Aditya Roy Kapur and jaanu Shraddha Kapoor play it safe at the promotions of their ‘casual relationship’ film. By Unnati Joshi
Having two films with near-identical premises open only a few months apart from each other certainly isn’t a new phenomenon in Bollywood. Question is whether it is good for business. Soon after the release of Befikre, which seemed like a spin on Friends with Benefits, Ok Jaanu will see the indelible Aashiqui 2 pair of Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor have some fun, share cuddles and a bit more, live in while waiting for a visa to their career land and strictly stay away from commitment. Till the co-habitation becomes too close for comfort and creates the dramatic conflict.
The surface similarities are pretty obvious. Both are romantic comedies about two people who decide to start a sexual relationship without becoming emotionally attached. The “casual” relationship concept is raining in Bollywood where every second or third movie is based on the same. While it’s not a bad thing per se, where has the good old school romance gone considering Hollywood’s resurrection withla la landIJ Is romance really dead or is marriage passéIJ And if live-ins are legal now, why not stay true to its spirit and not cry buckets over conventionIJ
Our leads kept it safe at a promotional press meet at The Claridge’s. Aditya Kapur said, “I have never been in a live-in relationship before. Only after being in one can you talk about the pros and cons. But it should be with the right person and at the right time. Also, I won’t do anything that my parents are not happy with. If ever I decide to be in a relationship like that, I will be in one respectfully. I don’t think marriage is passé. I think it’s a mandatory institution and the reason why most people get married is because it means something and it has some relevance. I think live-ins and marriages don’t have to be exclusive. Most people who are in a live-in relationship end up getting married or break up. But marriage as an institution is not under any threat.”
Elaborating on the idea of live-in, Shraddha told us, “I have an open mind about a live-in but I think it will be a bit difficult for me because I have stayed with my parents since I was born and feel too wrapped up in comfort. But it depends on the kind of partner I get. If there’s a future and finality with him, I might consider it.”
Does Aditya not get tired playing the sensitive and brooding lover boy in film after filmIJ “It’s a coincidence that the scripts I have liked so far have been romantic. It has not been a conscious decision to stick to a genre. In fact, I grew up watching action films and would love to do one. I am definitely looking forward to working in different genres now. Sometimes when a filmmaker sees you in a particular genre and they like you in that, they tend to offer you roles in that space. But nowadays there’s an unending variety of themes and concepts to play around and experiment with. Even I have been offered a few action movies and comedies but they didn’t connect with me. Besides it is too early in my career to get slotted. Once you have failed in a couple of genres, then you can assess and say okay you are only good with one,” he said, laughing.
Asked about challenges of keeping this film different from their earlier project, Shraddha said, “We actually had quite a few script-reading sessions with our director and he would tell us the tone and manner in which he saw the scene. We would jam our ideas. One of the few things that Shaad (director Shaad Ali) told me was not to speak in a sing-song voice, my natural tenor. He told me Tara is more mature than the guy. Second, he asked me not to smile too much, something that he thought I do a lot.”
All this while Aditya was gazing at Shraddha but when she fell short of words, he intervened and said, “For me this role was actually interesting and exciting because in my last couple of films, my characters were very defined and set in a context. There was an accent, territoriality or a particular look. In the capacity of a leading man, I have never done a light-hearted romance. I think I could bring more of my personality into the role and that’s what Shaad wanted. I didn’t want to over prepare. I just had to try and capture the mindscape of a 24-year-old who has big dreams and is kind of easy-going but is not taking relationships seriously. It kind of reminded me of myself a few years ago. The whole vibe was spontaneous, light-hearted and conversational.”
On the contrary, Shraddha admitted to being different from her character. “Tara is a lot more fearless. She is unapologetic about who she is. If she wants something, she will not bat an eyelid and will go for it. She will initiate a live-in relationship if she wants that, she won’t shy away from it.”
How does box office failure affect themIJ “A lot on that crucial weekend. You give so much of your time and hours to a film and one Friday or a weekend decides its fate. Of course, if that Friday isn’t favourable, you begin questioning yourself. I was pretty upset about Rock On not doing well. I guess demonetisation also played its part. However, OK Jaanu promotions started immediately after and took my mind off completely. I think you should focus on the next project to keep going,” said Shraddha.
Aditya felt it was important to be honest and self-confident regardless of the commercial outcome. “You put so much hard work in a film, there are so many expectations. It is important to introspect and feel bad, it’s part of the business. I started my career with three films that didn’t do well and then a couple that did. Then there was a trough again. That was a good lesson on how fickle this business is. As long as your perception and confidence in yourself isn’t shaken and you don’t treat yourself the way other people treat you, you will hold good. It is a job that can make you feel insecure. It’s a cliché but you should not take success too seriously and not think about failure as the end of the world. I hope our film has a takeaway. Hopefully, it will be an eye-opener for both parents and youngsters.”
And though somebody did try to talk about rumours of their relationship status, our leads just upturned their lips with boredom and laid the matter to rest. Time to move on.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar