Emraan Hashmi
He had always wanted to experiment the role of a conman and when Raja Natwarlal came along, Hashmi had no reason to reject the script. The film is an interesting mix of emotions, including humour, romance and thrill. But the biggest USP of RN is its foot-tapping music and some well directed scenes that are sure to keep the audience glued to their seats, says SANGEETA YADAV
‘It was hope that kept me going’
How was the experience of playing Raja NatwarlalIJ
I have always wanted to play a conman in movies. Director Kunal Deshmukh handed me this opportunity of a lifetime. The good part is that the film is a mix of many emotions — there is romance, comedy and suspense. My character, Raja, evolves as the movie progresses. To begin with, he is shallow but at the end emerges as a smart cookie.
Your son was undergoing cancer treatment during the shooting of this film. How did you copeIJ
Hope kept me going. It made me stronger and gave me courage to face the most trying phase of my life. No parent should go through the nightmare of watching one’s child fight this disease. It breaks you. But I found the strength to remain positive all through the shoot. Cancer is a terrible disease. To see my son fight it, gave me optimism that, in the end, all will be well.
Is the character you play similar to the real-life NatwarlalIJ
Natwarlal was a master conman. He managed to fake his own death; in fact everything around him was an illusion that he had created. What was real and what was false was difficult to ascertain when he was alive. To make a film on this concept was a challenge. Through Raja Natwarlal, we have tried to create a persona of what Natwarlal could have been in reality. The situations in the film are completely different from the real life incidents. We hope that the audience like what has been created.
How was it like to work with Paresh RawalIJ
I have worked with him earlier in Good Boy, Bad Boy in 2007 and a couple of other films but the association was very short. In this film, it has been a great learning experience. I have loved the characters that he has played over the years — a villain, a comic role or character roles. More than the guru-chela relationship shown in the movie between Gulati and Raja, it’s the beauty with which the writer has intricately woven the two characters that makes this movie an interesting watch. Gulati and Raja are poles apart as far as characters go. While Gulati is a recluse, who prefers to live in the mountains of Dharamsala, Raja is impulsive and wants to learn everything that life has to offer — the good, the bad and the ugly — and come out a winner under all circumstances.
The item song ‘flip your collar back’ was added to the film. Tell us about it.
It’s an unusual item number in which Raja tries to woo his girl friend Ziya, played by Humaima Malick. It’s a fun song with funny moves. Remo D’Souza, who has choreographed this number, has given us some nice moves. I have worked with him over the period of eight years. He was the man behind jhalak dikhla ja, an item number from my film Aashiq Banaya Aapne. So, he is familiar with my style and limitations. He choreographed the song accordingly. He knows my strength and weakness and used it to bring out the best in me. People will love this new item number.