INTERVIEW WITH GAURAV KAPUR - II

Who : Gaurav Kapur
About : Channel [V] VJ and actor
Website: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1420605/

How it happened : Interview with Gaurav Kapur
Interview Date: March, 2005
Place: Cafe Coffee Day, Bandra, Mumbai
Pics: Interview Pics

Nikhil Taneja (NT) : In spite of studying for an Economics Degree in your teens, how did you happen to become the youngest RJ at that time ?
Gaurav Kapur (GK) : Uhh.. I was always interested in extra curricular. I used to do a lot of extra curricular ever since I was really young – class IV, class V … I did dramatics, I did singing… Basically, I did anything that would keep me out of class for long stretches of time. At that time, radio in Delhi was becoming really big; that used to be the biggest thing you could do at that time. So my friends used to keep asking me why I don’t try out for radio, since I was really good at stage and with the mike. It so happened that I had a contact at the radio station. So I just said, ‘Hey, can you get me an audition ?’. So he said ‘Yeah, why not ?’. So he got me an audition for a show. I made a tape… it took me one day to make that tape. I gave it to him and when I met the guy again he said, ‘Are you free to shoot tomorrow ?’ And I was like.. ‘Yeah, of course !’(laughs). I had just turned 17 and I was running around in my shorts. I was the youngest guy at the radio station. Soon, you know, from one show initially, there were three, four, five… I started doing plays and events and television and films… It just rolled on from there. And here I am today !

NT : Was moving over to Veejaying a natural progression from being a successful RJ all along ?
GK : See, when you are a performer, your creative satisfaction is when you can take your talent to the maximum number of people. Why does anybody indulge in any artistic endeavour ? a) To express themselves and b) They want that expression to be seen, heard, experienced by as many people as possible. So, from radio, the natural progression was TV. And I’ve always loved TV and had always wanted to BE on it. I got a call from Channel [V] once; at that time I was working in Delhi, working out a few deals with… I think, at that time, there were 2 shows on Zee TV on which I was supposed to do, but that didn’t happen. And those would have happened, I would have probably been somewhere else, doing something else. You never know how things work out right ?

So that’s when these guys from Channel [V] came and I just said no to them, ‘cause I didn’t want to move from Delhi to Bombay. And then they started talking money and I said, ‘OK !!’(chuckles). I was on the next flight to Bombay then.

NT : Apparently you had a spat with Preity Zinta during her initial years in the industry. What was that about ?
GK : Actually, we were doing an interview and the producer kept telling me to ask her personal questions. It was the first interview I’d ever done. So I asked, and she later got a little upset. Actually, she wasn’t very upset, it was more of her boyfriend at that time, who was a model, Marc who got upset. He was a veejay at Channel [V] and he had just been fired from Channel [V] and I was this young kid who had just come on. So he got really pissed off… and he started creating a ruckus. Preity was okay actually… I just walked upto her and said, ‘Listen, you know, we are not here to make enemies. So if there was anything you felt was uncomfortable, she will take it out of the show. No harm, no foul, it’s all cool. So she was absolutely okay. But when Marc realized that everything was okay, he started making more noise and started threatening me and all !

I met Preity like, six months after that and I said jokingly that ‘We are gonna do an interview with you soon !’. And she laughed and said, ‘Yeah, it’s all okay. We’ve all grown up now !’ She put it behind her within 5 days or a week. But it was actually Mr. Supermodel who had a problem ! Mr. Model boy got severely reprimanded by all because he actually abused the producer and she’s a woman and he used bad language, you know. And you don’t talk to women like that. So everybody at the channel took a lot of offense to that.

NT : When Shhh and Darna Mana Hai happened, had you beforehand taken a conscious decision to move towards the silver screen and that was why you were approached or was it the other way round?
GK : See, you know what’s happened in my life is that things have just rolled one thing into the other. But this is what I’ve always wanted to do. I love performing and I don’t care whether it’s video or television or stage or film. As long as I am getting to perform and getting to be myself or getting to state my opinion or even getting to play a character. And I’ve always liked doing acting; ever since I was at school, I used to do plays and things like that. So, when somebody recommended me for a film, I said, ‘Okay ! That’s good’. And the first person I met was Ramgopal Varma, which is pretty good ! I mean, you know, he can really psyche anybody out man ! He walks into the room and you don’t expect anything. Then he looks at you sideways, with his head at a 45 degree angle to it and he looks at you like that and it’s really confusing. You wonder that ‘Man, what exactly is happening !?’(chuckles)

So I met him and then I ate lunch with him. That’s when he was producing Darna Mana Hai and he signed me for a ‘key’ role straight away !!

