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Thu,Dec172015.0716PMIST

FarhanAkhtar:Cinematicpause
Afteraforthcomingreleaseandafilmtowrapup,theactorhopestoshiftfocustoscreenwritingandmusic
FarhanAkhtarpolevaultedintothebigleagueasthewriterdirector
ofDilChahtaHaiin2001.Intheensuing14years,Akhtarhas
extendedhisoeuvretoincludeproduction,acting,singing,modelling
andactivism.IttakeshimbysurprisewhenImentionthathehasnow
actedinmorefilms(eight)thanhehasdirected(four).Sittingbehind
avastuncluttereddesk,sportingabeardandhat,Akhtarspeaks
abouthislatestfilmWazir.Editedexcerpts:
ItsbeenfouryearssinceyoudirectedDon2.IsFarhanbetter
knownastheactororthedirectortoday?

FarhanAkhtar.Photo:AbhijitBhatlekar/Mint

IguessinsevenyearsofactingIhaveactedineightfilms(theninth,
RockOn!!2,isunderproduction).Twoyearsoutofthatsevenwere
spentonBhaagMilkhaBhaagalone.Soyoucouldsaysevenfilms
havehappenedinfiveyears.Directiontakesupalotoftime:Each
filmtakestwoyearsormorefromscriptingtorelease.Itsalengthier
processthanacting.AtthemomentIamenjoyingacting.Thereisa
niceflow,sowhymesswithit.

DidWazirchallengeyouasmuchasplayingMilkhaSinghdid?
No,becausethatcharacter(MilkhaSingh)issofarremovedfromwhoIamanonEnglishspeakingboyfromavillageatatimesodifferent
fromtheoneIliveinandaworldthatissodifferentfromtheoneIbelongto.Plusitwasaveryemotional,dramaticandtragicstory.We
preppedforeightmonths.Itwouldbenicetogetchallengedtothatextentagain.
WazirdoesdoittoacertainextentinthesensethatmycharacterDaanishisfromthepoliceforce,butheisstillacityperson,soIdidnot
havetogofarfrommyfamiliarspace.Thechallengewastogetthedisciplineoftheguy,hisbodylanguage,howhemusthavetrained,and
hisbackground.
Howdoyouachievethat?
Well,alotofthatisbuiltintothescriptandyoualsounderstandthatfromthedirector(BejoyNambiar).Theotheris(through)observation
andbyreadingbooks.Also,weknowalotofpeoplefromthepoliceforceandATS(antiterroristsquad).Ihavemetoneofficeroften,at
functionslikehischildrensannualdays,etc.,andtoseehimwhenheisnotinuniformiswhenyouseethesofterside.However,thatbody
languageissoingrained,andmycharacterislikethat.Hetakesprideinthisjob.
YouhaveknownAmitabhBachchansinceyourchildhood.YoudirectedhiminLakshyaandnowyouarecostarsinWazir.Were
youstillinawe?
EventhoughIhaveknownhimsinceIwasakiddoesnotmeanIamnotfilledwithawewhenIworkwithhim.Youaremeetingthatguy,who
didthatfilmandthatscene.Youfeelchildlikebecauseyouareafanandanadmirer.Fortunately,heisreallyeasy(tobearound).Having
saidthat,ittookme34hourstosettleinonthefirstdayonset.Afterweeksofrehearsal,youareincostumewithmakeup,onset,witha
chessboardinbetweenyouandhim,andyouknowthiswillbetheshotitssurreal.Whenthefirstshotrolled,Iwentovertothemonitorand
askedBejoytoshowittome.Iwantedtomakesureitwasreallythere.
HowwouldyoudescribeWazir?
Itsanemotionaldramathriller.Atitsheart,itsthestoryoftwofriendsandhowtheybringeachotherbackfromthelowestpointsintheir
lives.Chessisametaphorforthegamebeingplayedinthefilm.Athrillerrequiresacertainpace,whileanemotionaldramarequiresa
certainstillness.ItsatestamenttogoodwritingbyAbhijat(Joshi)andVinod(Chopra)thattheyhavebeenabletostrikeabalance(between
thetwo).
Thisisyourfirstactionfilm.
Yes,anddoingactionwasfun.Iloveactionmovies.IamfascinatedbytheDieHardmovies.Ilovedthebikeriding,thecarchase,rolling
acrosstheroad.Asfortherunningscene,IhavehadtwoyearsofpracticesoIwarnedtheunitIamgoingtorunveryfast,beprepared.
YouarealreadydeepintoshootingthesequeltoRockOn!!.Whatnext?
ThereisnoconcreteplanafterRockOn!!2.Theintentionistotaketwothreemonthsoff.IhavebeenworkingnonstopsinceZindagiNa
MilegiDobara.SoIthoughtwhynotkeepRockOn!!2asabookendandthinkaboutwhatIwanttofocusongoingahead.Oneoftheprojects
istofinishsomeofthemusicstuffthatIhavewritten,whichIwanttogetproducedasanindependentalbum.Illalsousethistimetowriteor
revisitscriptsIhave.
Whatisyouropiniononcreativityintimesofcensorshipandinthefaceofamajoritarianimpulse?
Creativityhastosurviveanditsimportanttofightforitandstandtogetherforit.Wecannotbesqueamishaboutstuff.Youhavetobeableto
talkaboutthingsandletpeopledecideforthemselves.Totreatyoungadults,sayeventhoseover21,aschildrenandsaywecannotshow
yousomethingbecauseitmaybebadforyouisunacceptable.
Manycountrieshave(movie)ratingsthatfunctiononasystemthatdistinguishes(theaudience)byage.Thatswhatweneedtocreate.The
majoritarianimpulseisclearlythere.Weareseeingiteverydayinsomemanifestationortheother.
Weareaveryyoungcountryandwhatwearegoingthroughnow,slightlyolderdemocraciesorrepublicshavealreadybeenthrough.
LookatAmericainthe1950s,whentheyhadtheCommunistwitchhunt,segregation,etc.Theunfortunatepartisthatwehavenotlearnt
fromotherpeoplesmistakes.

Wazirreleaseson8January.