Whether it was about celebrating Diwali with the media or travelling to Delhi by train, the team of Tamasha is leaving no stone unturned in creating a grand spectacle for the audience. Director Imtiaz Ali shares that it is a simple story and the audience will decide whether they are living their dreams or not. Riya Sharma reports
After spending choti Diwali in full-ontamasha with the media in the capital, the offbeat promotional strategies of the Tamasha team does not seem to leave any stone unturned to grab eyeballs. To add more masala to their unusual promotions, the director and the lead cast decided to travel by train to reach Delhi for a press conference. Talking about their expedition, director Imtiaz Ali shared, “Strangely, the idea was Deepika’s and not mine.” Deepika added, “It was something that all of us wanted to do for a very long time. And we all wanted to do it together. Since we were coming to Delhi anyway, it was a time for us to catch up and experience something together. We all have experienced this individually
A complete entertainment and atmosphere of drama prevailed during the whole conference. While Padukone kept on drooling about Ali’s charm, Kapoor also seemed to be enchanted by his aura. When Ranbir was asked what he thinks of Ali, he took no time to reply and said, “He is a true friend. He deserves to be called a friend.”
Padukone on the other hand said, “I love his sex appeal.” To which Ali very casually replied, “This is the tamasha that she has been playing around these days.”
Ali did not stop there when it came to praise the actress. When Padukone was asked about her growth as an actor and as a person, Ali took no time to add more about her charm.
As Padukone replied, “I came from a completely different background. It was difficult, to adapt to a new place, new surroundings and new people. I tried to bring the best in me. I don’t mind criticism and learning. I have learnt a lot. Now, I have reached a place where I really enjoy my craft.”
However, Ali took no time to add, “She is filled with passion and energy though she took some time to bring that out into her performance because there was so much going on. She is a very shy person and but learnt not to get that shyness in the way of her performance.”
As travel plays a major role in his movies, we all have seen the character usually discovers himself through the course of travel. So, does travel is a way allow his characters to re-invent themselvesIJ “When I am writing, I don’t keep these things in my mind. But, there has always been a tussle between the heart and mind of my characters. That is the reason when I watch my films, I feel there must be a reason why I wrote it like this. Maybe, subconsciously, I am trying to bring travel as a simile to the journey of life. And you will see this constant struggle between mind and heart inTamasha too,” said Ali.
He added, “For me, Tamasha is nothing negative. It is not related to anything controversial. When someone tells the truth of their lives in an entertaining manner, that defines tamasha for me.”
While Kapoor who has earlier worked with Ali in Rockstar, believes that it is a simple story that will touch your heart. Though both the actors have worked with him earlier, Kapoor shared, “We all went to the basics while shooting it because it is a simple story.” On the other hand, the gorgeous Padukone shared that there is one scene in the movie in which she showed a lot of tamasha. “In one of the scenes, I am supposed to abuse someone and that does not come naturally to me. In the trailer, you must have seen that I want to make an important call but the guy does not let me. So, I abuse him and I really liked doing that because normally, you don’t get to abuse people very often.”
Kapoor immediately interrupted her and pointed out, “That was also the first day and first scene of your shoot.”
When Ali was asked how unique is this story as the tagline says, ‘Why always the same storyIJ’, he said, “The audience should figure out whether they have become mechanical or have they become what they always wanted to. They should ask themselves whether their story is unique or just another story.”
photos: Pankaj Kumar