Who : Akshaye Khanna
About : One of the better actors in India
Website: http://allaboutakshaye.blogspot.com/ (Fan Site)
How it happened : Interview with Akshaye Khanna
Interview Date: June, 2007
Place: N/A (Interview taken over phone)
Pics: None
Akshaye Khanna has a reputation of not being a journalist’s idea of a perfect interview. Media shy and self confessedly reserved, I had imagined a very lackluster and brief interview. But when I finally got to speak to the man who created magic in Dil Chahta Hai, who was the best thing about movies like Salaam-E-Ishq and Taal, it was, in fact, he who put me to ease with his relaxed conversational style. Akshaye Khanna is no doubt, a huge star in the Hindi Film Industry, but when he talks, he is not Akhaye Khanna the celebrity, he is Akshaye Khanna, the person. And that is the best thing about him! Of course, he begs to differ. But with no starry air, no tantrums, not even the mandatory delaying the interview by a couple of hours, Akshaye Khanna was a pleasure to talk to when I chatted with him about his upcoming movies, Naqaab and Gandhi, My father. Exhibiting a rather sweet and childlike enthusiasm when he talks about his movies, here’s Akshaye, straight from the heart…
Akshaye Khanna (AK) : Uhh… Wonderful (smiles)! It’s been a very rewarding experience. I think for me, just to be a working actor is what’s important. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. And just to be given the opportunity to do it, is to me the most gratifying part of the job. And there’ve been ups and downs, of course. But on the whole, it’s been a very, very, very reward
ing and interesting experience.
NT : Tell us something about your character in Naqaab
AK : In Naqaab, I’m playing a struggling actor. Just a city-boy who wants to become an actor, and what he goes through to kind of, achieve that. But what is important to a film like Naqaab is not really characterizations of the various actors, what is more important is really the plot. You see, the film is plot driven, not character driver. This film, being a thriller, is very a much a plot driver film.
are regular, day to day characters. But what happens in their lives and what happens to these characters, is the most interesting thing about the film. If I just tell you about the characters, then the film does not sound that interesting, because they are all very day to day characters, nothing extraordinary about them. But what happens to their lives is what makes the film extraordinary.
AK : I think primarily I would have to say their work. I really enjoy watching their movies. They are very stylish directors and they are very, uhh, they are very audience friendly directors, if you understand what I’m saying. They’ve got a very good understanding of the pulse of the audience. And I feel, every
movie that they make, they make keeping the audience in mind, which you know, is very important. So that is something I really admire in them. Because they are commercial, you see. They are commercial directors. They are not art house cinema directors. They make films that they feel that the audience will enjoy. They make entertaining films. They mostly make thrillers but at the end of the day, you can’t say that Abbas Mustaan films are not entertaining. They entertain you, which is very important. And for me, as an actor, I kind of, enjoy working with them a lot. They treat their actors with a lot of respect. They treat them like children, you know. They really love them and really take care of them. And you see all Abbas Mustan films, always their actors have very strong roles. They always give their actors things to do. They always give them interesting roles, they give them interesting parts. And they’ve always, I think, with me or with all the other actors, they’ve done this. For the other actors also, you’d hear about doing this. And thirdly, I would say, it’s the relationship that we have as an actor-director and also our personal relationship. We get along very wel
l. And also, we’ve done successful films in the past. So, you know, you kind of, develop a very storng personal bond also, over time. So it’s always fun to work with them. I would hope that they’d keep offering me films as long as I’m an actor (smiles). Yeah, yeah, I would love to do at least one film an year with Abbas Mustaan. (smiles some more).
AK : I think she’s done as good as a job as any actress today in the industry could’ve done. She’s done a really good job. Of course, primarily, because of Abbas Mustaan. They’ve really worked on her and have really moulded her performance to what was required. But the requirement of the script for the leading lady was to
not have a kind of image in the mind of the audience, if you understand what I’m saying. We needed a fresh face. We needed a girl who people have no fixed notions about. That was the requirement of the script. So that is what we went with. And Tips already had this girl, she had done a music video for them. They suggested her to Abbas Mustan, who did a lot of tests on her, you know; make up test, acting test, this test, that test, before they actually took her. So she really suits the role and she’s done a very fine job, I think. In fact, even when I saw the film, I never felt in any scene or in any place in the film that this girl is new or she is raw, or she is trying, you know. I found her performance to be very natural. She’s not raw, she may be new, but she’s not raw. There’s a difference, you know. I think that is a very interesting combination. I think people after this film will quite like her.
ng thing about Naqaab that makes it the most shocking thriller of 2007?
AK : Uhh… I would say, the unpredictability of the script. You see, in any good thriller, you should always be guessing what is the next twist. And you know, your guesses should not be right! Because that makes the script unpredictable. So the shock element of the picture is in the twists and turns. And also the characters. You see, the tagline we’ve given is Disguised Intentions. Basically what that means is that we meet so many people in day to day life and we take them for face life. And sometim
es, not always, but sometimes it happens that people are not what they appear to be. So that is what the movie is all about, it’s about people who are not what they a
ppear to be. And our film provides a deeper look into these people. I think that is what is shocking.
