Farhan Akhtar's Big Interview

 Acting should be beyond physical traits and personal stunts.

Says Farhan Akhtar as he sets on his mark to sprint towards a new horizon

Afsana Ahmed

Years ago when Bandra’s Bandstand was still virgin, a barefooted little boy would race down the long stretch everyday blissfully enjoying his fun-filled freedom. But a family doctor whose clinic was down the road would spoil his adventures by catching and handing him over to his parents.

Who then would have predicted that more than three decades later the thin and short little boy who has now positioned himself as the pioneering voice in contemporary Indian film would be picked up to front a very ambitious project about the famous sprinter called Milkha Singh? But director Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra’s decision to cast Farhan Akhtar is already yielding good response from trade as well as the public who are eagerly waiting for Farhan’s next,Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The film apparently has a strong emotional connect.

As he readies for its release we meet him at his plush Bandra bungalow done up by his lovely wife Adhuna Akhtar for a candid chat. Excerpts:

  Why is this movie more special than the rest of the film you’ve done so far?

All the movies I choose to do are very special to me. But this film is rare opportunity. Usually when you create characters for a certain film it’s about making the character on your own as there is no reference point. But in this case, there is a very strong reference point and you cannot go wrong in any ways. You got to adapt to it as precisely as you can and that requires tremendous focus. Such opportunities do not come so often.

Before you became an actor, did you also have to go through the usual grind of perfecting yourself to face the camera by taking stunt/dancing/acting and horse-riding classes?

I think that time is slowly passing where one has to be groomed perfectly to face the camera. And we should be very thankful for it. Acting should be beyond physical traits and personal stunts. Having said this, I remember being bitten by a fitness bug at the end of my film Lakshya. I credit Hrithik (Roshan) for guiding me on this. I felt incredibly fit when I came back from Ladakh after the shoot and thought that I must maintain that rhythm. As for horse riding bit, I’m not comfortable sitting on a horse, unless I’m playing a Daku in Chambal. Then I have to go and learn how to ride a horse. I remember I had to sit on a horse for my film Luck By Chance and Adhuna, my wife who is also an ace rider gave me tips. People liked the shot and complimented that I looked like a professional rider but I knew my heart beat was faster.

Have you ever given in to such a commercial diktat? BOX

Yes. It was in Luck By Chance when we did that circus song. There was a small portion that I shot even though it was mostly picturised on Hrithik (Roshan). I was told it was appreciated in the theatre. But I remember I had to struggle a lot staring at the camera and dance. That was the first time I had to perform looking into the camera and that to me was a very strange experience! When you are dancing with your friends, like in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, I find that very organic as we look at each other and react to what one is doing. When such situations are there in the script I can let go and do things more easily. If my mind is comfortable then my body will follow

Heard Don 3 is in the pipeline?

Shah Rukh, Riteish and I meet very frequently. We discuss ideas all the time about movies we can do together. So which film we end up doing remains to be seen but we will be doing another film together that’s for sure. I really had a wonderful time working with Shah Rukh. So if we can again share some experience it would be wonderful. We approach films with same kind of love.

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 When the story pauses just to incorporate entertainment I have a problem with that!

You’re an acclaimed director, a writer, a singer and a much admired actor. Do you have aspirations for stardom?

It’s not crucial that people should come outside your house and gather in throngs. That doesn’t endorse your stardom. If it gives the directors and producers the confidence to approach you, it would give you choice. I don’t want to come to the level where you claim to be an acclaimed actor and sustain the freedom of your work. If you want to call it a superstar, stardom or respect for an actor, I think that aspect is crucial.

 When you see fans endlessly waiting to catch a glimpse of their idols outside our stars house do you miss that fanfare? BOX

No not at all. People have their way of expressing love in different ways. I don’t think that standing outside someone’s house is expressing enough about their work. I think talking about them with respect is a great way of showing admiration and love. So I don’t miss it. I am very happy on that level. Whatever will come, will come. I would be thankful for it as and when it happens but that cannot be your aim in life that there should be 100 people always standing outside my house.

Did acting out Milkha’s role leave any impact in your life?

It’s too early to realise if he had made an impact in my life. Now I’m in the thick of things with BMB’s activities taking up all our time. One day I have to sit back and see how it has affected me. If at all things go in to my sub-conscious mind and starts reflecting in my behaviour then I would be able to say yes so and so films affected me.

 Was the connect to this film from the heart or some calculation went behind signing the biopic of Milkha?

