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Interview: GAUTAM RODE
http://www.gmagazine.com/magazine/october2005/images/Gautam- 1.jpg
http://www.gmagazine.com/magazine/october2005/images/Gautam- A.jpg
http://www.gmagazine.com/magazine/october2005/images/Gautam- B.jpg
The 'Me' Man!
Women just love his company. Twenty-eight-year-old Delhite, Gautam Rode is a cute Punjabi lad who plays 'Me' in the film U, Bomsi & Me. Living in Mumbai for the past six years, he has made a name for himself. And is set to achieve a bigger one.
Isn't film U, Bomsi & Me your third film?
No, it's my second. I began with Anarth as an undercover cop with a starcast like Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Dutt and Preity Jhangiani. I have also done a movie titled Wow that was shot in London with director Raju Kher, Anupam Kher's brother. The movie is complete and I play the lead in it. It should be released very soon. That will be my third film. The movie is made by Spice Tree Entertainment, the very company that produced Chocolate.
What else have you done?
I began my career doing TV commercials like Close- up, Ruffles, Centerfresh, Lifebuoy, Toyota, Titan, and many more, not forgetting the famous Coke commercial I did with Aamir Khan (the one with the Sherpa). I've also done scores of music videos. The last I did was singer Abhijeet's video. Abhijeet the Bollywood playback singer! His album was called 'Tere Bina' where I did six music videos. The album got an award at the MTV Asia Awards in Singapore. I think that really got me international fame. After that I did two more videos including 'Chod do acchal' by Abhijeet on T- Series. Recently I shot for a video for an old Shammi Kapoor song that has been remixed. I've also done three videos for Agan Nigam Kumar's album (Sonu Nigam's dad).
Did you always want to enter films?
No, never! It's just that when I came to Mumbai I began modelling for ad films and that's how this career in films came my way. In fact, my parents are in Delhi and my father was a broker and a member of the Delhi Stock Exchange, so I thought that even I would enter the same line. But it so happened that he retired and closed his business. So since I was a B. Com graduate and didn't want to study further, I decided to take up ad films in a bid for survival when I came to Mumbai. I didn't have any godfather around to help me, but I struggled and came up the hard way. Soon people started appreciating my performances, my talent for acting and one thing led to another and now I am full with offers around.
What character are you playing in U, Bomsi & Me?
I play the character 'Me' who is known as Sam Mac Patel, a half Gujarati-half Punjabi radio Jockey who also wants to be a writer and a famous one at that. The movie is about three married guys, U, Bomsi & Me, who work in an FM station as Operations, Sales and Programming heads respectively. All three of us are in our first three years of marriage. The story revolves around how best to deal with conflicts in married life and with professional pressures. This is coupled with the fact that we have a short, pot bellied, bald and bachelor boss who seems to have all the fun dating tall girls and driving fancy cars, which we all feel is not fair. It's a really funny Hinglish musical comedy about three couples who resolve to solve out conflicts by exploring romance within our married lives. In short, you could say it's about relationships and finding love within marriage.
How did you bag this role?
I knew a friend who was an assistant with this film and he told me about this movie. He put in a word and I got to meet the producer and director. They showed me the script and put me through an audition. The next thing I knew, I was selected for the movie.
Did you get a chance to choose your character or were you forced onto something you did not like?
Actually, I was first given the script. I went through it and then asked them if I could play Sam's character (i.e. Me) and they agreed. In fact, it so happened that they had the other characters already lined up and were looking out for someone to play Sam.
How do you like your role as a Disc Jockey? Ever been one?
I liked the role very much. I have to be chirpy as a radio jockey and it's okay since I am the same in my real life. When I got the script I really liked it very much. We rehearsed for four or five days and then went on to shoot the film. The film is approximately 1 hour 45 minutes long.
You are also into television serials?
Yes. I act in a serial called Baa Bahu aur Baby (Star Plus) which airs everyday at 10.00 pm. I play the lead character. I play an NRI who comes from abroad and lands into a Gujarati family. The plot is all about how the family starts liking me etc. I plan to stick to TV serials for sometime until I sign big banners. Anyway, television serials are as big as films. It will only be time before I make it really big on the big screen one day. Let's see how U, Bomsiā¦ does at the box-office, then I'll really know where I stand.
Do you think it will be received well by audiences?
