Laughter champions

However,one can be rest assured that these two debutants are having the last laugh. Seated in the producer Walkwater Media’s office in Andheri,they are in high spirits. That’s hardly surprising. But the real appearance of Singh—a fair,tall and handsome man in his 20s—is a revelation. The director is quick to take the credit. Sharma claims that initially,he was the only one who thought Singh looked like Laden. Now,the results are there for all to see.

Sharma came up with the idea almost five years ago. “One day,I had a throbbing headache. So I tied a scarf around my head. I even had a stubble then. Looking at me in that condition,my wife commented that I look like Osama bin Laden. That is what made me work on the script,” says the filmmaker,who worked for Manmohan Shetty at Adlabs back then.

Writing the script was easy. The toughest part was to find a Laden lookalike. Several screen tests later,when Sharma failed to find his Laden,he sought solace in his old associate Singh. “He had worked with me in his first play in Delhi,way back in 2000. I had a hunch that he would suit the role,” says the 32-year-old filmmaker. Although they had worked together in the past,over the years,they had lost touch.

Sharma had moved base to Mumbai in search of a better future,and Singh,unable to earn big bucks in theatre,had opted for a job at Wipro. “When Abhishek was leaving for Mumbai,he had asked me to accompany him. But I thought I wasn’t cut out for “struggling” in Bollywood. For me,struggling meant living at the VT station,” grins Singh.

But when Sharma called him to ask if he was willing to be part of his film,Singh quit his job as an assistant manager to do what he loves most — acting in films. “I thought he wanted me to assist him in direction,” he says. “When we met in Delhi,he showed me videos of Laden and asked me to play the role of Laden. I was shocked and honestly had inhibitions playing a controversial character. Also,I told him that 24 years of my life nobody has told me that I resemble Laden,but Abhishek somehow convinced me,” says Singh,whose popularity as Osama has forced him to keep his true identity under wraps. “Kids want their picture clicked with him. I try to explain to them that he is not Santa Claus,” jests Sharma.

But neither of them is complaining. “I am happy wearing the makeup and promoting the film. I don’t fear getting stereotyped,” says Singh,whose real look will be revealed next week. The 25-year-old,however,strongly believes that he needs another powerful character to make a mark in Bollywood. When asked if filmmakers are already chasing him,Singh wittingly says,“Right now,I am chasing them. I am Bin Laden.” But he does have his list of directors who he wants to work with—Anurag Kashyap,Vishal Bharadwaj,Dibakar Banerjee and Shekhar Kapur.

After tasting success,Singh now wishes to shift base to Mumbai permanently. “I had told him to move to Mumbai almost two years ago. I knew the movie would do well,” says a confident Sharma. To which Singh adds,“I first wanted the film to do well. I did not want to take a chance.”

The success of Tere Bin Laden has added fillip to Sharma’s plan of opening an Actor’s Studio to train young talent. “With this film,we have proved that a non-star cast film can also do well. So now,I want to encourage more actors,” he says. But the director,for now,will be taking a break before he starts writing his second film. “I have been living with Tere Bin Laden for the last five years. Now,I need to think of a fresh idea,” he says. “But it is the simplicity of this film that I wish to retain in my next.”

Film fact
When Sharma went to Pakistan to meet Ali Zafar,the actor was in India. By the time the director returned,Ali had already left. Considering it to be jinxed,Sharma asked producer Aarti Shetty to do Ali’s screen test.

Though the story is set in Pakistan,it was actually shot in Hyderabad and Mumbai.

The production house refrained from doing any publicity during its filming as they wanted to keep it under wraps. Their first promo was shown with My Name is Khan.

The film opened in Pakistan as Tere Bin to a good response. But it’s been banned now.