Exclusive | ‘Never expected Aryan Khan to include a joke on jail time in The Ba***ds of Bollywood trailer,’ says Lakshya: ‘He’s not your typical Bandra boy’

Raghav and Lakshya, while promoting Kill last year, I could see that while discussing Shah Rukh Khan, you had to keep your lips sealed about The Ba***ds of Bollywood. How tough was it to keep it in?

Raghav: It was difficult. In one interview, we almost got too excited.

Lakshya: Now you know why we were so hesitant. Because we knew we’d done something solid, but it was very difficult to keep it to ourselves. But we tried very hard to supress our emotions because otherwise we’d have gotten suppressed.

Raghav: Only my mom saying, “Nazar lag jayegi” saved me from spilling the truth.

But now that you can talk about it, what was your first meeting with Shah Rukh and Aryan like?

Raghav: My first meeting with Shah Rukh sir was years ago when I did a dance in Happy New Year (2014). Then I used to keep meeting him in the shows I hosted. But this was the first time I was in direct contact with Aryan. I was selected after an audition, and the rest is history.

Lakshya: Socially, I’d seen Aryan a few times in parties or social gatherings, but we hadn’t really struck a conversation. I auditioned with Nandini Shrikent (casting director) and prepared really hard so that I just kill it. He entered the room then, but told me he’s looking at the scene a bit differently. But that conversation was also very cut-to-cut and work-related. Five months later, we were in Dubai on vacation at the same time. He just randomly called me and invited me to his New Year’s party. He also said, “Achha, tu show bhi kar raha hai” (Also, you’re doing the show as well). I said, “Tu mujhe aise bata raha hai ki main show kar raha hu?” (That’s how you tell me that I’m doing your show?). That’s when I got to know he has a different side to him. We started shooting in 2022, so it’s been two years now. He’s a very interesting guy. When Raghav, Aryan, and I used to sing together, I told Raghav he’s just like us, has the same masti, bholapan, aggression, hunger, and the zeal to prove himself within him. So it became very relatable and we became like brothers.

Lakshya in The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

As North Indians who’ve also transitioned from TV to films, did you two have to pinch yourself while working in a Shah Rukh Khan project?

Raghav: Yes, it’s a huge deal for me. I’m a jabra, diehard fan. All of us are fans, but I proudly claim I’m his biggest fan. I even belong to a family of SRKians. We’ve been making his fan accounts since Orkut days. Whenever I’ve worked with him, I’ve always felt it’s a surreal dream. This time was no different. I’m sure this will keep happening again and again.

Sahher, you made your debut with Sunny Deol’s 2019 directorial Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas opposite his son Karan Deol. And now, Bobby Deol plays your father in The Ba***ds of Bollywood. What is your impression of the Deol family?

Sahher: All of them are so emotional! I’ve worked with not only Sunny sir and Karan, but also Rajvir (Deol, Sunny’s younger son), who was an assistant director on our film. Bobby sir would keep visiting us in Manali, where we were shooting. I’ve briefly interacted with Abhay also. It’s a very rooted family. They still love their aaloo paranthas over any dish in the world. Sunny sir and I keep messaging each other on occasions and otherwise. He’s always looking out for me. Now, with Bobby sir playing my father, life’s come a full circle. I’ve worked with all the Deols now! They’re amazing people, and I had a blast working with them.

Sahher Bambba in The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

Anya, you debuted with Qaidi Band (2017) opposite Aadar Jain, who belongs to the Kapoor family. What difference did you and Sahher find between him and Karan Deol, jo hero ke ghar mein paida hue hain, and outsiders like Lakshya and Raghav, jo hero paida hue hain?

Lakshya: Phasa diya ye toh! Say nice things, we also need to work together on season 2.

Anya: (Laughs) Since all of us come from North India, we’ve got a better hold on the language. Our Hindi is very clear. This allows Lakshya and Raghav to do a lot more improv, they don’t get thrown off in these situations. Otherwise they’re all very hardworking people. I can’t differentiate when you come from a film family and outside of it. Just that our hunger is a bit more because this world is so far for us, it’s a far-fetched dream. You don’t feel being on the same set with some people is achievable. Those born in film families have grown up around these people. They don’t get starstruck.