NT : You were involved in a freak accident in Manali during the shooting of Shhhh. How scary was it when the car rolled down some 200 feet from an icy road ?
GK : Oh, it’s become 200 now, has it ? (laughs) Actually this is what happened. The story keeps exaggerating. It was actually 50 feet only (laughs) and then it became a 100 and kept increasing throughout!! Actually, it wasn’t 50 feet actually. Let me see… I can’t remember properly but.. I think it was more.. I think it was 100 feet, then it became 120, then 150 and now 200. By the time your grandchildren come, they’d be like, ‘Grandpa, you feel 3 kilometers !! (hysterically) Yeah, so I am still alive. I am superman (laughs).

It was very scary man. I was in the front seat. It was 7 in the morning in Manali. It was snowing … it had just snowed rather. There was sleet on the road and we slipped on it. And we were going down, and my only thought was, ‘This is it, man. This is it, it’s all over’. But 20 minutes later, I woke up, regained my consciousness. I checked everything, but apart from my shoulder, nothing else had broken. And that healed in about 6-8 weeks. So I was in Delhi, at home, while the Cricket World Cup was happening, relaxing in the nice February weather, reading lots of books, chilling in the garden, soaking up the sun, getting pampered at home and so yeah, it wasn’t all that bad ! I saw the first match of the world cup and the last match of the world cup(beams). So the timing was perfect (chuckles).

NT : You always look at the bright side of things, don’t you ?
GK : You always have to, yaar. You know, two hours after the accident, I was laughing and joking ! I remember, Tanisha’s mom, Tanuja, telling my mom in Delhi at the hospital that ‘Thank God for Gaurav. Because he kept us in high spirits throughout’. I was like, ‘We are alive man ! It’s a miracle!’ We made it out of the accident alive… it was a miracle! So laugh, joke ! Be happy !

NT : You must have felt awkward when Ram Gopal Varma apologized to you since you couldn’t be in the last scene of Darna Mana Hai due to date problems ?
GK : Yeah, that was very embarrassing (smiles) ! He said, ‘I owe you an apolgy’. I was like, ‘No, no, Sir ! You don’t owe me any apology !!’ (laughs). I feel that to acknowledge one’s mistakes is a sign of true greatness. I really think so. Because in life, we make good decisions and we make bad decisions. Now he was not told that I was not available during that time because I was shooting another film. On the last day of the shoot, when you’ve got 40 artists on location and cameras and everything, you can’t really do anything. So you’ve got to make a call and just go ahead; do it anyway. So he met me later and told me that he owed me an apology. And I was like, ‘Sir, for what ?!’ So he was like, ‘ I thought I could go ahead with the last scene without you and no one would notice, but everybody noticed !’. So I was gloating you know (laughs) ! It was a nice compliment ! And to tell you a real compliment, he said further that even a distributor in Bihar asked him where is that Gaurav. If he noticed, then, you know…

NT : Kuch to baat hai !
GK : (chuckles) Yeah. I was secretly saying inside that Sir, don’t apologize to me, just give me another role !(laughs) Don’t tell him though ! (laughs again)

NT : How did you happen to help the Diabetic Research Cell in Delhi ?
GK : Actually, I’ve been under consultation with them ever since I was diagnosed. So when they said that they are doing awareness work and that they have tied up with a foundation of Young Diabetics and they invited me to a panel discussion in Delhi and so I went there. They called me a couple of weeks later that we are setting up this foundation and we’d like you to be part of the board so I said okay. So, you know, I keep doing my bit, like talking to the press about or going and talking to kids about it, whenever there’s something happening. Because I believe that ignorance is the real killer. If you are aware about it and are knowledgeable about it, you can easily control it. That’s not really rocket science, you know.

