Method actor Adil Hussain plays a down-to-earth puncturewala in Zed Plus, a satire on the Indian political scenario. He tells Sangeeta Yadav that while he is open to experiment with roles, adult films is not his cup of tea

Tell us about your upcoming film Zed Plus IJ

It’s a satire where I’m playing Aslam who is a puncturewala. The story revolves around Aslam’s encounter with the Prime Minister  who comes to visit the Peepal Wale Peer Ki Dargah for blessings and to fulfill his wish to save the Government from corruption. And how Aslam was given Zed security because the PM misunderstood what Aslam was afraid of and what he wanted the PM to do for him.

What prompted you to give your nod to this filmIJ

When Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi approached me with the script and said, ‘it’s the story of a puncturewala who turns out to become a high profile securitywala,’ I knew from that moment on that I had to do this film. After going through the script, I was motivated to do the film because of the way the director has gone about the situation is very interesting. It is funny with serious elements. The dialogues are poignant and his understanding of the society is hard hitting and this will speak aloud in the film.

Your look in this film is totally something else. Was it a challenge to pull it offIJ

Not at all. We finalised the look in just one go. The make-up artist gave me a moustache and kajal to wear. I oiled my hair and made a partition from one side. In one go, we got the right look. But to carry it off-screen created a lot of goofups.  On the first day of the shoot, I was sitting on the puncture shop set-up and rehearsing my lines. Mandira Dwivedi who is the producer of the film passed by me many times but she did not bother to offer plesantaries.

I was too involved in my lines at first. But when my assistant got me fruits for lunch, Mandiraji lost her cool and started accusing me of loitering the set and consuming fruits at the wrong time. She mistook me for the cook and that was flattering. We all knew we had hit the nail on the right target once this episode happened.

How was it working with the Dr Chandraprakash DwivediIJ

He is a very strict and a disciplined director who never likes to divert from the script. If he has planned something in a particular way, he wants it to be exactly like that.

But, having said that, I found him one of the wisest man that I’ve come across. His understanding of the Indian system and its issues is superb. He respects every actor and guides them perfectly. 

Do you have a favourite genreIJ

I don’t categorise any genre when it comes to acting. Genre is created for the trade people to understand.

Instead, I differentiate films as good story, a loose story, excellent or outstanding or wonderfully written. I’m open to do all kinds of films except adult films which that is definitely not my cup of tea.