‘I think Harman is a fantastic actor’

VIJAY DANDIGE (Contributor)

SHE IS not known to be much of a work-out fanatic. But Priyanka Chopra has managed to keep herself stunningly slim.
Strikingly pretty, smart and totally media-savvy, the former beauty queen turned Bollywood actress flew down to Dubai with her co-star Harman Baweja to promote their new film, Love Story 2050. According to the grapevine, the actress is also romantically linked with the newcomer hero.
Directed by Harry Baweja, the film is a launch vehicle for his son who is making his debut as an actor. The film is billed as India’s first sci-fi movie, replete with never-seen-before special effects. “It’s exciting. It’s India’s first futuristic movie,” said Priyanka Chopra, in an exclusive chat with City Times, at The Lodge at Al Nasr Leisureland, the venue of the press conference.
She said that she plays a double role in the movie, which was one of the main reasons why she grabbed the role. “It’s a very different movie altogether.
You have never seen these kind of special effects in a Bollywood movie. You have never gone into the future in any Indian movie. It’s a love story that crosses time zones. Of course, it’s all imaginary. But it’s looking fantastic, something we’ve never seen before. It has never been made in Hindi cinema before. It’s a milestone.” Besides Love Story 2050, Chopra is also coming out in other films like Drona, Fashion, Dostana and Vishal Bharadwaj’s film, Kameene. She has mostly featured in masala films and potboilers. When asked whether she has any aspirations to be known as a serious actress, Chopra said, “I believe that a movie is made for entertainment.
When we make a movie we want people to come and see it. And I believe box office is the star when it comes to films. I do think a serious role can happen in a commercial film. I did a serious character in a commercial film, Aitraaz, which was a completely different character from what I have ever played. It was the first or second year in my career when I played it. And I won a lot of awards for it. But I don’t think that it’s playing a character where you de-glamourise yourself or an art film that makes you a better actor. I think you’re a better actor when you can perform a character with excellence in a film which does humongously well at the box office. That’s what makes you a complete actor.” Talking about her method of choosing films, she pointed out that to accept any role she has to like the movie. “I’ll never pick a film because it is just a role that is exciting. It has to be a film that I like to be a part of,” she said. “Like my film Fashion with Madhur Bhandarkar who is a three time National Award winning director. It’s a very interesting character; it is an offbeat film, yet a very commercial one. So, I knew that if I do something relatively different or serious, it will have to be in a commercial film.” When asked whether a futuristic film like Love Story 2050 would find favour with Indian moviegoers, the actress was emphatic, citing the example of Krrish, another different type of film in which she starred. “Krrish was the first superhero film.
When we were coming out with this film, people thought how could India have a superhero film? But Krrish became a phenomenon,” she averred.
“Just like that, Love Story 2050 is a very different film.
People thought we could never make a movie like this in India, because we didn’t have the budget for it. I think we, as Indians and as Asian cinema, should be proud of the fact that we have been able to make a film like this, which can almost be at the level of a Hollywood movie in terms of its special effects. I don’t understand why people are always trying to pull down the fact that something like this has been made. I think it takes a lot of guts for anybody to attempt a film like this, especially in an industry where our budgets are much less than those of Hollywood’s.” When asked about the general impression that there is a dearth of good scripts in Bollywood, Chopra was again emphatic. “Not at all. I don’t think so. There are fabulous scripts in Bollywood,” she said. “Lots of scripts have come out which are fantastic, one of them being Love Story 2050.
It is an original movie.” And she also debunked the impression that there are no heroine-centric scripts.
“As for heroine-oriented films, I’m doing one now, which is Fashion. And there are lots of movies that do come out, like Laga Chunri Me Daag,” she said. “It just depends: where there is a demand there will be supply. If people go and see the movies, they would do well. If people don’t go and see, they wouldn’t do well.
Simple.” Some time back the Indian press was rife with reports of Chopra not getting along with Kareena Kapoor.
