Wish come true

More often than he8217;d like, Vinay Pathak is known as Ranvir Shorey8217;s better half. And as much as we8217;d have liked to interview them together...

Vinay Pathak turns producer with Dasvidaniya

More often than he8217;d like, Vinay Pathak is known as Ranvir Shorey8217;s better half. And as much as we8217;d have liked to interview them together, we inadvertently meet him at his office sans his friend, to talk about his forthcoming film, Dasvidaniya, which releases on October 31.

The actor receives us amid a flurry of activities, and forced humour: 8220;Would you like lemon tea? We are called Lemontea productions, you see.8221;

As he sinks into his bean bag with his cup of chai, he explains his venture into production. 8220;We had a story to tell, and my partner and director, Shashank Shah, and I thought why don8217;t we do it ourselves?8221;

Staying true to his penchant for scripts and situational humour, Pathak8217;s current project is also a light-hearted comedy about how Amar Kaul8217;s Pathak life changes when he realises that he has only a few months to live. 8220;It8217;s an extraordinary story of an ordinary man,8221; he says, 8220;who has lived a life so dull that the news of what future has in store for him puts him in a frenzy to live his life to the fullest in whatever time he has. So he sets out with a list of 10 things he wants to do before he dies.8221;

This may also explain the rather unusual title, Dasvidaniya, which, in Russian, means 8220;the last goodbye8221;. 8220;The name is not a publicity stunt 8212; the film could not have had any other title,8221; he clarifies and asserts that only after watching the movie will one realise how apt it is. 8220;The way Romeo and Juliet encapsulates the essence of Shakespeare8217;s play, similarly the word dasvidaniya, captures the spirit of this film.8221;

The promos show the cherubic actor in an endearing, bespectacled, geeky get-up, waving to his friends as he sets out on his journey. However, the stereotypical look for the protagonist is not something one expects from Pathak, known for reinventing characters. But work seems to have taken a toll on him in more ways than one. We realise that he8217;s taken his 8220;funnyman8221; title way too seriously when, between half-baked jokes, he justifies that 8220;the look was worked out when the team was trying to find the spine of the character8221;.

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Though the ex-VJ plays the lead role in the film, Shorey and Rajat Kapoor the third angle to the troika are also a part of the project. 8220;It8217;s like going to college with your friends from school,8221; he laughs.

The actor, who is as renowned in the theatre circles as is in the television and the film industry, feels fortunate to have been able to choose the work he wants to do. 8220;Not everyone8217;s as lucky.8221;

Between posing for pictures, he talks of his plans to direct a movie some day. 8220;Meanwhile, till the right story comes by,8221; he says, 8220;I will continue with theatre, the flesh and blood of my existence.8221;