I Dont Want To Be A Role Model

Thank you,sir. Ive grown up watching Walk the Talk. When one wants to be famous,wants to achieve a lot in life,and be known by people,you see some shows and you say is pe I have to come. I always wanted to be on this show,and today here I am. I feel very happy that I was invited by you.

I did not deliberately use the expression rising star,because I think youve risen. How does a 24-year-old deal with it?

Stardom also brings in pressure.

I think,sir,any field brings pressure. A 24-year-old working in an advertising firm must also be facing some amount of pressure.

Its just that my pressure is more public. Everybody knows something written about me,said about me…thats another kind of pressure. But the point is to not take things too seriously. Thats what I tell myself.

Dont take failure or success too seriously. Just stay on the middle ground,do your job and aage badhte raho. It might sound clichéd,but thats honestly the only way to survive,because if I start over-thinking,over-brooding over my success or failure,Ill turn insane.

Which youve seen happening in your business.

Ive observed all kinds of people and realised that everyone has a different approach to their work,their life,success,failure,whatever…

There are also stars,particularly from the earlier era,who,when they become identified with certain mannerisms,or characterisations in movies,begin to talk and walk like that in real life.

That age is not what it is today. Today,filmmakers and the kind of films they are making are more realistic. Earlier,you tried to imitate cinema,an actor or star of the time. So,what he did,how he made his hair and all,what his style was,or how she did her hair…that was imitated by the public. Today,we are imitating the public,trying to be as relatable as possible. Because that is what works today.

Thats a very smart line. And I can tell you itll be quoted a lot. Because,if I can analyse your films,that is the secret of your success. You look so real even in glamorous fun movies.

The actresses Ive grown up admiring were Kajol,Rani (Mukherjee) and Preity (Zinta),and I always felt that while they had an aspirational value,they were also relatable. So,every time I walked out of the theatre,I would try to be like Kajol,because she was so real.

Tell me a line about each one of your films.

Well,Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was my launch pad. It was my birth in the industry. My second film was Badmaash Company,which taught me how to behave and forget what you are and many things that I didnt experience with my first film. Like?

I think I was so protected in my first film by the director (Aditya Chopra) and Shah Rukh (Khan),who were all so senior,that I felt like a child. In my second film,I didnt feel like that. I felt like okay,now that its happened and you are an actor,be like everybody else…and you are not going to be treated nicely because its not your first film.

But you were not a star kid to be treated nicely.

Yes,but the way I was launched,any star kid would be launched like that. I was launched opposite Shah Rukh Khan,in a Yash Chopra production,with Aditya Chopra directing it.

So,the third one?

My third release was Band Baaja Baaraat (BBB). I would say it was my breakthrough film,as people keep saying it was. Patiala House was my next release,with Nikhil Advani as director,and Akshay Kumar in the lead. I thought it was a lovely story about a father and a son. It didnt do as well as we expected it to do. Then,Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl,which was my last release. It also didnt do as well as we expected. But you know,I just accept it and move on,and now I am on to other films.

How do you deal with age and seniority in this business? In two of your films,you were up against two stars exactly twice your age.

When you are facing the camera and are standing opposite somebody,you dont think thats Shah Rukh Khan and thats his age,or thats Akshay Kumar and thats his age. Because,if you are,you are not concentrating on what you are supposed to be doing. You are not supposed to think its Shah Rukh Khan. Its a character that you are opposite. But,yes,perhaps on the sets,when you are not shooting,theres a certain level of awe,admiration and respect you have for them. So theres a bit of distance with these actors. When you are working with younger actors like Shahid (Kapoor) or Ranveer (Singh),you can be on back-slapping terms with them,and thats a different experience. But when we are shooting,I don see the difference.

Tell us some nice things people said to you. Then well come to the not-very-nice things. Did people patronise you for being a bachcha?

Nobody patronised me. Once you are here,you are on your own. Then you are in the big league.

No,I wasnt in the big league. For a long time. Right after my first release,I thought I was going to be an overnight star,and everybody would talk about me. But it wasnt like that. Because it was such a big film,I was expecting,probably,what happened with Deepika after her first film with Shah Rukh. I thought thats the kind of success I was going to see. But I didnt. And the second film that I shot for happened six months after my first film came out. I didnt turn into an overnight star. So,I had to understand that I have to work harder and prove myself,which,I think,is great. Because if I had done well in my first film,I dont know,would it just seem like I was riding on Shah Rukhs back or Aditya Chopras back? But when I came in a film like BBB,opposite a newcomer,with a new director,and I was appreciated for that,I felt like I had taught myself something.

Playing a character with a lot more to do. Yeah,I felt happy and proud about it.

So,tell me the nastiest thing somebody said,or a not-very-nice thing.

Well,the tabloids dont seem to always say nice things about you. There was once this article in a newspaper that said I was anorexic and I was losing weight,like I was going and throwing up after every meal. It upset me because it is a medical condition. I dont think the person who wrote it knows what anorexia is. If I had it,I mean,people have to go to rehab to get past it. I was really offended because it said that this is a trend many young girls are following. Honestly,I dont want any girl to follow me. I dont want to be a role model for anybody. I am who I am,I do what I do,because I think its right. People should do what they think is right for them. If you think something is right in me,you accept that. Now,this is the way my body is,and has always been.

You can just feel envious of me if you so wish?

No,not envious. I got irritated not because they called me anorexic. Because I am not affected by something I know is not true. What irritated me was that they said that young girls are trying to ape me. If young girls are naturally like me,its fine. There are so many girls in India youll see on the streets who are naturally thin,whatever they might eat. And you are a healthy eater.

Yes,I am a healthy eater. I had a discussion with Shah Rukh over this recently. He told me that his daughter Suhana is exactly like me. He said she eats twice the food I eat and even then she remains thin. So there are people with such body types. Imran Khan is like that. Obviously,some of the journalists are not aware of it.

So you eat enough to pass for a Punjabi without being one.

My fathers from UP,my mothers from Garhwal,and Ive lived in south India all my life. And Ive fooled people into believing that Im a Punjabi in two of my films,so I am happy.

Punjabis are very quick to recruit glamorous people. (Laughs) Or the ones they like. So,listen,whatever you have done,you have done very well.

I mean youve checked every box now: Anurag Kashyap,Vishal Bhardwaj,Aamir Khan,Rajkumar Hirani,aur kaun bacha hai?

Im doing a film with Yash Chopra right now. Woh to ghar ki baat hai. Aisa nahi hai. Par shuru to wahan se hi hua. So,without,once again,holding your age against you,I think whatever you are doing is working out fine for you. But most importantly,the way you conduct yourself and speak is your greatest strength. Just be yourself. Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me,sir.

Transcribed by Neha Arora. For the full transcript,log on to www.indianexpress.com