VS: It must have been difficult to find suitable actors for every character. How did you convince yourself that the actors you had chosen were best suited for their parts?
VB: I had met Sunil at comedy shows a few times, and then I met him a couple of times in public places like the airport. While talking to him, I had always felt he was a good actor. He has a theatre background and has done a lot of theatre in Chandigarh. He has done his graduation as well as post-graduation in theatre. Because of the actor in him, there is a depth to his comedy. Uski chichori baat mein bhi aapko chichorapan nahi lagega. It is very difficult because in comedy aap sabse pehle chichore ho jaate ho. That was amazing and I thought it was worth taking a chance on him.
These things take time and if the actor is prepared to give you some time, only then can you achieve. If an actor is very good but he cannot give you any time, then there is no point. My first condition was that if you can't prep with me, I don't want to make this film. Also, we had to use a lot of make-up. Daant kale karne hai and Radhika toh itni gori hai, to get her tanned was quite a challenge. I told her if she was even a little self-conscious, she would not be able to play her character.
Both girls were ready for that and I think all the new actors, the young generation, come with that mindset. This trend in the young generation of actors was started by Ranbir Kapoor. Even Varun (Dhawan) played the role of an older guy, and he did it so well in Badlapur. Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan... they are not afraid of playing older characters. A regular, commercial actor would not dare to do that.
Hindi TV Shows
Kumkum Bhagya
6