"I REALISED THAT I WAS IN LOVE WITH KANGANA WHEN I MET HER"
YOU COULD BE A STAR SON BUT IF YOUR DEBUT FILM FAILS TO WEAVE MAGIC, YOU'RE IN NO BETTER SITUATION THAN THE GUY-NEXT-DOOR. THAT'S WHEN THE STRUGGLE ACTUALLY BEGINS.
FIRST-TIME FAILURE CAN BE TOUGH TO HANDLE BUT MANY A TIME, THAT'S ALSO WHAT SEPARATES THE BOYS FROM THE MEN. ADHYAYAN SUMAN IS PART OF THAT BREED ' IT'S ALMOST LIKE HE'S REDISCOVERED HIMSELF AFTER A RELATIVELY FORGETTABLE LAUNCH.
He may be Shekhar Suman's son and have a diploma from the New York Film Academy to his credit but it was rather late in life he realized he wanted to become an actor. Like he says, "I was 120 kilos till a year-and-a-half back. I wanted to be an actor but one day, I asked myself if I would ever be able to give up food in my life.
That time, the answer was no. I don't think I had an aim in my life or was serious about life because I was just 18 then. I was young and had a mind of my own. Also, I knew that getting into direction does help because when we speak to the directors, you need to know what you are talking about; you can't just be blank," says the new kid on the block.
The makeover happened when he finally made up his mind. Once he got his focus clear, there was no stopping him. That's when he got his first break ' Kumar Mangat's 'Haal-E-Dil'. He tells us how it all happened, "I was in Mumbai when Kumarji (Mangat) was searching for a new boy and they had done hundreds of auditions with people coming from Pakistan and Delhi.
I was in a salon in Juhu (suburban Mumbai) and Ajay Devgan happened to be sitting there. That's where he saw me and called up Kumarji (Mangat is Devgan's secretary) that moment itself and told him about me. And by the time I went back to my car, I got a call from Kumarji's office saying that he would like to meet me and that's how I came in the picture, gave my audition and I got my first film," he reveals.
Sadly for Adhyayan, the film bombed. What was worse is that the young boy ended up getting a raw deal. The film was also a launch pad for Mangat's daughter Amita and another new guy, Nakuul Mehta. Both of them ended up hogging the limelight in the film; Adhyayan had a near-negligible part. Things became bitter when Shekhar Suman went on to blast the makers for having 'cheated' his son.
Even today, when Adhyayan looks back, it seems like an episode best forgotten. "I will tell you honestly how some people talk in this industry," he says. "When I was given the narration of 'Haal-E-Dil', I was told that this would be like my dream role. It was a shit role but they told me it's the role of a lifetime; that they are going to give me everything.
And I being so young, so immature and so nave, I probably fell for it because I had told my father from the very beginning that I would not want to take his help. He offered to make a big film for me but that's not how I look at life," he says confidently.
He then continues, "When he (Shekhar) had come to Mumbai, he had nothing so when I wanted to start off I wanted to do it without his help. I am very fortunate to be a star son and I am very lucky to have his name but that's it and that's all I want. In fact, my father had asked me if I really wanted to sign this film and all I said then was that life is all about taking chances. I spoke like this at 19 because I grew up early in life."
Adhyayan noticed that things weren't on track when he started shooting for the film. "When I was to leave for Ladakh for a schedule, I wasn't given the script for a month. I kept asking for it and finally I got it when I reached Ladakh, a night before the shoot.
I asked if the scenes they had given me were for the schedule and they told me that those were the scenes for my entire film. I had about eight scenes in the film and about 10 dialogues," he says with disappointment written all over his face.
If there were so many issues from the very start, he could have walked out any day. Why did he choose to stay back then? "I could have been a very unethical man but I am not one and I don't feel a reason to be that way because I was not forced to be in the film and I had signed it on my own will. And even now, I don't think I ever will regret signing a film like that," he states.
The failure of the film didn't bother him for long because soon after, he was offered 'Raaz-the Mystery Continues' by the Bhatts and that seemed like a new beginning. "My father was doing 'Jhoom India', a show on TV and Bhatt saab (Mahesh) was
a fellow judge. One day, my father asked him if he could have a look at my pictures when
Bhatt saab told him that he was looking for a new guy. He took one look at my pictures and started crying. He asked my father who it was and when my father told him, he said he wanted to sign me right away. I was called in the next day and I was signed for a solo film to be directed by Mohit Suri and produced by the Bhatts.
Then I was also offered 'Raaz-2' later. They told me that they needed to build me up so 'Raaz-2' will be my actual debut. When I had already finished working on 'Raaz-2', I was called in for another movie with the Bhatts titled 'Jashan'", he announces excitedly.
