Langda Tyagi was a villian,Raja is a hero: Saif Ali Khan

is required from every actor to professionally do what we used to do as kids— playing cops and robbers and firing fake guns!

Saif Ali Khan is back with a bang— his forthcoming film Bullett Raja is about an idealistic bahubali (henchman),a story that touches upon the exploitation of youth for politics. Helmed by director Tigmanshu Dhulia,who picked up several awards for his earlier outing Paan Singh Tomar,it is also a homage of sorts to the films of Seventies. Bullett Raja,courtesy Saif Ali Khan playing the lead,besides a generous dose of naach -gaana,is also being counted as Dhulia’s most commercial offering at the marquee so far. Khan,however,cautions that the film is probably not in the league of a potboiler like Dabangg,but those who enjoy their films Dhulia style,are likely to come away impressed. Between sound bytes and wardrobe changes,Khan parries on gangster flicks,glamourising violence and changing mores of Hindi cinema.

How would your character in Bullett Raja compare with your earlier outing as Langda Tyagi in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara,also about Uttar Pradesh politics?

Langda Tyagi was a villain,the guy with a limp and yellow teeth and a very heavily styled kind of look,whereas this is more subtle,I think. He’s the hero and he’s a charming guy,so he’s got to be the lead,whereas Langda Tyagi had to be the character.

There’s a lot of talk about your appearance in the film,a far cry from your suave well-dressed avatar in romcoms?

Yes,but this is also fun. He’s got an accent,a way of dressing that’s unlike the aspirational. There’s a particular style of dressing,when you play a trendy western character with designer clothes or funky casual look. These clothes are not very nice. They are kind of nasty,very shiny but with a kind of gangster-star look. I like the elements which make it look genuine; maybe a little tacky,but at the same time,kind of fun. As an actor,I feel the pressure to be better,to look better and want to compete in international norms of fitness and quality performance.

And your speech — was it too much trouble getting the dialect down pat?

It’s a UP dialect,so it’s not very difficult. For instance,you’d say Misra instead of Mishra. Or jaroorat instead of zaroorat which is not very difficult,but it sounds different,fun. Learning lines and delivering them is easier,it’s looking the part which is the challenge. You are saying Bullett Raja so you have to look the part; it’s not Bullett Lala that you can have a paunch or something (laughs).

Considering it’s not a typical commercial film,what made you agree to the project?

I really liked Paan Singh Tomar— it was a really well-crafted movie— and I wanted to work with Tigmanshu. I thought it would be fun to work together. Our industry is constantly drawing new kinds of makers and there are a lot of different kinds of films happening. Movies tend to change from time to time. Soon people will say the South remake trend is on its way out.

Considering you signed up for a different kind of film,what was the filming experience like? What can the audience expect of it?

This is my year of not questioning too much. The idea is to just do more,and work with different people. I am really happy I did it,but we should bear in mind what it is—it is a Tigmanshu Dhulia movie and should be treated as such. It’s got great action,without us using cables or duplicates. We worked hard to make the action realistic. It’s got some great dialogue and a fairly straightforward plot ,with an interesting central character that’s attractive. And that’s really all there is to it. I don’t think it’s meant to be the film of the year in terms of mounting. If you keep your expectations realistic,it’s a fun thing to watch. You won’t be disappointed.

I read an interview wherein you mentioned that it is something like a Tarantino film… Could you explain that a little more.

I know,I said that once,and we all keep saying that. I think he (Tarantino) will sue us one day,because we keep using his name in vain. What I meant was,that for the first time,I have worked with someone wherein when a scene has a point,you approach it in a roundabout way; you dress up the whole scenario. So if the scene is about killing a politician,instead of just shooting at him,Jimmy pretends to be a journalist! And it’s really funny because the guy thinks he is going to do an interview,but we are trying to shoot him.

So the subject is wondering where the cameraman is—he is supposedly taking a shot from a nice location as per our alibi— wherein there is no cameraman,but there is a guy with a gun! So it’s a roundabout approach where people talk about everything except the issue. That,then seems like real life,though in dramatic sort of way. That’s what I meant. There is excess talking and it is entertaining to watch. It shows that good guys,bad guys,everyone has the same sense of humour or at least something in common. In those respects,there are some things close to a Tarantino movie,but like I say,there is actually no comparison.

From the little that one has seen of the film,your character comes across as exceedingly charming and likeable,so much so that he even makes the act of shooting a man seem like harmless fun. Isn’t that sort of glamourising violence?

Certainly. Somewhere the function of cinema is to glamourise,to distort,to put out that there are lots of different scenarios,and it is for the audience to decide whether they would actually like to live like this or have a cathartic experience watching it. I don’t have a medical degree to tell you whether it’s good for people to watch violence on screen or whether it helps them get it out of their system or encourages them to be violent. I don’t know,but we do definitely glamourise violence,we glamourise everything that is possible to glamourise—from prostitution to drugs,to murder,to any kind of crime. Every film industry does. I think,we should not limit our cinema because of what people might start thinking.

