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Chilled Out! Vikaas Kalantri
By his own confession, he loves to make the world laugh! Whether it's wit or playing pranks, he's got a funny bone. So, what better than doing comedies. For he's got a lot of them on his filmi resume! But there's more to him than comedy, than meets the eye. Well, over to Vikaas Kalantri Whom I met at his Hill Road apartment, on a rainy morning in July, for a glass of Pepsi, homemade besan ke laddoos and an hourful of fun! John in.
So, how's the career going?
Great! My first film, might not have fared as expected but my performance was appreciated and it got me Nitin Manmohan's Nayee Padosan. That did well and the offers kept coming in.
Wasn't Nayee Padosan a flop and only now become a hit on television?
It wasn't a flop but an above average film. But it did send TRP ratings of TV channels zooming.
And your third film Dukaan?
It was a masses' film... on prostitution. I played a Chandigarh guy who comes to Mumbai with an ambition and then gets caught in the redlight area. It did well in the interiors.
And now it's Dil Bechara Pyar Ka Maara?
Yes. I play a guy whose ambition is to be a singer. When I visit my businessman friend, my girlfriend mistakes me for the real McCoy. Instead of telling her the truth, I play along as she takes me to five-star hotels, dinners, hi-fi places while I don't have a paisa in my pocket. The film is about these guys who impress their girlfriends, resulting in hilarious situations. Divya Palat is opposite me and it's directed by Omkarnath Mishra.
Any similarities to Nayee Padosan?
It's a comedy, like Nayee Padosan. A laugh riot, but a notch better! Like there, here too we had a bound script and rehearsals. With Dil Bechara... the makers stuck to the dates allotted to us and completed everything in record time-2-1/2 months flat.
After Dil Bechara... what?
Oh, I'm doing Sudhakar Bodake's, Lawrence D'Souza-directed Money Mooney Money. We've done a day of shooting and will be going to Europe for some more. I play a bhai type of character called Jugnubhai, a sort of problem solver. If you're in troble you approach him and he'll say, "Arre yaar, no tension, do this and that." And when you follow his advice, you fall into trouble. This too is a total comedy. I am also doing K.C. Bokadia's Jo Hoga Dekha Jayenga on a youth theme.
Isn't there a surfeit of comedies on your plate?
Comedies always do well. Folks go to a theatre to relax and not to see violence and crime that they anyway get on their 15 odd news channels, daily. And no one wants to pay hard cash to see the same in a theatre. When you exit from a cinema hall, you shouldn't be pulling out your hair but smiling. My fans react to my signing of comedy films with a, "Good yaar, you're doing good stuff", or a "Comedy dekhne mein mazaa aata hai, tension nahin hain."
Fine! But as an actor, comedy is more difficult to perform.
Right. But I have a great sense of humour so that helps a lot in going up there and making people laugh.
Please elaborate.
You see, I make people laugh all the time. Whether in school, college or now, I'm the jester.
Really?! Is this restricted to wit or do you also play pranks?
Both! I used to be thrown out of school and college 'cause of this, At boarding school (Scindia's in Gwalior) I would rag a new teacher called Mridul. When I was to be appointed prefect Mridul looked astounded at my housemaster, "You're going to make this guy a perfect! Now way!" And walked away. In college I'd regularly rag a professor lyer who was bald. Fed up, he'd ask for my ID card, and if I didn't have it, throw me out of class. Today, I play pranks on the sets, pulling legs and annoying everyone. I had recently gone for Lakshya with friends and spotted a 14-year-old in front of us. I began passing comments like "See, this guy has finally found his Lakshya in life." The guy got so shy, he blushed! These incidents are the tip of the iceberg!
In Nayee Padosan, Dil Bechara....Money...Aslam Khan and you star together. Is it a coincidence, are you both promoting one another, or do you'll come as a package deal?
No, no, nothing like that. It's plain coincidence. If in one film he was cast first, in the other I was signed first. Maybe after Nayee Padosan, the chemistry we share has been appreciated. We aren't even promoting each other for we haven't reached that position yet. But yes, if someone asked me for my opinion on Aslam, I'd say, "Yes, he's a very good actor. A nice guy! It'd be fun to work with him again." That's the least I have done.
Why aren't you in any solo hero film?
I don't think people want to watch solo hero films today. Unless it's a happening subject! Even Amitabh Bachchan doesn't work alone today. This is due to two factors-One, no one wants to see the same guy for three hours, and second, saleability. More stars means a wider audience. Right?
Right! So the audience matters.
Absolutely.I sign a film on the basis of what the audience will like and then the script. The maker doesn't count, otherwise I wouldn't have done Dil Bechara... they're new people. But I trusted their script, and them.
What's your take on small budget film and this crossover cinema thing.
It's good. The market has changed and we're all adapting to it. Multiplexes have cultivated audiences for them. Today, anyone who is good enough can make a film. And people are ready to work with him. Earlier the market had just seven makers who ruled. Today there are seventy. I am open to doing such films, only, they should be promoted well for sometimes their budgets do not take care of that aspect.
When not shooting, what do you do?
There's the gym, tennis, cricket, fight and dance rehearsals. Doing comedies result in my fighting techniques going stale. And things are a changing! Who knows what kind of films I'll get tomorrow? So twice or thrice a week I attend fight classes, doing drills, kicks, just to keep in touch. For dance, I just learn general flexibility.
So, you're basically happy with life today?
Right now, yes! Much better than before! After my first film, I was down in the dumps because all those who used to call me up, suddenly stopped doing so. I'm an emotional guy and hurt easily. My parents helped me to build up my courage. Today I have a never-say-die attitude and tremendous will power to make it big!
Great! So now you know who your friends or foes are.
Oh yeah. You see, with friends and family I feel normal. When you go to film parties you have to put on a fake face and say, "How are you Sir, and Sir how are you....". I hate that. The real Vikas comes out when he's with his friends, dining or chilling out, pulling people's legs, calling them by their pet names.
What's your?
They call me 'Filmi' (laughs).
Well Filmi, those were guys, what about girlfriends?
She's from the industry but my lips are sealed.
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