His father has always been known for his sarcastic and witty comments and was heard saying that the father and the son duo may soon be seen together in a film and probably even opposite the same heroine.
"I think that's great," says Adhyayan. "I think what my father has achieved in his life is tremendous and I respect him for that and I am pretty sure that we will be working in a film together soon. Why not opposite the same heroine? Even otherwise, all the media people and my friends have been saying that he looks like my younger brother," he zests.
Talking about brothers, Adhyayan had an elder brother named Aayush who passed away at the young age of 11 due to some defect in his heart. It's said that the two brothers were really close and his death was extremely painful for the entire family, particularly Adhyayan.
He gets emotional as he says, "Yes, I was very close to my brother and I was very young when he passed away. And my family is still in trauma. I am the only son now so I have to make sure that they are happy and that's why I started off so early in my life. Because all I wanted to do in life was make my parents proud. Whatever I am getting at the age of 20 is because of them. I just want to see them smile and be happy. I just want them to feel proud of me."
Shifting subjects, I steer back to his professional life. The time he has entered the industry is abuzz with a new generation of actors hitting the marquee. While on one hand, it's Ranbir Kapoor who's already made it big, there are also the likes of Harman Baweja and Imran Khan who are backed by their father and uncle respectively. Does he think he loses out somewhere since his dad didn't launch him? "I don't think so, though that's what fathers do," he maintains. "Tomorrow, when I am walking on the streets,
I don't want anyone to say that iske baap ne isey banaya hai. I am Adhyayan Suman and I want to be known that way and I am confident about myself and am pretty sure that I will do good Insha Allah. I have great people supporting me. I have my parents and I have the Bhatt camp, which is like a family to me. So I don't ask for anything else."
The debutant pauses for a while and then continues, "I don't give too much importance to competition in life. I just want to concentrate on what I am doing. I am my own competitor; I get better and better with all my performances. The moment I start thinking of competition, I start losing focus. Ranbir and Imran have done well for themselves. I just hope that we all do well in life."
More recently, Adhyayan has been making headlines for his real-life love story with Kangana. "I met her on the sets of 'Raaz-2'," he says. "I realised that I was in love with her when I met her." He stops at that when it comes to lady-love and then reasons, "As far as Kangana is concerned, I don't want to talk about my relationship with her."
Why be so defensive when they're not hiding their relationship? In fact, Kangana has always spoken about it. "I know we both did. It's not that I am saying that I am not dating her or I am not in love with her. She is a very special person in my life. The problem is that since the time this news started coming in the media, everybody has been taking about it. I understand the fact that I am nobody right now and I don't have anything to prove to anyone and I don't have anything to show.
But I promise everybody, that when two of my films 'Raaz-2' and 'Jashan' release, this will not be the case. Because I think somewhere it hampers you emotionally when sometime people say things like, 'All he has done is live behind his girlfriend and nothing else. He is not working; he is not concentrating on his work.' It really used to affect me earlier," says the budding star.
He then goes on to further explain his stance, "For me, to be written about my love life and to be written about as Shekhar Suman's son is not what makes me a celebrity. It's the films that I work in that should speak for me and then other things should follow. It's then that I will feel that I am a celebrity. Until then, I will feel that I am nobody and I will always feel like nobody."
Being involved with Kangana does come with its share of controversies. Only a few months back, when Adhyayan was clubbing with Kangana, they had bumped into Aditya Pancholi (her ex-boyfriend) who even threatened him. Later, of course, Aditya publicly apologized for his behaviour. The young actor doesn't play with words when he says,
"All I would say is that him (Aditya) coming up to me and saying all that was blown out of proportion. Honestly, there was nothing there and I don't want to get into anything. Now I don't know why Adityaji went on record and said something I don't know. People sometimes say things that they have no clue about.
Like the instance where it was said that I actually robbed a painting from the sets of 'Raaz-2' and people had to be sent to my house to collect it. We don't have any problems with him; I don't have any problems with him. Everybody is leading their own life peacefully," he insists.
So if he comes face-to-face with Aditya tomorrow, will it be an awkward situation? "No, I don't think so," he says firmly. "I think I am a very straight guy. I don't believe in making enemies in this world and waste my energies, which I can instead put in my work. So I don't fight with anyone."
The most recent buzz is that Adhyayan has moved in with Kangana ' into her apartment. How well has his family accepted Kangana because talks about his parents not being happy with their liaison did surface sometime back? "I have heard all this myself. See, that's what I am saying. Now you know why I don't want to talk about my relationship? It's because of all these stupid rumours.
Every time I hear one I'm like, where did this come from? So it's better to stay away from all this and focus on my films. That's what I intend to do," says the dashing dude. With his head firmly on his shoulders, there's no stopping Adhyayan now. This is indeed his second coming.
* BY Sunaina Chandran
Debate Mansion
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