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Former film journalist and now COO at the Dharma Cornerstone Agency Rajeev Masand opened up about coordinating and hosting his popular roundtable interviews, which involved dealing with movie star tantrums and placating their egos. Over the years, Masand hosted several such interviews on television, and appearing on them was often considered a mark of achievement for an actor.
In an interview with journalist Anupama Chopra on her All About Movies podcast, he discussed the trial by fire he experienced when he put together the first such roundtable, which featured Aamir Khan, Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Ranbir Kapoor. He said that Aamir changed dates very late in the game, Irrfan was displeased about being pulled from set, and that he, Masand, had to make urgent phone calls to ensure Nawaz’s participation, because he was shooting out of town.
Chopra said that with each passing year, it has become ‘successively harder’ to corral actors to sit across each other, especially A-list male stars. Masand agreed. He said, “Shah Rukh told me, ‘Call me on the actresses roundtable. I’ll come and sit with the girls. I’m not sitting and praising other guys…’ I think there is an ego with actors.” Masand pointed out that unlike the West, where studios dictate promotional strategies, in India, stars are in charge. This is partially why it’s possible for Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro to appear on roundtables organised by The Hollywood Reporter, alongside younger actors.
Recalling an incident without taking names, Masand continued, “There was a time when a big actor, a big star, was like, ‘I’m not going to come if this other actor’s on it’. And that other actor totally deserved to be there, but he was a younger, newer actor. And I don’t know if the actor was asking for this or the publicist, because they tend to get involved, and they can be pushy and bossy. And it got really awkward, and I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m uninviting someone who deserves to be there, so if you don’t want to come, I can’t force you’.”
He said that it was a ‘horrible’ situation, because he needed the A-lister on the table, and he didn’t know until the ‘night before’ if they’d show up. Ultimately, the A-lister ended up agreeing, and actually had a good time. “He put out a post saying he really enjoyed it,” he said.
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