'It's about brains, not brawn!' - Abhishek

'It's about brains, not brawn!'

Drona is behind him, it's Dostana on call. Abhishek Bachchan on being a gay icon and why he's kept his shorts on in his new film

DISCOVERY: Abhishek Bachchan has an elephantine memory. He can remember the last time he met you, even if that was two years ago, on a song set, while he was shooting and you were interviewing the director. So when Abhishek says, "Long time since we met", he's not being facile. In a cap ('I'm competing with Himesh Reshammiya') to hide his look for the new Mani Ratnam film, Abhishek is full of beans and bonhomie.

Last year, you were voted in as India's gay icon. You topped the poll. Did that take you by surprise?
Why? Why would it?

Because you're not the conventional buffed up gay icon.
I think that's your stereotype of what a gay man might like. Maybe you should ask them. Evidently you were wrong if I was voted last year. It's not about the brawn, it's about the brain! Yeah, that's been my excuse so far (laughs).

Were you flattered?
Definitely. Whenever you receive any kind of appreciation, you're flattered by it. Gay, straight, whatever. Anyone who shows their love and respect is more than welcome. Welcome with open arms.

How is it addressed in Dostana? Is it all just fun?
First of all, everyone has a misconception about the film. It isn't Brokeback Mountain. Dostana is a romantic comedy about three friends. Two guys pretend to be homosexual in order to live with Priyanka in her apartment. The requisite is only girls so they say, 'We're a couple'. But the problem is that they both end up falling in love with her. The homosexuality isn't really an anchor in the screenplay. It's a situation they fall into. Which adds to a lot of comedy.

It's been compared to the Adam Sandler film.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, yeah. That's untrue. To set the record straight, Tarun (Mansukhani) and Karan (Johar) narrated the story to me in early 2005. Even before we started shooting KANK (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) or that other film was made.

Dostana reminds you of Three's Company, where Jack had to pretend to be gay to live in with his two female roommates.
He doesn't have to pretend to be gay. John Ritter (Jack) doesn't pretend to be gay.

Yes he does, in front of his landlords.
Well as far as I know, they weren't reference points for Tarun. Once you see the film though, you'll see it has nothing to do with it.

Kirron Kher plays your mother and she has a violent reaction to you being gay. How do you think your mother would have reacted?
My mom? Definitely not like how Kirron aunty has in the film! My mom is very cool. More than anything else, she loves her kids very much. As long as we're happy, nothing else matters to her.

How was it having Kirron Kher play your mother?
Loved it. It's the first time we're playing mother and son — we've done Hum Tum, then KANK and now this. I was born in front of Kirron aunty. She changed my nappies (laughs embarrassed). She's known me since then. She's family, like a mother. It was the easiest thing on earth to play her son. I did no acting. I've received all her affection and blessings throughout my life. I've received her firings when Sikander and I did something wrong. We've been reprimanded by her.
When we were kids, we were all petrified of her because she was immensely strict. The coolest thing was the minute I turned 18, my relationship with her changed. She said, 'You're an adult now and I'm going to treat like one.' Since then, she's more of a friend than my mother's friend.

You have a nickname for her.
(Laughs) JK. Because all the villains in Hindi films used to be called JK.

You're big on nicknames. Priyanka can't live down Piggy Chops that you started calling her. What did you call John Abraham?
Baba, because he calls everyone baba so we call each other that.

John has said you two are going to get the hottest jodi award.
We better or they're going to be two really disgruntled gentlemen in the audience. I'm warning Screen already! And John has been working out really hard so you don't want to mess with him.

Did your scenes make you laugh once the cameras went off?
We cracked up throughout the film. In fact the only time Tarun got angry was when John and I couldn't stop laughing. The lines were so funny it was tough to do your job after a point. It's the funniest film I've ever been a part of.

Felt good to do a comedy?
Oh great! It's a fantastic release of energy. I had just finished intense heavy films like Sarkar Raj and Drona, so it was wonderful. We worked very hard, but it was young, vivacious fun.

The whole Saif-SRK chemistry took off after Kal Ho Naa Ho. How do you and John compare?
Oh, we can kick their a** any day. Any day.

Unlike John and Priyanka, you've kept your clothes on during Dostana. Are you comfortable with
your body?
Yes, why wouldn't I be? If the role requires, you should be able to do anything for it. I play a nurse in Dostana. John's a photographer who shoots on the beach a lot so he's in a swimsuit. When you see the film, you'll see that Sam is a guy you can associate with. Fun, loving, full of life, but he's in scrubs all day.

How have you taken to Drona's flop?
How does it feel? Very bad. Honestly, I didn't take well to it at all. It was a special, important film to me. I gave it my best and it's always tough when your best isn't good enough. There's nothing you can do about it, that's the truth. You have to make the changes and move on. Every film that does badly is a huge disappointment. Huge. You invest blood and sweat. You feel like you've let everybody down.
My grandfather once said, 'It's not important how many times you fall down, but how many times you pick yourself up.' (Brightens up) You've got to move on — here we are, here's Dostana. I guarantee you're gonna like this one.

You're one of few stars who has admitted to reading reviews to work on your performance. Did Drona's reviews help you?
Thankfully, they weren't overtly critical of me. The only thing I didn't understand (I'm not saying I disagree with) is why everyone said I should have smiled more. Guys, he's a person whose life was turned on his head, he was searching for who he was, he didn't have much to smile about. He was a reluctant hero. A critic said my performance was a single tone. I didn't understand that. But what that taught me was that the audience doesn't always see the character the way you do. My interpretation was wrong. Maybe they wanted a multi-faceted Drona. Maybe they wanted him more affable.
I care about reviews. Whenever you tell a critic this, they say, 'Yeah right.' But I genuinely give you all the credit for making me an actor. They told me how to improve. I didn't even need to go to my father who is a legend, right there in my house. I've put up stuff on my mirror, highlighted faults and tried to make at least one disappear with every film. Cancel it out.

You're shooting with Mani Ratnam for Ravan in the jungles of Kerala now. Not much scope for goofing around?
I have fun when I work! I have the most fun on Mani's sets. It's wonderful, it's like coming back home. I love Malyali food — appams and fish curry. It's not titled Ravan — there's no title. But I think the media is influencing Mani (laughs).

Your weight is constantly criticised…
Another irresponsible thing by the media. They seem to forget one fundamental
thing which is we're actors. They don't think of what film we're doing. Just because we're at a public function and we're not looking the way they want, it's wrong. When the whole world was getting six packs, I was putting on weight for Guru. I lost weight for Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, then put it back on for Sarkar Raj. Everyone said he's become fat post his marriage. It's insensitive and irresponsible. Three journalists told me today, 'You've lost so much weight.' Yeah, I need to for my new film! We need to alter the way we look.

Word play
Dost: Loyalty
Desi girl: Awesome song
Funny: Dostana. John Abraham. He's hilarious. He's got amazing, straight-faced humour. He's outstanding. John is a revelation.
Gay icon: John and me.
What, not Elton John?: Why promote him? Let's plug Dostana while we're at it.
Love: Unconditional
Priyanka Chopra: (Laughs) She's going to kill me if I say this but she used to keep complaining during the film that John and I made her a junior artiste. I was going to say, 'Junior artiste' but no! I'll get into major trouble with her.
Piggy Chops? No, she'll kill me if I say that! She's just told me, 'Promise me you won't say that.' Hmmm, Priyanka… quite a cool bodyguard.