While Sridevi handled her round of media interactions, husband and producer Boney Kapoor touched upon the high points of the film. “We are blessed to have such great actors. The best part was that no one gave us a hard time. Once an artiste is able to appreciate and understand the script, he/she gets involved in it which makes it all look perfect and effortless on screen. Everybody enjoyed the journey as much as we enjoyed watching them perform their roles”, he told gathered newspersons.
He also spoke about Akshaye Khanna’s return to the screen with a role he could chew on. “Akshaye will be seen on screen after a long gap and I’m sure he will smash it in the film. He’s a bundle of talent who remains reclusive and exclusive. He was so dedicated that he knew the script more than the director and there were times when he would narrate the dialogues of other actors too. He is an asset to the film as he is to the film industry. He is a fantastic actor and a great human being.”
He was all praise for his wife, Sridevi, as well. “No one else could have carried this role. The kind of sincerity she brought to the set and her approach is what everyone admired. Of course I have been her admirer for ages and nobody had that kind of a chance because I was always there on the sets around her. But she still surprises me with her sincerity and versatility as an actor,” he said with a laugh.
Kapoor also had some words to say about actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui. “He has made the entire world notice and applaud his talent. And we are very fortunate to get him on board. It was difficult to convince him but finally we got him on board. He puts in a lot of effort in each of his movies, but here he walked an extra mile. His entire appearance was shocking for the crew initially and I am sure he will surprise the audience too. The get-up was decided overnight by the director and it was Nawaz’s dedication that he sat through the make-up which took four hours every day. The most difficult part was to get into the skin of the character with all that make-up. We shot a few sequences in Chandni Chowk in Delhi and to everybody’s surprise, the make-up was so blended that he went unrecognised,” said he.
Kapoor also shared the things he kept in mind before getting artistes on board. “It has been a process. My director and my partner, Sunil Manchanda and me, we were all in sync. You cannot convince and artiste by good words. It’s the content of the film which takes a front seat and convinces an actor to play a role,” he said.
Getting Sridevi on board was a bit of a challenge. “The only difficult part was to convince her after the script had been written. The rest was comparatively easy. I have known her for 33 years now and so I left the convincing to my director as I have to give her professional respect. So I asked the director to discuss the plot with her like I would do with any other actor or actress in my film,” he said.
Talking about the rumours that this movie was a gift for his wife Sridevi on the 50th year of her career, he said, “I am not Shah Jahan that I could make a Taj Mahal. I am a producer and so I made a film for her. Also, I have gifted myself to her and have nothing bigger than my own self to give her. It was destiny that we liked this script and it’s a coincidence that it got ready this year.”
Nawazuddin was glad that his role is a bit obscure. He said, “I have had a great experience working in this film and am waiting for the audience reaction. I used to wake up at four in the morning and get the makeup done till seven and then had to shoot all day long in it. It was a task to pull that off.” Talking about the inspiration behind his character in the movie, he said, “There are so many people who pass by unnoticed in places like Daryaganj and Chandni Chowk. My look and character is inspired from those people.”
Khanna on the hand took a moment to talk about his father, the celebrated actor Vinod Khanna, whom he lost recently. He said that the senior actor never took any decisions for him and the influence of his successful professional life on him has been very insignificant. Talking about him rejecting roles and getting into media hibernation mode for a long time, Khanna said, “I took a break because some personal reason didn’t allow me to focus and start something new. It was not an intentional setback and is definitely not something I want to do ever again. I have become more open to press and people because I feel that I might just become irrelevant.” And it was because he was starting after a long time that he wanted to take on smaller roles to test himself. “Although I have decided to do small roles, I will never compromise on the content and quality. Both Nawaaz and I are doing extended cameo roles but the impact our characters will have on the audience is tremendous and that is want we both want,” he said.
On his personal life, Khanna was very categorical. He said, “I’ll never get married. I want to live my life alone. I can be in a relationship for some time but I can’t see that lasting for a lifetime. It’s very unnatural for me. I know most people believe that it lasts a lifetime, but I don’t. I just feel I should be allowed to move from one relationship to another. Two people should be happy when they are together. Once the time comes that either of them are not happy, they should have the opportunity to leave and that leaving should not be the process it is today which is ‘divorce’. The separation should be as amicable and beautiful as it was when they stayed together”.
Finally, Kapoor rounded it off by applauding his director and music director A R Rahman. “They have given their best shot to the movie.”
Photo: Pankaj Kumar