AK : I love actors, basically. I love being around actors, I love having camaraderie, which is always more fun for me to work with a lot of people on the sets as opposed to being all alone all the time, you know. And I get along with all my costars, I’ve never had a problem with any of them, quite frankly. And they’re all my friends. So it’s lovely, you know, to have people on the sets. People you enjoy working with, who you respect and admire, and who are also your friends at the end of the day. So it’s really great that way.
are any interesting moments with the readers?
AK : Not really. It’s been quite a regular on the sets of Naqaab. In fact, there are a very few actors who play pranks on people. Filmmaking is a very serious business. Although there are some actors like Suneil Shetty and these kind of people, who basically like to play pranks on people. I think generally filmmaking, on the sets, on location, You can’t really afford to (chuckles), play pranks on the sets. It’s too serious there.
NT : How easy or difficult was it to cope up with the salsa number in Naqaab considering that Urvashi Sharma is a trained dancer?
AK : See, we dance in every movie! And, sometimes they make you dance in a certain style, sometimes they make you dance in a different style. I mean, I am not a very good dancer, but I’ve always felt that if you could just enjoy it; if you enjoy what you do, even if you are not perfect 100%, you are just 70% or 80% good at it but you are enjoying it, then people also enjoy it with you. So that’s how I approach my dances.
very carefully. What attracts you to a role?
AK : Actually, my choices are very instinctive. By God’s grace, I’ve got very good scripts. But when I read something, I instinctively say yes or no. It’s really a decision from my heart, I don’t give it too much thought. Whenever I find myself thinking about a script, or thinking whether to do a film or not to do a film, then I never do it. Because if I have to think for a reason to do it, then I shouldn’t be doing it at all. Because it should be clear to me that I have to do this movie.
AK : Achha, you think it’s generating a p
ositive buzz?
NT : Yeah, definitely. In fact, I have read in many places that it’s not only generating a positive buzz, it is in fact generating an Oscar buzz. It is being touted as
NT : Definitely! The promos are very touching actually. Very endearing.
! He had four sons, and people don’t know that. So, this story, from that point of view, is extremely interesting. And extremely new for people, I feel. And at the same time, it is not about Gandhi, the father of the nation. It’s about a father. It’s a father-son love story, I can say. It’s a l
ove story between a father and a son. And you know, it’s an absolutely amazing story! Very interesting. And very, I think, very contemporary also. You see, the emotions we are talking about here, are not emotions that can ever become outdated. So it’s very contemporary and I think, everybody would be able to relate to it.
riod movie, it’s only the make up and the sets and the costumes that is really different. Otherwise everything else is the same. So that is the only difference. The look of the film is very authentic. So we just worked really hard, everybody in the team, to make sure that every part, every aspect of the film is authentic in every department.
AK : See, because he is an unknown character; no one knows anything about him - No one knows how he looked, how he talked, how he walked. So, for me, I didn’t have to do much research. Because nobody had a reference point, you see. If I was playing Gandhi, then I’d have had to do a hell of a lot of research and a hell of a lot of practice! So I just had to take the material in front of me and deliver it as honestly as possibly as I could. So that was really the effort from me. Of course, the actors who play Gandhi and Kasturba have a much tougher job than me.
AK : I think it’s one of the best performances by any Indian actress in the history of Indian cinema. And I wouldn’t be saying that lightly, I really believe it. It is a performance that is.. I mean, I cannot even begin to describe it. Both Gandhi and Kasturba. You see, after Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, it is very difficult to match up to it because a very high standard has already been set. So that was also, you know, a daunting factor for any actor who’d play Gandhi. But, in spite of that, to come up with a performance like what he’s done is something miraculous. It’s unbelievable.
it.
AK : Yeah, even I’ve heard of it, but it’s not true. He’s not seen the movie. He’s just seen the trailers of the movie and he was blown away by them!
AK : I am just playing a guest appearance in that movie. But it’s wonderful, yaar. She’s like a treat for any actor. You know, like you give a chocolate to a little child or give an ice cream and he gets excited, it’s the same way for us actors (chuckles)! We feel exactly like that. She’s wonderful, she’s in wonderful form, she’s looking great, but there’s still time for that movie.
d to. What do you think went wrong?
AK : Uhh, you see, when I saw the picture, I loved it. I think it’s very difficult to analyse, but I personally feel that the length went against the movie. People found it just too long. And And I find it for the first time, people who were exposed to the multiple stories that were going on, from what I hear and from the people who I’ve spoken to, I believe people had difficulty digesting them. They decided there were too many stories going on and there were always a couple of the stories they couldn’t relate to. Different people couldn’t relate to different stories. It was not universal. Maybe if the film was half an hour, 45 mins shorter with a couple less stories, it would have been a blockbuster.
AK : Nothing is finalized yet. We
are still working on the script, so can’t really say much about it.
AK : Future projects, we’
ll talk about them in the future na! Race is releasing towards the end of the year and for Shortcut, I haven’t even started shooting. So we can have another chat later, when it’s releasing.
AK : It’s my work, I think. At this point of my life, my work is everything right now
in my life. It just gives me a lot of satisfaction, it is the greatest high for me in life. As I said in the beginning of the interview, just to be allowed to work as an actor and you know, to do good work with good people that’s the best thing about my life (chuckles).
© Nikhil Taneja (nikhiltaneja@gmail.com)
1 comment:
Thanks for the interview. It was great. Wondering if you have any snaps of the interview as you have of Shahrukh. Keep up the good work.
Post a Comment