The Kai Po Che team talks to CT about their experience while shooting for the film.
Casting aside the post-Saraswati puja sloth, the TOI office woke up to a dozen hurried calls on Saturday morning. Finding your way in an unfamiliar city isn't easy. But then, men will be men. Even after losing themselves in the New Market crowd, Abhishek Kapoor and his team of actors — Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh andRaj Kumar Yadav — ambled down the busy SN Banerjee Road and into the TOI office — self-assured and oozing confidence.
Inside the cool confines of the office, it was a different story. The tale of friendship that their film, Kai Po Che, deals with, was played out sans the celluloid drama.
Was the bonding instant, we asked. "We had come to audition for this film and struck a common chord," said Sushant, Amit and Raj Kumar, almost in unison. "I couldn't believe that they didn't know each other!" exclaimed Abhishek. But wasn't it difficult handling three men? "It would have been far more difficult if I had to deal with three women," said thedirector, adding, "But filmmaking is serious business."
Abhishek's last was the award-winning Rock On!!. A narrative on friendship does excite the director, we gather. "Friendship appeals to everybody. The subject is rooted in the Indian context — the earthquake and the riots — all of which hit Gujarat quite hard. And here I have three friends, and how they get affected by these events," he said. Was it encouraging when Chetan Bhagat said that the film is as good as 3 Idiots? "I don't know why Chetan said that," said Sushant. He was interrupted by Abhishek. "There's no comparison. Chetan came to me with the story. I liked the concept. He is a best-selling author and is a hit with the youth. I thought I would reach out to a bigger section of the crowd with his message. When you read a book, you have a vision. Fifty per cent is taken from the book, and 50% is my imagination, which I used to enhance the script."
But unlike 3 Idiots or even Rock On!!, there's no big starcast. It must have been tough to pull off a film riding solely on strong content, we asked. "Do you know how popular Manav was on television?" asked Abhishek, pointing at Sushant, who with his errant-child look burst into an instant grin. "Amit too was very popular on television. When I made Rock On!!, Farhan was not famous. It was his first film. I'm confident of my actors' talent. Aren't you too from television?" asked Abhishek, turning to Raj Kumar. "Yes, I have a television set at home," he replied, as laughter filled up the room.
Abhishek admitted that he couldn't care less about making it to the 100-crore club. "I see so many mediocre films making it to the club," he said.
Three young actors and an award-winning director. Abhishek must have been a hard taskmaster... "Yes, he took out his Hitler moustache on the sets," said Raj Kumar, adding, "Jokes apart, it was great working with him." Amit, on his part, said thoughtfully, "We are grateful that Abhishek gave us this film."
Once thank-you notes were exchanged, it was time for Abhishek to speak up. "I'm paying them to say all this, you know," he smiled.
The cast may be young but they certainly don't miss an industry godfather. "Not at all, I have all four DVDs of Godfather," Rajkumar wisecracked, while Sushant asked with a deadpan expression, "Who is a godfather?", only to be told by his director, "The one who grooms you, gives you a chance..." A pregnant pause later, Sushant admitted, "That way, Abhishek is my godfather."
Kai Po Che is adapted from The 3 Mistakes of My Life. The mistakes may be for reel but what about real-life ones, we quizzed the guys. "It's a huge mistake eating these calorie-ridden pastries that we've been served right now," laughed Amit and Sushant. Raj Kumar, however, had an anecdote to share, "When I was in school, I had watched Ghulam. My friend and I were so inspired that we did the Aamir Khan-inspired Dus Dus Ki Daud on the railway tracks. Now, when I look back, I think it could have claimed a life." Abhishek, who has a "palace of mistakes" to his credit, said, "I don't regret doing anything in life." Amit added proudly, "If he has a palace, I have an ocean."
The movie also stars Amrita Puri. Being the lone girl on the sets, did she get bullied? "Pranks are played on those who react. But Amrita would never do that. She is a strong girl and a great actor. She was a part of the gang from the very start. She was like these three guys," said Abhishek.
The film will be soon be screened for Aamir in Jaipur and the team is looking forward to it. They have reasons to be excited. Kai Po Che was screened at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival and got a tremendous response. "It was screened to a fairly large crowd. For an Indian film, the response was huge," said the director, who is set to make a cut in Bollywood. And what better way to start than yelling kai po che!
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