‘I don’t look like a hero’

Couldn’t the producers (UTV) stall the release?
We only had a day (Thursday) to decide. Since it was releasing worldwide and had already opened in USA and the Middle East, the pirated DVDs would have hit the market, it was too late to stop the release. So I made peace with it and supported the decision to go ahead. It was a confusing place to be in. I was so upset and angry with what the city was going through and on the other hand, my movie was releasing. But I’m sure the goodness of the film will translate somehow or the other into revenue. If the theatre collections are low, it will score big on DVD and satellite television. At the end of the day, a good film always finds its audience.

You played a Dilliwallah to the hilt, how did you do your homework?
Since I’m not from Delhi, I had no opinion on playing a Dilliwallah. I blindly followed my director Dibakar Banerjee’s instructions. I spent some time with guys in our crew who were from Delhi, like Akshay who has done the rap version of Super Chor and my fellow actor, Manu, who plays my friend, Bangali, in the film. I tried to get the diction and the body language right.

In the three years you’ve been here, you’ve come to be regarded as the poster boy of meaningful cinema. Are you comfortable with that tag?
(Laughs) It’s a nice tag! Jokes apart, I just pick up the scripts that I like. It hasn’t been a conscious decision on my part to do certain kind of films. The choices I’ve made have put me on this path. I do a film if I’m excited about the character and the story. Larger-than-life roles have never excited me. I’d rather play someone real who goes through obstacles and becomes a hero. I’m not cut out to play a filmi hero. I don’t look like a hero.

Do you have any reason for working with so many new directors?
When these new guys came to me, they didn’t have anything to show me except what they had written. Since I liked the scripts I thought I might as well take a chance. Sure there were a lot of insecurities working with a new director but at the end of the day, every film is a risk.

Do you feel more responsible as an actor with your image of doing different kind of films?
It’s the way you look at it. There are more expectations and so more responsibility. But I still do the films that I believe in. I’m passionate about my job as an actor. I’m humbled by the reviews of the audience and the critics. Everyone has warmed to me with each film that I’ve done. It didn’t start like that. After Socha Na Tha flopped, nobody wanted to work with me. I became very bitter and angry. So now when the industry and the audience accept me, I feel more empowered.

The general perception is that your cinema only caters to the multiplex audience. Do you agree?
It depends on the film. I’ve always given the benefit of the doubt to the audience. When a film is good, the lines between single screen and multiplex blur. By and large, we have a thinking audience. There will always be a market for the formula masala films but there is also a space for independent films. It’s just that till now the audience was only being fed with one type of cinema. Multiplexes have helped in serving the other kind of cinema and I’m happy to be a part of it.

Is it safe to say you’re unconventional in real life too?
(Laughs) Let’s just say I’m pretty normal but it’s relative.

Have you consciously avoided venturing into the Deol territory of maar-dhaar action?
It’s not that I’ve made any conscious effort to be different from my tau ji (Dharmendra) and cousins (Sunny and Bobby Deol). I knew I can’t do what they have been doing so I wasn’t even going to try. I’ll look really silly running around trees. No offence to anyone but I think all the actors look like each other. It’s as if they are operating on a template: a dance sequence followed by a romantic sequence which is followed by a fight sequence. It’s sad to see such talented actors follow the formula. My cousins openly say that they can’t dance but they still do it because the formula demands it. I can’t work like that.

So you’ll never dance on screen?
Well, I did for the song Pyaar Ki Ek Kahaani Suno in Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd and also for the music video of Ek Chalis Ki Last Local which had nothing to do with the film. Let me tell you these were the worst experiences of my film career. I was very nervous, didn’t like it at all.

Is Dev.D as whacky as it looks from the teasers?
Laughs) It’s dark humour but it’s very much the story of Devdas. The film is based in this day and age in Delhi. I came up with the concept of the film and would go around narrating it but nobody could guess it was Devdas. I narrated it to Anurag Kashyap and he loved it. He has made it in his style.

What are your impressions about Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s character?
To my mind, Devdas was an obsessive addict and that’s how I’ve played it. I don’t see him as a romantic hero. He was a rich spoilt kid who had his own vulnerabilities and addictions. Paro was his addiction.

When are you teaming up with your Socha Na Tha director, Imtiaz Ali?
When the right opportunity comes. It’ll be really good since we started our careers together. I’m happy that Imtiaz has got his due with Jab We Met. The other day he sent me a nice message after watching Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! saying, “I didn’t really think you’ll make it here but you managed to pull it off.” That’s very encouraging.

Is it true that you’ve also started your own production company?
Yup, and I’ve named it Forbidden Films. I hope the movies we make live up to the name. I’d want to make anything that is forbidden. The first film to roll under my banner will be Junction.