On the kill

We meet the talkative actor at Salt Water Café in Bandra,which he claims is one of his favourite restaurants in the city. Having been a Bandra boy all his life,the 30-year-old complains,“No one walks in the city anymore. I think Bandra is one of the few places remaining in the city where people can still possibly walk. That’s one reason why I’ll never want to move out of here.”

We finally manage to get him talking about Hide & Seek,produced by Apoorva Lakhia and scheduled to release on February 19. Kohli says that it is part of a very rare genre in Indian cinema. “It’s a slasher film,” he smiles,“I get different responses every time I tell anyone that. The genre is not very common here so people keep asking me why I’m doing a film like this. But I love thrillers and this film will keep you on your toes till the very end.”

Kohli says that the last good slasher film he saw was Scream,which went on to become a blockbuster and a cult. “So you see I have huge expectations from my film too,” he asserts before placing his order for the Pan-seared Kingfish with lemon butter and a glass of Ginger Ale.

He gobbles down his meal as soon as the waiter sets it on the table — he’s in a hurry to drive to the outskirts of the city. In Vikramgad,he will meet with 600 bikers,who have been riding around the country. “I’m very passionate about biking but I didn’t have time to bike with them. Today,I’m going just to talk about Fight Back,a charity organisation that I support. They do some good work to help women fight for their basic rights and safety,” he says.

The mention of women brings back memories of his teen years when his character Mazhar in the then-popular show Hip Hip Hurray won him a huge fan-following,which chiefly comprised of girls. While the nature of his following hasn’t changed much,filmmakers are surely giving him a chance to veer away from his “cute” image. “I have some exciting things planned for this year,one of which is Prakash Jha’s production Turning 30,” he says. The other is Rajat Kapoor’s tentatively titled Fatso. “I never planned to get into this industry. It all just fell into place and worked out well. Like everyone in this industry,I’ve had my share of frustration but this year looks like it will be good for me.”

Happy Hours
Travelling
My dogs
A moving
story
Simplicity
Flights on time