Interviews

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Akki talks about Bangkok, his first love, his new show and about the many stunts he’s pulled off

Meeting Akshay Kumar in Bangkok is like meeting him on his home ground. He’s shooting for Rohan Sippy at his ‘second home.’ In between the shoot, he took a day off to promote Viacom 18’s new channel ‘Colors’ on which he is hosting ‘Fear Factor  Khatron Ke Khiladi. Akshay is very kicked about being on the small-screen. Here he talks about being on the chota pardah, his bonding with Bangkok and his first love action. Excerpts from our chat…

You must feel quite at home in Bangkok.
Well there are many more new bridges here now than there used to be, but you have to pay ‘toll’, so nobody uses them, so traffic is still the nightmare it was. The massages are just as superb as always.

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Do you fear anything?
I’m like the Fearless Nadia. I never take anything seriously. On second thoughts, I’d say I fear being put on a pedestal. If Mani Ratnam makes a flop, Revathy politely says where Mani Sir went wrong. But when my films flop, Revathy simply sends me a message saying: “A kick on your b***”.

We hear that you and Mani Ratnam share a great friendship…
Yes, we share a lot, including a glass of beer. It’s just that we don’t like each other’s films. If someone calls me Ramuji or Ramu Sir, I’ll run to the basins of the Congo. I’m happy being called by my nickname, Ramu After having made Aag,
people won’t place me on a pedestal for the next 10 years. Thereafter, I’ll remake Aag and that will ensure that they don’t address me as Sir for another couple of years either (laughs).

After Aag, do you think you will get financers to produce a remake of Aag?
I’m one super crazy film-maker. I’m sure India has at least another super crazy financer to pump in money.

Will Big B agree to feature in your remake of Aag?
Michael Caine has said that one should remake flops. Remaking Aag can be seen from two perspectives. One is like the spider who perseveres to spin a web. From another perspective, it’s like trying to straighten a dog’s tail. While making Aag, I had a certain vision in the beginning. Then things got tweaked around because of legal hassles. It’s always a problem to change a script during the making of a film. Then, there was an arrogance of trying to get into the one-upmanship business. I wanted to give a shot-by-shot and scene-by-scene interpretation. Mr Bachchan will beat me up if I suggest this remake.

MOST OF AISHWARYA’S FILMS HAVE DONE THE OBVIOUS WITH HER – CAPITALIZED ON HER NATURAL ASSETS. ‘SARKAAR RAJ’ DOES NOT PAY ATTENTION TO IT’
Looking at Amitabh Bachchan’s filmography had my mind boggled. It was awesome and awe inspiring. But most films had their histories and chemistries playing out as they took shape. There were many unanswered questions. So I invoked the genie called Genius. ‘Grant my request, let these questions be answered’, I prayed. He did. Midway, the bogeyman called ‘Bhoothnath’ scared me a bit (Bhoothnath was upset with tiresome media), but genial Genius made magic happen and the interview was completed.

SD: Was it for Aishwarya or for Ashutosh that you did the narrative voice over in ‘Jodhaa Akbar? Did you never feel like you wanted to be part of the film? Were you ever invited to be a part of the cast of the film by Ashutosh? What did you experience when you watched the entire film?

AB: I did the commentary because Ashutosh was over for dinner to the house one day and asked me to do it. But yes, the fact that Aishwarya was in the film was a welcome factor in my consent. I was never ever considered for the film, though who would not want to have worked with Ashutosh after seeing his body of work. Many perhaps do not know that he and I go back a while.

He played a character in a film of mine. A gang member in ‘Indrajeet’. We actually did some action scenes together.My reactions to the film after seeing it have been quite elaborately expressed in earlier interviews. But if you have no qualms about me repeating them I shall express them again – grand, powerful, socially significant and ethereal!
 
SD: It’s heard that you wanted ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ to be Aishwarya’s first release after her marriage to Abhishek? Were you in a position to make and obtain
a fulfillment of that request?

Resemblance with Smita Patil is a complement but it is not right to compare me with the legendary actress, says Chitrangada of critically acclaimed Hazaaron Khwaishen Aisi.”A lot of time people refer to me as another Smita Patil, which of course is a complement. But it’s not right to compare me with ‘one of the best actresses of all times’. I have done just two movies, so it would be unfair to put me in the same league,” says the actress.

“I believe this tag comes with a lot of responsibility and I am still nowhere near her. Still it is a great compliment,” she says.

Chitrangada, who is making her comeback from her self declared exile after a gap of almost three years with director Onir’s soon to be released Sorry Bhai in the lead role opposite Sanjay Suri feels that she couldn’t have asked for a better comeback than this romantic comedy.

“Sorry Bhai is a very different film and a very different concept. It’s a romantic and funny movie, different than what I have done earlier as serious cinema,” she says.

Bollywood is just one part of Indian cinema: Nandita Das

Nandita Das has been called a filmstar ‘with a social conscience, more keen to talk about women’s empowerment and human rights than participate in the glamour of Bollywood.

Das gets candid on her directorial debut ‘In Such Times, her controversial choice of film roles in ‘Fire’ and ‘Bawandar’, an emotional visit to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Tsunami, and the honour of being a juror at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Q. So when most people around the world think of Indian cinema, I guess you know, automatically Bollywood springs to mind. As an Indian actress, though, you don’t seem to want any part of the Bollywood, sort of you know, saccharine sugarness, do you think that’s true?