NT : That’s why you had done a cover story with India Today about it, right ?
GK : Yeah, because the story we were doing was effectively about awareness, about telling people that listen, it’s all right… you don’t need to be scared. Because a lot of people are scared today because they think that their life is gonna be really bad after they get diagnosed. So even if they are diagnosed, they don’t tell anybody. So it’s eating up the system inside slowly. So this was just about telling them that it’s okay and to accept it and don’t be scared because you can have diabetes and still lead a normal life. In fact, you probably would live a normal life than someone who is absolutely okay.

I was actually quite amazed because a lot of celebrities who they approached actually said no. You know, I believe that when you are in the limelight or in the spotlight, you have a moral responsibility and if you can influence people.. uhh.. positively, I think you should do it ! If you are fortunate enough to be given that power, you can wield that power, then use it well. But some people didn’t. But Wasim Akram had been on the cover of Time in South East Asia just two months before that for this cause. So even I had absolutely no problem with it .

NT : What prompted you to sign an out and out chick flick called Kudiyon Ka Hai Zamaana ?
GK : Oh… it’s because.. it’s a chick flick ! (laughs). That’s very easy ! Because the boys are just props in that film, which is great. Kim and I play husband-wife, and it’s great fun because we had a blast shooting it ! Amar, who is the director, used to say, ‘What have I done ! Why have I signed these two !!’ Because we got along like a house on fire. And we just used to make so much noise on the sets … we used to create a racket ! So we had a great time together.

And of course, another reason to sign the film was because Rekha ji was in it. And I got to do like a couple of dance a few shinny moves with her (winks) and a song with her, and I said, of course man, why not !

NT : Is it a disadvantage that since people usually perceive you as a funny guy, when you go to spread awareness about diabetes as an example, they won’t take you seriously enough ?
GK : No.. I don’t think so. Like when I go to a restaurant or something and I tell them no sugar since I am diabetic, initially they think that I am joking !(laughs) And then I tell them that ‘No man ! Why would I joke about something so… bizarre ??’ Honestly, I think, for example, when I am sitting in front of you and you ask me a serious question, I will give you a serious answer. And when you ask me a funny question, I’ll give you a funny answer. I mean you’d know when I am goofing around and when I’m serious. And I believe that’s something which is in everybody. Even Jim Carry, whom I believe to be the funniest of all, is funny at times and is serious at times. And people know. They know when to take you how. And it’s not just with me, it’s with everyone. Even you, in a day, would go through a variety of emotions. You’ll laugh, you’ll feed sad, you’ll feel upbeat, you’ll feel emotional, you’ll feel stone cold, you’ll feel loved, you’ll feel… not loved (chuckles) ! You’ll go through a no. of emotions in a day. And people understand that. When people realize that I’m talking seriously, they take me seriously.

And I don’t feel that serious stuff is stuff, talking about which, you should go morose. You can talk about the serious stuff in life lightly also. So when I talk about an accident that happened and it was a near death experience, I make a little joke about it here and there to say that it’s okay ! I did have a near death experience but that doesn’t mean your face has to look like 12 o’ clock (chuckles). It’s all good. Yes, it was a bad experience, but it’s gone now, so let’s smile and carry on with life !

NT : Tell us more about Saturday Night, another upcoming movie of yours.
GK : Well, you know, I don’t know what’s happening with that film, honestly. I said yes to him in October and they said they’d start shooting in November, then it became December, then Jan, then Feb, and it’s just been getting delayed and delayed and delayed. And now I have got other commitments, so I don’t know whether it’s happening or not. And I was the first guy he signed and I helped him get a lot of the other cast also. But now.. (pauses)..I don’t know… I don’t know what’s happening on that right now.

NT : You have almost completed the transition from television to the silver screen. Then how come you have started working on a play called Life along side ?
GK : Well.. uhh.. well, firstly.. your information is pretty up to date man ! Very good ! (chuckles). Okay there’s this reputed theatre director called Bhushan Kriplani. He’s been a friend for very long. He’s also shot for Chai Paani, which I did last year. And he’s a very renowned theatre director. He’s wonderful. In fact, he’s my favourite. And he’s completely whacko ! And we’ve been thinking of doing a play together for the last… two-three years… that we’ll do something together, we’ll do something together. And we finally found time now to do something. So we’ve started rolling it. We’re trying to find another writer who can collaborate with us and do the actual physical writing.