 I think your instinct has to tell you whether you want to be part of this project because you also realise the kind of commitment this film will require. It’s not a fictional piece of work, the responsibility towards the character or the film is at a major level. I was much moved when I heard the story and I was surprised that I didn’t know all these have happened in his life. When we were growing up, I remember that there used to be a question in our General Knowledge section about the `Flying Sikh.  We all know about him and his achievements but we do not know anything beyond that. So this film will unravel the trials, tribulations, triumphs and many more layers of the legends life.

What is your take on industry marriages?

I think people should respect other people’s privacy. That’s all I have to say. Fans obviously want to know everything about their idols. And as it is most of it are shared through the media. I guess the rest is dug out and scripted. Nowadays you can get to know about your idol through social mediums and get unadulterated things of their life. When you are going through medium, like the media, nuances change. For instance what is said and what becomes the headline are two different things. The context at times can change.

Are industry marriages more fragile than the marriages which are not in the spotlight?

Human beings are human beings regardless of their profession. When something has to happen, it just happens.

Don’t mind me asking this but even your marriage also went through its share of downs, as reported in the media?

I knew it was coming. I don’t know what to say. Someone was speculating that I was leaving my wife and those people would go on and on with it. Eventually they realised that nothing was coming out this so they are tired now.

How did Adhuna take?

She is one of the most important people in my life. Very special to me. She is someone who you can trust blindly. Romance is all important but before that you have to friends and we’re very good friends.

You’re settled as director but do you feel settled as an actor now? Pull qoute

I find myself at a place where I have the freedom to make the choices about the work I would like to do and that according to me is satisfying. As for being settled, I don’t know but there’s an area in acting which I’m yet not comfortable. I still don’t know how to adapt to a situation onscreen where I have to dance or sing looking at the camera. I find it very difficult. It’s almost a cardinal rule in a film that you don’t look into the camera. Camera is non-existent unless you are doing it for a specific purpose to make a certain kind of point. When the story pauses just to incorporate entertainment because that is what people want to see, I have a problem with that. I think it breaks away from the narrative of the film.

After BMB, will direction take backseat for sometime atleast?

At this point I want to see the release of Milkha Singh. I need some breathing space. And with all honesty I must tell you that there was no break from working, since Rock On began in January 2008. So it has been five years plus that I haven’t got time to myself. After this, is my next film Shaadi Ke Side Effects, which is almost complete. And this would be the end of all my commitments. After that I want to start writing but before that I need sometime to read and get inspired, I think it’s very important. So in short, my plan is just to step back.

Your films are different than the existing popular films. Do you ever get tempted to do for instance, a mass appealer like Dabangg?

 When Dabangg released it cut through a lot of clutter. There was a hero and villain in it. I loved the movie because we’re seeing something like this after a long time. But I must tell you that such films work before it’s discovered to be a formula film. The minute the audience feel that there is no formula to cater to it, doesn’t work. And today the formula is showing. Will I make a film like this, or act in it, I can’t say because don’t know that genre. I don’t subscribe to formulaic filmmaking.

What dictates your choice of film?

I haven’t heard of anyone saying that I must do such films because audience love watching it. I would never go by that diktat. I would do a film that would instinctively tell me that I should do it and I would sincerely believe that audience would love it. Those who are doing such films they genuinely enjoy doing it. You must enjoy your work. If you don’t enjoy your work people won’t enjoy seeing you.

Four trend-setting films according to Farhan.

I would like to put it as films and filmmakers. Yash Chopra was a trend setter. He created the kind of love story which everyone started replicating. It reflected in Adi’s (Aditya Chopra) work. But Adi himself was a trend setter. His film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge brought the trend of NRI romances. Next is Rajesh Khanna, he set a trend. There were phenomenal actors before him but the way he set a bench mark with stardom I think everyone else fell for that. Next would be my own film Dil Chahta Hai. Till date it has its contribution and in many ways it had changed the spoken language in movies. And then Satya which set another trend. It stripped away all the glamour and gave you a very naked movie.

Whose works inspire you the most?

There are many. But Robert De Niro remains my all time favorite. I admire him a lot. In fact, in my pursuit to be more like him, I would mimic dialogues from his movies for my friends in college. I loved what he did to himself in The Untouchable-shaving off his hairline, gaining all that weight for a film where he had only a few scenes, it was truly inspirational.

And the sequel to Zindegi Na Milegi Dobara?

We had a great time. I hope it happens soon. Don’t know much about it. Zoya can tell you.

What’s the status of Zoya’s film which was based on your and her story?

 It’s not true that it’s based on our lives. There is a film about siblings and we’re producing it. There are many things universally common about siblings- love, concern, caring and dependency- but that doesn’t need to be our story.