Sahher: For Karan and I, it was our first film. We both were pretty clueless about what to do and how to go about it. For any actor, the basic prerequisite is hard work, to be present, and to give your best. I don’t think there’s any substitute to hard work.

Anya, when Shah Rukh introduced your character at the trailer launch, he compared her to his manager Pooja Dadlani. Is she an influence on your role?

Anya: I observed very little of her back then because we didn’t get to spend much time with her. But everyone knows of her. If you take Pooja’s name, you don’t have to go, “Who?” She’s very well respected and highly regarded. As a manager, you’d aspire to be like her. I’d like to be in her position because she gets to spend so much time with Mr. Shah Rukh Khan! She’s very calm. You don’t see her lose her cool. And she’s very warm when all of us met her. She’s a part of their family, from what I understand.

Pooja Dadlani and Shah Rukh Khan in The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

Since this was Aryan’s directorial debut, was there anything in his process that caught you by surprise?

Raghav: I always had this assumption about Aryan that he’d speak English like everyone else in Bandra does. Most people there think and speak in English. But Aryan’s environment at home and what he’s been raised on is very much like Delhi. He talks to everyone in Hindi, unless it’s absolutely essential to converse in English. He has a very easy command of the language, which is why he’s been able to become such a good director in Hindi cinema.

So, does that come from Shah Rukh?

Raghav: I guess so. He’s from Delhi. His Hindi and Urdu are so sound as well. Even when I’ve visited their home, I’ve seen Gauri (Khan) say, “Arey jaldi, khana kha lo yaar.” Even when the bua calls up from Delhi, she asks, “Ki haal hai? Aryan da show aa raha hai na.” There’s that Punjabi culture at home, which I really like. They may speak to everyone else in English, but back home, among themselves, they’re so Indian and so rooted. His cousins are also from all over the country, like from Dehradun (Ragahv’s hometown). That’s why he knows the pulse of Hindustan. He knows he’s making the show for Hindustan, not for Soho House. That’s very important. I found it very surprising, and was fairly impressed by it.

Sahher: I also noticed that usually, when you meet people from the industry, because of the sheltered and cocooned lives they’ve lived, they’re not really aware of what’s happening in the world. They don’t know what the issues of the aam janta are, or what’s happening in the villages of India. But he’s somebody, if you ask him to enact a villager or a small town dweller, he’d do it to the T. I don’t know how he does it.

Aryan has also inherited that self-deprecating humour from his father, as we’ve seen in the jail scene of the trailer. Was that expected or as pleasantly surprising?

Lakshya: I was coming to that! I didn’t have any hopes that he’s going to have jokes like these in the show. Because he seems like that tough guy who won’t smile for the paps. That’s also the kind of impression I had. But when I met him and read the script, it struck me that his humour is quite crazy. It’s not like cracking jokes on South Mumbai or Bandra. His sense of humour is so fresh and rooted. It comes from his observations of life. How boys behave in a Delhi school, the bond between Raghav’s and my characters also come from there.

Also Read — ‘Meeting Aryan Khan felt like meeting Shah Rukh Khan’: Diljit Dosanjh praises Aryan’s singing skills as he records for his web series

As outsiders, how accurate do you think is the depiction of the film industry in The Ba***ds of Bollywood?

Raghav: Like Lakshya said, it’s a funny take on the industry. It’s not just black and white, there are greys too. There’s also sarcasm rolled in. A lot of it is how it actually pans out, but it’s depicted in a heightened reality. For example, Karan (Johar) sir doesn’t curse so much. At least, he hasn’t cursed that much in front of Lakshya and me, but Aryan has managed to do that in the show.

Lakshya: He’s trying to create a world based on your perception. But it’s all fun. Don’t put too much thought to what happens and what doesn’t in the film industry. It’s just a show you can watch with your family. Our only objective is to entertain people and make them laugh.

Raghav: After a long time, you’ll see a show where you’d tear up laughing. Otherwise there’s a lot of dark humour on OTT now. This is a show which will bring back nostalgia and make people roll on the floor. It’s meme-worthy content. You’ll enjoy the show like we enjoyed Priyadarshan’s films in our childhood.