The reason why I wanted to do a play is because I love the stage . I love theatre .. and I’ve not done theatre in six years now. So I really wanna get back to it. Whenever I get back to it, I wanna do something nice. There’ve been a lot of offers for plays but they’ve haven’t been that interesting really. I actually want to do a different kind of play. Let’s see how it turns out to be different… because we still haven’t done the script (chuckles) ! But I really wanna do theatre. And the thing is that we are gonna make it a max one or two man show. So which means that we can then travel a lot. I want to make it a monologue but we may get another character in. It will definitely have some innovations in it. He’s working that out. He works that out and I work out the lines. And if it has very few characters, we can take it anywhere … maybe even the gulf.

NT : You were also supposed to have been writing a script called ‘Make Me a Match’ sometime in 2003 but no news came in on that subsequently. Tell us something on that front ?
GK : It is still there, I think.. Because it is with the same producers with whom I did the film, Shhh.. at Cinevista. And then they lost some money on that film. So.. you know how it is… films are very fickle yaar. Ten films are announced every day and then twenty are cancelled the next and then another ten films are announced the next day and you just don’t know what the hell is happening. But that film is still there…. Maybe someday I will write a book on it (laughs) ! I don’t know.. The story is there.. it’s all in my head. I was actually thinking about it the other day and I thought that what if I write it into a book ? It would be quite a funny book !

NT : Your movie Chai Paani etc has been appreciated all over. How did it happen ?
GK : Has it been really ? (laughs) Actually, full marks to the director of the movie. He is just one work horse. He has just been a woodpecker through this thing. Uhh.. you know going though six drafts of the film, raising the money of your own… small budget films don’t have any kind of financial support in India. People want to pump in 10 crores for the same nonsense, which keeps flopping. But they still keep making it. People in India make projects. They don’t make films. They don’t tell stories. ‘I’ve got Salman Khan, if you have a story, tell me.’ ‘Arre… then how did you get Salman Khan ?’ Actually, even the actors are making a big mistake. If they do six films in an year, their star appeal would come down. Who would go to see their films six times an year ? People are gonna wait and see them in a good film. If you do films six times a year, and you do ten interviews per film… so in an year, you are on TV 60 times a year, which means 5 in a month, which get repeated and get played about 20 times in a month. So when somebody appears on TV every 2^nd day, if we can see their songs everyday on 5 different channels, why would we pay so much money and watch a crap film. We can watch you for 1/10^th the money the whole month on crap television (chuckles) !

So anyway, as I was saying, the director really didn’t have much support. Since he’s been around in Delhi and has contacts in Delhi, he had good show timings. But in Mumbai, we got completely stood over. The exhibitors didn’t support, the distributors didn’t support and generally, they don’t even support small budget films. But in Delhi, the film did pretty good business. How the film happened for me… the assistant director of the film, who is one hell of a guy, called me one day and said that he had a part in a film, which was an interesting part but a small one. And the office didn’t want to call you because they were very embarrassed so I called you. … And I like people like that. I like people who are enterprising. He said that he wanted to mail me the script. And I said that I was coming to Delhi that very evening anyway. So he said okay, and he landed up at the airport with the script! (chuckles). So he narrated it to me and he told me exactly what it was and he said that don’t worry, it is not like a Bollywood film. We are going to shoot it exactly how the script was.

So we had three days of rehearsals, it was a great opportunity to work with Konkana, who has since become a dear friend. And Zafar is a great actor; the whole crew was very young and dynamic. And I like first time productions ! Because everybody is just so there man ! They’re like 150 % there. And the character was very nice and colourful ! I really liked the character. And I believe that’s exactly how the youth of today is. They believe that ‘ghee tedi ungli se nikalta hai’. And they are ready to do that ! And I said that I pretty much live my life that way too; in fact, most young people do ! So why not ? He is a street smart guy and today, street smartness gets you further than academic brilliance. How well do you adapt your knowledge to daily living. So I said yeah, nice character, nice people, so let’s go for it !