When asked as to why Bollywood heroines don’t seem to get along with each other, the actress said, “I don’t think you can generalise. It’s a very individualistic thing. I suppose it depends upon whether you find a friend that you like or not. And for that matter, I can say journalists don’t get along with each other either.” The actress was all praise for some of the newcomers in the industry. “I think Harman is a fantastic actor. Since I have worked with him I can talk about him. He’s extremely talented and he has a great line up of films.
Apart from him, I think Neil Mukesh is very good.
And Ranbir Kapoor is also very good.” Priyanka Chopra, the Miss India who went on to win the Miss World title, came to Bollywood as an outsider. When asked how it feels to be an outsider who made it in an industry that is dominated by families and dynasties, she said, “I think it’s difficult for both. As an outsider, it’s difficult because your initial struggle is very difficult. But then we don’t come with the baggage of expectations. But for star children, they come with a lot of baggage. People expect them to be as fantastic as their fathers or forefathers. So they have a lot of pressure. We don’t have pressure but we have a lot of struggle. I’m very proud of the fact that I made it without a godfather, without any help - just with a lot of hard work and luck.”
HERO@2008
HARMAN BAWEJA is the son of director Harry Baweja and producer Pammi Baweja. His debut film, Love Story 2050 is directed by his father and produced by his mother. He has often been compared to Hrithik Roshan in looks and dance style.
How do you feel about the launch of your maiden film and career? It’s exciting. Of course it has its share of jitters. I have been assistant director for almost eight years. I spent two years at the UCLA in America. And after that I got a chance to be an actor.
This film has taken almost two and half years to make and now it’s coming out. So it’s natural for me to get a little nervous. I’m a mixed bag of emotions right now.
And how do you cope up the weight of expectations that various people have from you? Well, more than anything else, I think it is more about my own expectations that I have to live up to for what my parents have done for me. It has been an expensive film to make, with a budget of almost Rs 50 crores. It’s looking great but at the same time there is pressure on me to perform and to deliver what they have entrusted to me. So the pressure is more emotional, if I may say, than anything else.
How do you feel about the film of Imran Khan, Aamir Khan’s nephew, which is being released on the same date as your Love Story 2050? Are you nervous about it? See, this is my first film and an expensive one. As a family we have put in three years of our lives into it. My dad is the director, my mom is the producer and my sister is the chief assistant director and I’m the actor. We literally lived the movie for three years. So when the time came to release it, we spoke to every producer and director planning to release their films in June and July. And July 4 was decided as the date of release. And then we heard about the release of Imran Khan’s picture being launched on the same date. So, dad did speak to Aamir Khan about it and requested him to shift his date. But for reasons best known to him, he refused. Of course, he’s genius and I respect him as an actor.
But there must be something that he must have felt is right. But I’m not nervous about that, about who’s coming before me or after me.
I’m just nervous about me.
You are being compared with Hrithik Roshan. How do you feel about it... good or bad? I don’t know if it’s good or bad. As I’ve said earlier, it’s not something that I have done. It’s the way I look.
I was born with it. And then again, Shahid went through it when he first came, being compared with Shah Rukh Khan. Neil Mukesh was recently compared to Hrithik.
Shah Rukh was compared to Dilip Kumar Saheb, Abhishek to his father, Priyanka to Madhuri.
So if you look at examples... they are many. And I suppose it’s only natural.
Anybody new comes in, they start relating, comparing.
You reportedly made some controversial comments about Kareena Kapoor, terming her performance as ‘robotic’ etc. Is it true and do you think it was cool for a newcomer to make such comments? No... no it is not true.
If you read the papers today, they have carried the clarifications about it.
I have never made that statement. It was an absolute misquote. I think Kareena Kapoor is a good actress.
There is no question about it.
Even before the release of your first film, you have reportedly signed five new films with directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ashutosh Gowariker, Anees Bazmee and Manmohan Shetty.
How did that come about? Well, I’d say God has been kind. I think they have all seen my rushes and I feel they must have found something in me as a newcomer. I’m sure they must have liked something about me otherwise they wouldn’t have taken me for their forthcoming films.