.

Are you conscious of your public conduct?

You've to be true to yourself in your private and personal conduct. We have to realise we've a huge responsibility towards the public. They look at us to set examples and we've to be conscious of that. Having said that, I must say I'm what I am and I behave the way I've been brought up to behave.

Copyright 2006 by MusicIndiaOnLine.com

Chunkey Panday uses the catchline from Pirates Of The Carribbean to proclaim his return to Hindi films... Excerpts from an Interview: After a long hibernation, you're back with two releases in quick succession, Darwaza Band Rakho and Apna Sapna...Money, Money. Yeah, and it feels great. To use the catchline of Pirates Of The Carribbean, "Jack is back!" It's almost as if I never left. (Chuckling) My younger daughter who's only 2 jumps around when she sees me on TV and starts calling me Chunkey Panday. Otherwise it's papa. The older one is more neutral, never openly showing her excitement. Being a comedy, Darwaza... must have been right up your street? It's a comedy yes, but a situational comedy and no one is intentionally being funny. There's a lot of the shock element. This was my second film with Ram Gopal Varma after D. In fact, I was told that Ramu was directing it but Chakki (Chekravarty) landed up instead (Laughs). I'm a big fan of Satya and think he's a fantastic actor. But since DBR was his complete directorial debut I thought I could bully him. But he turned out to be a real taskmaster who was very punctual, insisted on discipline on the sets and wanted the performances just the way he had visualised them. It was a 40-day shoot and for the first 15 days, he was a tyrant. The last 25 days we were the tyrants (Grins). So in retrospect, what would you say made the film memorable? The dubbing. It took 40 days to shoot the film and 120 days to dub for it because Chakki wanted it to sound "real". Everyday, I would tell my wife that I was going to dub for Darwaza.... After 50 days, she began suspecting that I was involved in a clandestine affair and put a detective behind me (Chortles). After 119 days, I thought it was behind me and actually popped a bottle of champagne. Only to be called back the next day. (With a naughty twinkle) I have this sneaking suspicion that I'll be dubbing for Darwaza... even when the prints are on their way to the theatres. I believe you were shooting for the film on 26/7 last year? Yeah, and after pack-up I found it impossible to get back home and had to return and sleep on the sets. The next day, I walked back from Goregaon to Bandra. On the way I rescued Aftab (Shivdasani). His car was stuck. I dived in and saved him. Yana Gupta should be thankful to me. It was my Good Samaritan act for the day. Are you doing Chekravarthy's next film? He's been quoted as saying that he's never make a film without me. But I have to still decide if I want to do the next film with him (Hoots with laughter). We know that you plan a perfect kidnap with your cronies in DBR that turns into a nightmare. But what are you doing in Apna Sapna ...Money Money? I'm playing the Pirate of Nepal, a Nepali guy in charge of all the watchmen. I'm enjoying doing all these interesting roles. Playing the hero is boring and I can't imagine myself being in love anymore. However, the surprise package of the film is Riteish Deshmukh. He's a master of disguises and plays an old man, a woman, everything but himself in the film. You rarely see him in normal attire. He's very good and makes a really beautiful woman. You're also doing Arjun Rampal's home production, right? Yeah, but I'm not supposed to divulge too many details about I See You. I'm playing a TV anchor. Arjun is a fabulous producer. I shot in London for a month. Then I was in Paris to shoot a cameo for Don. Who makes a better Don, Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan? I would have made the best don but SRK is a good second choice (Laughs). Amitji's Don was a cult film. But 25 years have passed since and things have changed. Shah Rukh is today's don. Don is coming this Diwali, with Jaan-e-Mann and Umrao Jaan... Yeah, and Darwaza... is coming between Omkara and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. I hope I don't get squashed between these two biggies. Don is not a problem. I know everyone will see the film. Those who saw the earlier film will come to see how different the new one is. And those who didn't will come for Shah Rukh Khan. Why the self-imposed exile? Hey, it was no exile. I was enjoying superstardom in Bangladesh. My biggest hit, Shami Keno Ashe Na did a business of over Rs 7 crores. Had I learnt the language they would have given me citizenship. But well, my heart belongs to India and I decided to give it up before it was snatched away from me. I returned home in 2002 and made a conscious effort to get back in the running. I got good reviews for Qayamat and then before I could say 'Jack is back!' I landed D and after that I've been getting a lot of offers. But now I've decided only to work with big producers who can deliver the product. Guys like Firoz Nadiadwala with whom I'm doing Fool And Final in which I play Rocky, a diamond thief. What's happening with your Hollywood project Shantaram? The original director has been replaced so the film has been postponed to next year. I have to do the film for my wife's sake. She's really excited about meeting Johnny Depp. You and Govinda were a hit pair... (Sighing) Yeah, but after Aankhen we have not been able to recreate that magic. Every success story has its own time. Maybe if we got together with the same director and churned out another cocktail riot, it could work. Govinda is the greatest actor in the world. Will you follow him into politics? I would only mess up my lines and get disqualified !