NT : There was a whole hue and cry about the fact that even though Channel V were the official media partners for Darna Mana Hai, MTV had been endorsed indirectly in the movie when the concept of Bakra was used. Didn’t the channel have any apprehensions about that in the beginning ?
GK : Yeah(laughs). Well, honestly, they didn’t know ! And it was too small a thing, initially. I think the media just makes a big deal about the whole rivalry between MTV and Channel [V] but it’s not that serious. So, no yaar, it wasn’t really that big deal ! I don’t think it raised any eyebrows or ruffled any feathers !

NT : You have interviewed almost everyone from Jennifer Lopez to Rakhi Sawant. Whom did you have the most fun interacting with and why ?
GK : Actually with the both of them only !! Oh okay, so you asked this because you knew ? (laughs) Yeah.. as for Rakhi Sawant was great fun, and I’ll tell you why ! The thing was that a lot of girls who’ve done these item numbers cry hoarse saying that ‘No, I’m not an item girl, I’m not an item girl !’ Rakhi is simple, she was like, ‘I don’t know how to talk properly, I just know how to sing and dance so that’s what I do !’ I like people who have that kind of attitude. Don’t take your work so seriously is my advise. Take it seriously when you are doing it. Do your work seriously. Don’t take it so seriously ! Don’t take it like, ‘Oh, I’m this, I’m that, I am cool, etc.’ It’s all right man, it’s just a job. Do it well. Give it a 100 %. But when you walk out of that office, or studio, or meeting; leave it behind ! Then you are you as a person. Don’t bring your work home to your family, is what I say. Don’t do that. And I like people who do just take it light. Even all my friend, who are famous, take it lightly. Because we all know that if it’s here today, it will be gone tomorrow. If you have merit and you are working sincerely, that’s all that counts.

NT : After having worked in everything from radios to television to movies to plays, which set up are you most comfortable with ?
GK : All, that’s why I do all of them. I love radio, it’s a brilliant medium. Channel [V] cuz it’s become like family. I mean, I go there, and they pamper me (smiles) like… not even a son, but a son in law you know. Like they are seeing me for the first time ! Somebody’s getting me food, somebody’s getting me drinks, somebody’s getting me this, somebody’s getting me that… it’s fabulous ! And films are always fun, because we get to interact with a lot of other actors, and you have a lot of fun on the sets. Theatre is very therapeutic. I like being on stage, with that light and that ambience, everything. I like writing a lot. I write short articles whenever I get a lot of time. Because… (pauses)… I am a very opinionated person(smiles)… and if people are listening to my opinion, then why not ?(chuckles )

NT : So where does Gaurav Kapoor go from here ?
GK : Home ? (laughs). Actually, I don’t know, you know. There are so many thoughts, you know. Sometime ago, I spent some time away from the city. I was in Goa, living on the beach for a few days and I said that man, I’m really tired. I’ve been working in the city for 10 years. Maybe I should do this. And just come and lay in the jungle for like two months or three months ! So my friends call me jungle boy (chuckles) ! I’m happiest in the jungle. Maybe I’ll do that. Maybe I’ll take a break for three months. Maybe I’ll study theatre in New York. I don’t know.. there are a lot of thoughts. I want to study photography. I want to study theatre. I want to learn the tabla ! These

are the personal things that I want to do. Professionally, yes, these things keep happening. But after working for 10 years, and going mad about my career for 10 years, I think you reach a certain stage where you kinda go like, hang on ! Maybe I’ve left some of myself somewhere. I’ve not been attention to myself. I’ve just been killing myself over work. So maybe, I am going to do things I really wanna do. And it’s also work, you know. If I am doing a theatre workshop, or if I’m doing a photography course, it’s also work in a way… but at the same time, it’s also something I’ve always wanted to do. So maybe, somewhere later this year, I’ll do that. I also wanna direct films… yeah, I wanna do a lot of things yaar. So let’s see, let’s see what I do(smiles). But I want to, kind of, follow my heart.

I have turned 27 now. I’ve been working since I was 17. I am kind of having, close to, what they call a mid-life crisis now(chuckles). I mean, when I sit down and I evaluate my life, I say hang on ! I’ve been doing this, but am I happy doing this. Maybe I need to alter my course just a little. I don’t know… maybe I’ll quit Channel [V].. maybe I’ll quit television. Maybe I’ll just write… I don’t know… but I do know that in the next few years, my professional life and my personal life are both gonna have some major deviations. I know that for a fact !

