Blast from the Past Thread #16, pg 128, epi 180 - Page 38

Barun the charmer

He€™s no longer Arnav Singh Raizada of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, but that role continues to define TV heart-throb Barun Sobti. In town to shoot for Mitali Ghoshal€™s22 Yards, a Hindi film by MS Productions, the Delhi boy chatted with t2 about quitting television and playing a cricket agent raised in Calcutta...

So, what do you like and don€™t like about Calcutta?

I don€™t like the humidity. I like the food. It is new for me. I have been to Park Street. That looks good. And Calcutta looks traditional. I don€™t think it is old school.

What food have you tried here?

I like shukto. I like the yellow dal a lot and the mustard fish.

When 22 Yards was offered to you, what did you make of the story?

I just got lucky I believe. I remember Samrat (Ghoshal, the script-writer) narrated it to me the first time last year in November. I loved it from the beginning. I play a sports agent (Ron) in the film... he is a modern-day boy yaar. See, I first of all did not know that you have sports agents, despite the fact that I am an avid follower of cricket. So, to know about the concept was exciting. There is not a dull moment in the script. There is nothing in the film that you will feel we have done for the heck of it. Everything seems a natural progression of events. That€™s what I like. I am not that kind of person who would do out-and-out filmi and loud stuff.

What kind of a body language will Ron have? Have you seen Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise€™s famous sports agent act?

I haven€™t seen that film but I have been told that we are not trying to make a Jerry Maguire.

What has Mitali told you about the character?

He is flamboyant, a cricket agent who pretty much does everything right. Sometimes, time is not that kind€. Mitali, what should I say are Ron€™s characteristics? Deep! It is way beyond words now!

[€œHe lives in south Calcutta now but has grown up in the north. He left north Calcutta when he was 10,€ says Mitali]

This is one of your first films and Mitali€™s debut. How are you helping each other?

We have done a lot of workshops. I have done a lot of scenes with everyone in the film. So, we think we are doing everything right.

You have had a successful television career. Your fans would have the same expectations about your films€

I hope people expect that and I deliver. Watching television is very different and drawing someone to shell out 1,000 bucks for three hours is very different. That€™s where promise comes in.

You€™ve never dreamt of a big-banner debut€

Yaar, if I was thinking that I would be walking down (the street) and some big producer would be like, €˜Oh! That€™s the guy!€™... I did not have that expectation.

Despite the success TV gave you?

I keep giving myself reality checks. I know that nothing is impossible but instead of dreaming, I thought hard work would be a better option.

Did you give this TV-to-screen switch a lot of thought?

No, it wasn€™t thought out. Even if films did not happen, I would have still quit television because it is gruelling. I don€™t think I can work for 12 hours, without break. So, it wasn€™t a very calculated move. And it wasn€™t for films that I left. I left for health reasons... I extended it by seven months. I wanted to leave a long time back but my producers did not want.

You must have got fan mails asking why you quit€

Oh a lot! It was remarkable because I hadn€™t seen such popularity of a character even when a show was off air. What I had heard and seen was out-of-sight-is-out-of-mind, especially in the television industry. People haven€™t done that to me.

Even that did not make you think twice about going back?

See, people perceive it this way that, €˜Oh! He is dreaming Bollywood now.€™ That is not the problem. I have a problem with the amount of hard work you have to put in. And if I go back, I can do character roles, which are not that bad. But then they are not given that much attention in television. They shoot for 10-15 days a month. If you are a lead and a hit, you are gone. You will be shooting every day. No breaks, no personal time. For my marriage (to Pashmeen Manchanda), I took a one-day leave. I got married in a rush. I chose not to give that life to myself and my family. That is why I quit television. My plan was to move out of the country initially. It just so happened that I started getting films.

Move out of the country and do what?

I could sell groceries! I don€™t have a problem. (Smiles)

That€™s brave of you€

It is not the first time actually. I am sure I will be able to make it if something goes wrong.

Your favourite TV-to-screen success story, in terms of role models?

No one€ see, I respect people, but the point of having no role model is that everyone has his own story. I don€™t want to think that if it has happened to him, the same would happen to me. I would have to carve my own path.

Coming back to 22 Yards, are you a sporty guy?

I am sporty in the sense that when I was a kid, I wanted to play all the time. Even in the blistering Delhi afternoon, when no one wanted to play with me, I would bang the ball against the wall and bat.

And it€™s always been cricket for you?

Cricket, football and now squash. If I am at home, I play squash every day. Sometimes we play five-a-side football matches. I follow Sachin Tendulkar. In football, I used to like (Zinedine) Zidane and Ryan Giggs. Now Messi.

We will have to ask you about your huge female following. You€™ve always had this kind of attention from girls?

It is not new. Every time this question is asked, I am like why?! (Smiles) What do I say? I am obviously not going to say that I feel bad. I am not trying very hard to charm them. I have never done that! I think that€™s the reason why they are charmed! (Smiles) In school, office (a call centre in Delhi where Barun worked for seven years), I was quite popular.

Have you ever been this crazy for anybody?

I have loved Sachin Tendulkar€

A girl, we mean!

Nahin nahin€ I am pretty subtle in my ways. I think my wife is pretty happy with what she€™s got. For me too, I got lucky that we got married.

Currently digging into: Curry and rice

A movie that inspires: Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar

Current soundtrack I love: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Favourite actors: Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan

Favourite actresses: Sonali Bendre, Tabu

BARUN€™S MESSAGE FOR HIS t2 READER FANS

Don€™t trouble the newspaper too much! Take things easy. Thank you for loving and watching my shows. Carry on doing the same. (Mitali: And please watch 22 Yards) Everyone€™s going to watch 22 Yards! Don€™t worry!