I would like to think that the audience is sensible enough to decide for themselves that it was a gruesome action sequence in a film. And watching it may help them get something out of their system,but they wouldn’t do it in real life. If you are a fool and confuse the two,you could go to jail.

Would the fact that the last two years have seen a spate of gangster flicks,affect the prospects of a film like Bullett Raja?

Gangster films are almost a genre in India,so they will always be there. But sometimes,it’s a question of timing. So if it’s bad luck, then you’ve seen too many of them,and if you time the release of the film right,then you haven’t seen one in a while. Again if the film-maker is good,it might work. Bullett Raja is quite a star vehicle in that sense. There’s nothing greatly surprising or shocking about the developments within the story. You have to find the character engaging for it to carry through,which is what Tigmanshu has concentrated on.

Did you enjoy the gunfights?

Pointing a gun at someone requires as much care as giving flowers to a lady. It has to be presented in a particular way. It is a part of cinematic culture and there is a childishness that is required from every actor to professionally do what we used to do as kids— playing cops and robbers and firing fake guns! Now you have to do it well,and take it seriously. It’s something I really enjoy. It’s a form of drama. You have to know how Clint Eastwood has done it and how Don Johnson in Miami Vices has done it. If you are not aware of those things,you fall flat. You have to love it to be able to do it.

Was there anything particular aspect of the film (besides the gunfights) that you enjoyed?

It has a lot of great dialogues. When you work in films that seem to be quite multiplexy and western—most romocoms are written in English and then translated in Hindi— so there are no great lines any more in a love story. Whereas,this has got some great dialogues. So,as an actor you are having fun trying to decide how to project the line. For instance,sometimes it’s so dramatic,you don’t have to spit and venomise; you just let it go and it sounds great. There were scenes that were dramatic and one had pretty heavy duty kind of lines,so it’s nice to find a realistic way of doing those

without going over the top. Unlike earlier times,I am enjoying the feeling of being quite versatile.

As an actor,is it tough being a part of all the different kinds of cinema that have emerged?

There are so many film-makers around and there is so much diversity; in fact they look with so much scorn at the other guy. It’s almost like they are from different countries. It’s nice for an actor to not question it too much. As Raj and D.K. told me,“Be like Raavan. Just say,‘you want this? So this is what I will be.’ And don’t think much about it and be happy.”

Sajid Khan’s Humshakal is the most commercial film I am working in,and I have really enjoyed that,but I have also found that tiring. I am also enjoying shooting for Kabir Khan. That’s more my sensibility. This is my year of just working and not questioning too much. If I find that it’s affected my value,my prices have gone down as I have not thought too much about the kind of films I am signing,then I will alter that thought and concentrate more on commercial cinema,singing and dancing and doing films like that.

Considering the box-office collection bar has been raised from Rs.100 crore to Rs.200 plus crore,are you expecting Bullett Raja to overshoot the mark?

It would be nice if you are a top star to make a film which is that kind of a hit,but it is also a function of the kind of film you do. You can’t expect Bullett Raja to be Humshakal or Race,which had an edge,it had songs and glamour working for it,which hopefully the whole country would want to see. Whereas,there is something intrinsically niche about a Tigmanshu Dhulia film. Maybe,it’s the kind of songs,scenes or the world it creates. That’s what I mean by keeping your expectations realistic. But I am really excited that the business is growing,and in everything that is crumbling around us in India,the one thing that has been constant is Bollywood.

Hollywood has eaten up most of the West,but Bollywood is a sustainable,self-made industry. It does not need outside support. We should just concentrate on making better and better movies and hopefully one day an actor can charge Rs.100 crore for a movie. If you make Rs.300 crore,then why not? We should control the whole South,from India to Spain for Bollywood films. It can happen; it will happen.

As a producer,have you lived up to your expectations?

I have never been interested in making money as a producer. My primary function is to make nice movies which supports my career as an actor,which I think I have done. Since I have not become a producer to make money,so I have made only some. I have given up on the idea of making an international film. I think we should concentrate on our own culture. I’d like to, maybe,make a film which goes to the festival. I’d like to make a good film about characters like,say Paan Singh Tomar,you know,or Lagaan. I think I have a bit of an international hang-up because my father achieved a lot of fame internationally,so it’s become important that before you get too old or your career is over,to have maybe one foot there. I spoke to Karan Johar and he said,“Never give up anything you have here for it,because it’s a different culture; it’s a different set-up.” But at the same time to make a nice Indian movie that competes at an international film festival would be nice as a producer.

Otherwise,I would like to make love stories.We just made Happy Ending with Raj and D.K. which is a nice love story. So it’s going on,and has been a learning experience.

priyanka.sinha@expressindia.com