|
 After
Tusshar, have you found another partner in Abhishek
(Bachchan) in Bluff Master?
Hey, I never thought of it that way! But who knows
after Bluffmaster, Abhishek and I may become the new
hit pair, the way Tusshar and I came to be known as
after Kya Kool Hai Hum.
If AB Jr. is the Bluffmaster, where do you fit
in?
Obviously Bluff Master is primarily about a person
who bluffs people, and Abhishek plays that person
who has mastered the act. He leads two lives – one
with his girlfriend (Priyanka Chopra) and the other
where he goes about conning people. In the course of
his dual life, he meets a petty thief (that’s me),
with whom he develops a sort of teacher-student kind
of relationship.
Do we expect another comedy with this film?
I don’t see Bluff Master as a comedy. Actually this
is the first time that I am finding it difficult to
pinpoint over what kind of film it is. If you ask me
if it’s a comedy, I’ll say yes it is…but if you ask
me if it’s a romance, I’ll again say yes it is! The
film has every element that a good entertainer needs
to have.
But your presence in any film is now strongly
associated with comedy…
I’m happy if my presence brings a smile to ones
face. I have no problems about being tagged with a
comic image. Eventually if I’m given films to prove
otherwise I’ll do justice to that too. There are
directors like Ram Gopal Varma who see me in a
different light – he gave me a serious role in Naach
and in Darna Zaroori Hai the track is anything but
funny. Having said that, my body language in Bluff
Master is slightly different from what I’ve done
before. It’s about a young chap who’s too
enthusiastic about things he knows too much about.
Priyanka feels that Abhishek was the king of pranks
on the sets, and that you and Rohan (director) were
his sidekicks. Comment.
Oh, then she has yet to come across Ajay (Devgan),
whose pranks can scare the hell out of people,
(Laughs). Abhishek is more into lighthearted banter
and teasing. He never played any pranks on me and
treats me like his younger brother. Bluff Master is
my second film with him after Naach, and it was
quite fantastic. As a person he was the same on both
the sets, but as an actor it was great to see
Abhishek deal with different situations – he was
serious in Naach, but not so serious here. I always
enjoy watching my co-actors react to different
situations. Interacting with Abhishek is always fun.
He’s always been like a big brother to me. He’s a
caring guy and that’s what I like about him.
And Rohan, your director?
Rohan is not a hard taskmaster. He’s like a ghost -
I never see him walk around, he just floats in from
nowhere. He’s so soft spoken that sometimes you have
to strain your ears to hear him say ‘Action’ and
‘Cut’. But as a director he’s clear, quite
contemporary in thoughts and approach that will be
evident from his film, music and characters. He’s
open to suggestions, but never at the cost of the
film.
After dancing to a British track in Kya Kool Hai
Hum, you’ll be doing the same in Bluff Master?
This one is a Persian song – Boro Boro by Swedish
singer, Arash. I didn’t understand a word he was
saying or singing, but it was a catchy tune. The way
the song is placed in the film is quite interesting
as one thing leads to another in that situation. A
couple of lines are sung in Hindi and I remember
saying why bother to do that when it sounds cooler
the way it is. Not everything has to be translated.
You also met with a freak accident on the sets.
How did that happen?
Don’t remind me of that… We were shooting for dance
bar sequence, when the guy opposite missed his beat
and I got the full blast of the steel rod that he
swung in my direction. I’ve never been in a fight or
a brawl in my life. I’m a peaceful guy. I guess
things have to catch up somewhere where you have to
get beaten up. I now know what it feels like to have
a steel rod hit you right under your jaw. I was back
to shooting after four stitches and two days of
non-action. And the best part was to hide the
bandaid on my right profile. So we shot an entire
scene with just my left profile to the camera.
Don’t you feel the number of multistarrers that
are doing will affect your chances as a solo hero?
The multi-starrers that I’ve worked in have done
better than my two solo films (Out of Control and
Tujhe Meri Kasam) that make me believe that
multistarrers suit me as an actor. Besides I’m doing
the best I can with whatever offers I get, and I’ve
got a few from directors like Indra Kumar, David
Dhawan, and Rajkumar Santoshi. Now these are
directors that every actor dreams of working with,
and I am happy doing whatever roles they offer me. I
do get offers to do solo hero films, but I am not
dying to do them because I feel I won’t be able to
do justice to them at this age and stage of my
career. |