INTERVIEW WITH GAURAV KAPOOR - II

Favourite pick up line : I don’t have a favourite pick up line. If I want to talk to a girl, I’d go up and talk to her. It’s as simple as that. I’d normally end up saying something.. clever (chuckles). But not something too clever, or I’ll end up looking like an ass (laughs). I am sure even girls prefer something casual. They’re all tired of listening to pick up lines. So they don’t want to hear things like, ‘Did it hurt falling from heaven, you angel ?’ (laughs). People who use pick up lines like that should be beaten up. They have spoilt the name of all guys in this world !

Best pick up line used on you : (Instantly) How much ? (winks) ‘I wont charge you a thing baby !’ (laughs).

Weirdest thing you’ve done : (Thinks.. ) When I went diving in Malaysia without training. It was weird and stupid. Yeah… stupidly weird (chuckles). I got nose problems and the pressure was killing me. It was stupid.

Weirdest thing the channel has made you do : (laughs) Everyday !! Everyday, man ! It’s just every shoot man ! I mean… how much, really, how much can you take (laughs) ? Really, I’m gonna write a book on this some day. They’ve made me do some really bizarre stuff, man. The weirdest things I have done are cable operator visits. You know, going to cable operators and make sure that Channel [V] stays in the top 20 channels in the transmission. You know, going to cable operators, shaking their hands, clicking pictures with their families, and the likes (chuckles). Weird.

One thing you want but don’t have : (Pauses) … A summer home in the hills. I really want that, yeah ! A summer home in the hills with large windows, overlooking a valley, where I can just, sit and write.

One thing you have but don’t want : (Pauses again) …Carelessness. I am very careless. I am butter fingers. I keep dropping things. That’s a major problem with me.

One thing that always makes you laugh : Jerry Lewis… the actor ? Always makes me laugh !

One thing that always makes you cry : Looking the mirror everyday (chuckles) ! Makes me cry man… because I go like, ‘Wow ! So much beauty in this world’ So I start crying !

One prank you played that you can never forget : There are two pranks I remember very well. There was this one prank I played on this actress Pooja, who was in Uff Kya Jadoo Mohabbat Hai… Uff Jadooo Mohabbat Kya…Uff Mohabbat ka Jadoo… or something like that. Why cant they have simple names man (laughs) ! One was on our show phonebooth, where I call her in five different voices. I played like this credit card guy in Australia who’s like, your credit card has been stolen and there is a first class ticket, Mumbai-London-Delhi on British Airways for One lakh, thirty five thousand. And she just freaked out ! She started calling her mom and asking her about her credit card and everything ! And her mom was in the prank, so it was quite funny !

Another thing I did was once, when we were shooting in Manali for Shhh… I had a co star who went to the market and brought some condoms. And what we did was, we took some shaving foam and put it in the condoms and put it on everybody’s door knobs(laughs). But Dino Morea knew we were doing this. So for him, we put it on the shower. He thought it was pretty cool that he hadn’t come across it. So the next morning when he went for a shower, you know there is this 2 second delay before the shower hits you ? The two became three, then four… and Dino looked up to see what was wrong. (Gives a dramatic pause) And the whole thing just burst in his face !

One prank you’d like to forget : None actually ! All the pranks I’ve played have been pretty successful. Only one or two backfired a bit. Only sometimes is it that the person doesn’t take the bait (laughs). You feel really stupid then. But most of the pranks I’ve played have been pretty elaborate. So it’s been good fun. I played a prank on Neeraj once, of Bombay Vikings. After three times, he stopped taking the calls ! So I was like, ‘Man ! This is so stupid !’ (laughs). But then I called him up on his manager’s phone, so the prank still kind of worked !

But you know, a couple of pranks on me have backfired ! Like people have tried to play a prank on me, but I’ve caught on ! Actually, when I was a kid, I fancied being a detective (mischievously)… I used to play hide and seek like that too ! Even when I was looking for them, I’d shadow them and I’d hide (laughs) ! They’d be like, ‘You were supposed to be looking for us and you are hiding !’ So I would actually wait for them to look out for me and catch them !(laughs again).

© Nikhil Taneja (nikhiltaneja@gmail.com)