I'm an emotional masochist'
Who works through dengue?
When I felt a fever coming in Durgapur during the shooting of Gunday, I got it checked but it didn't show up in the reports. I wasn't given the option to not shoot. Nobody told me that if you are not feeling good then take some time off but I was told that "Buddy, we know you are not feeling good so how do we make you feel better so that you can shoot." So I finished my shooting, came back to Mumbai and straightaway went to the hospital.
You've had quite a few health scares. As a hyper-energetic guy, how are you coping?
Whenever my shirtless picture appears in the newspapers, something happens to me. The first time it happened I had my back injury during Lootera, then shards of glass pierced my foot and now before Ram-Leela, I got dengue. I've been told to just rest and sleep till my energy levels come back. I feel as if time is running out. There are so many films I want to do.
Did working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali make you discover something new about yourself?
I like to believe I'm the ultimate Bhansali hero. Apart from the looks, that is " I need to be taller, fairer and better looking " but in terms of the personality, I have the craziness, madness and volatility. Bhansali and I come from the same school of melodrama " so when we work together, we combust.
Did Bhansali live up to his reputation of being demanding?
Sanjay doesn't like script readings, which was very different from my experience with YRF and Vikramaditya Motwane, who believe in extensive readings and finding the pitch during workshops. Bhansali makes his film on the sets. He keeps improvising and that's why he's a demanding director. He expects his actors to be on their toes and be ready to deliver whatever he asks for. He might take four hours to light a frame with the intention of shooting a two-page talkie with perfect dialogues but at the last moment, he might turn the scene into a silent one. I did over 50 hours of readings for Band Baaja Baaraat and got in the the habit of over-preparing, and here comes this man (Bhansali), who gives you two pages of monologues just 10 minutes before roll time and you are supposed to deliver.
So what sort of lovers are Ram and Leela in the film?
They are hardcore lovers. The premise is that it begins with physical attraction. You lay your eyes on the person and you feel you want to "do" that person. Ram and Leela are absolutely crazy about each other. The messed up part is that as strongly attracted they are to each other, they are from warring clans. They have the kind of chemistry where they want to rip apart each other.
Yeah man, I'm very susceptible to this feeling. It has happened to me quite a few times. It not surprising since in my line of work, we encounter a lot of attractive people all the time.
So how do you deal with it?
I've always believed in being upfront about my feelings. I don't play games. I just dive in. It's damn difficult because when you go all out, then you leave yourself vulnerable.
How do you deal with heartbreaks?
There is a thrill in that also. I'm an emotional masochist. I go in with the right intention. If someone breaks your heart, then they are the losers.
Tell me about Deepika Padukone. What is that one trait you want to steal from her and that one trait of yours that you want to give her?
I want to steal her composure. In the one year I've known her, she's faced many stressful situations but she's lost her composure only once, that too not in public. As to what I want to give her, it's really nothing. I would've thought my shamelessness and uninhibitedness but she's so uninhibited in Cocktail, Chennai Express and Ram-Leela that she doesn't need anything from me.
And what's next?
There will be Gunday and Kill Dil. Personally, I'm ready to get inked. Getting a tattoo is like getting married. You are ready when you are ready.
https://www.indianexpress.com/news/-i-m-an-emotional-masochist-/1183956/1
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