It's a cool film. There's a lot of hard work gone into its making. It's very light and has a simple storyline to it so it's easy to understand and at the same time will be fun to watch.
http://www.gmagazine.com/magazine/october2005/images/Gautam- 1.jpg
http://www.gmagazine.com/magazine/october2005/images/Gautam- A.jpg
http://www.gmagazine.com/magazine/october2005/images/Gautam- B.jpg
The 'Me' Man!
Women just love his company. Twenty-eight-year-old Delhite, Gautam Rode is a cute Punjabi lad who plays 'Me' in the film U, Bomsi & Me. Living in Mumbai for the past six years, he has made a name for himself. And is set to achieve a bigger one.
Isn't film U, Bomsi & Me your third film?
No, it's my second. I began with Anarth as an undercover cop with a starcast like Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Dutt and Preity Jhangiani. I have also done a movie titled Wow that was shot in London with director Raju Kher, Anupam Kher's brother. The movie is complete and I play the lead in it. It should be released very soon. That will be my third film. The movie is made by Spice Tree Entertainment, the very company that produced Chocolate.
What else have you done?
I began my career doing TV commercials like Close- up, Ruffles, Centerfresh, Lifebuoy, Toyota, Titan, and many more, not forgetting the famous Coke commercial I did with Aamir Khan (the one with the Sherpa). I've also done scores of music videos. The last I did was singer Abhijeet's video. Abhijeet the Bollywood playback singer! His album was called 'Tere Bina' where I did six music videos. The album got an award at the MTV Asia Awards in Singapore. I think that really got me international fame. After that I did two more videos including 'Chod do acchal' by Abhijeet on T- Series. Recently I shot for a video for an old Shammi Kapoor song that has been remixed. I've also done three videos for Agan Nigam Kumar's album (Sonu Nigam's dad).
Did you always want to enter films?
No, never! It's just that when I came to Mumbai I began modelling for ad films and that's how this career in films came my way. In fact, my parents are in Delhi and my father was a broker and a member of the Delhi Stock Exchange, so I thought that even I would enter the same line. But it so happened that he retired and closed his business. So since I was a B. Com graduate and didn't want to study further, I decided to take up ad films in a bid for survival when I came to Mumbai. I didn't have any godfather around to help me, but I struggled and came up the hard way. Soon people started appreciating my performances, my talent for acting and one thing led to another and now I am full with offers around.
What character are you playing in U, Bomsi & Me?
I play the character 'Me' who is known as Sam Mac Patel, a half Gujarati-half Punjabi radio Jockey who also wants to be a writer and a famous one at that. The movie is about three married guys, U, Bomsi & Me, who work in an FM station as Operations, Sales and Programming heads respectively. All three of us are in our first three years of marriage. The story revolves around how best to deal with conflicts in married life and with professional pressures. This is coupled with the fact that we have a short, pot bellied, bald and bachelor boss who seems to have all the fun dating tall girls and driving fancy cars, which we all feel is not fair. It's a really funny Hinglish musical comedy about three couples who resolve to solve out conflicts by exploring romance within our married lives. In short, you could say it's about relationships and finding love within marriage.
How did you bag this role?
I knew a friend who was an assistant with this film and he told me about this movie. He put in a word and I got to meet the producer and director. They showed me the script and put me through an audition. The next thing I knew, I was selected for the movie.
Did you get a chance to choose your character or were you forced onto something you did not like?
Actually, I was first given the script. I went through it and then asked them if I could play Sam's character (i.e. Me) and they agreed. In fact, it so happened that they had the other characters already lined up and were looking out for someone to play Sam.
How do you like your role as a Disc Jockey? Ever been one?
I liked the role very much. I have to be chirpy as a radio jockey and it's okay since I am the same in my real life. When I got the script I really liked it very much. We rehearsed for four or five days and then went on to shoot the film. The film is approximately 1 hour 45 minutes long.
You are also into television serials?
Yes. I act in a serial called Baa Bahu aur Baby (Star Plus) which airs everyday at 10.00 pm. I play the lead character. I play an NRI who comes from abroad and lands into a Gujarati family. The plot is all about how the family starts liking me etc. I plan to stick to TV serials for sometime until I sign big banners. Anyway, television serials are as big as films. It will only be time before I make it really big on the big screen one day. Let's see how U, Bomsiā¦ does at the box-office, then I'll really know where I stand.
Do you think it will be received well by audiences?
It's a cool film. There's a lot of hard work gone into its making. It's very light and has a simple storyline to it so it's easy to understand and at the same time will be fun to watch.
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