tabloid! caught up with Aditya Roy Kapur, a former video jockey, to speak about Daawat-e-Ishq, a foodie Bollywood film with an anti-dowry message, out this weekend, and his attempt at on-screen sobriety. After a string of small roles in films such as London Dreams, Action Replayy and Guzaarish, Kapur is hoping to repeat his Aashiqui 2 success as the main hero.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Congratulations. You have graduated from playing an alcoholic in blockbusters Aashiqui 2 and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to a sober cook in Daawat-e-Ishq. But is there a hip-flask somewhere in this film?
A. In this one, I am high on food and I have thrown away that hip-flask for good. Daawat-e-Ishq is a romantic comedy which focuses on food, but has an important social message told in an entertaining manner. Plus, Habib Faisal has used both the cities — Lucknow and Hyderabad — as characters in the film. I play a Lucknowi cook and it’s interesting to watch him.
Q. What about your character Tareq resonated with you?
A. His passion for life. Tareq is perennially optimistic. He’s transparent and an open person. It’s a character that’s different from what I have played in the past. He’s not this troubled soul. Daawat-e-Ishq has created a world that’s different from my upbringing. In the past, I have played similar roles [that of a gambler/alcoholic in Aashiqui 2 and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani] in two films that released close to each other, so I was looking forward to entering a different zone. Tareq wears clothes that I would never wear and his personality is so different from mine. As an actor, that’s the beauty of our profession. We can be whoever we want to be. Director Habib Faisal wanted the audience to watch Tareq and forget who Aditya was. I was on board for that and it aids you as an actor.
Q. What was the most challenging part about playing Tareq?
A. It was about letting go and opening up as an actor so that I can find a different person within me. Tareq is flamboyant and louder than me. He talks and behaves in a certain fashion, so it’s a challenge to get into that space. Therefore, this film is a testament to Faisal sir’s writing because he makes it easier for you. As an actor, reading his lines give you that clarity and lets us know what the director wants. We did some workshops to change my body language and I trained myself to exude a certain kind of energy.
Q. There are a lot of sumptuous kebabs and biryanis floating around. Is acting in a love story against the backdrop of food as good as it looks?
A. Yes and no. We were in Lucknow and Hyderabad enjoying all that great food. But we were losing the continuity between scenes because we were getting fatter and fatter with all that good food around us. Shooting a scene where we are having food is not as fun as it looks. Imagine you are taking 10 takes of the same scene before you get it right; and you are expected to eat four bites of the same food. By the time we nail it, we may end up eating 40 bites of the biryani for just one scene. But I have no complaints.
Q. Do you watch films on food or TV shows that celebrate food in your downtime?
A. No. I don’t like films that are made on food. But I don’t think there are that many. So I haven’t watched any films on food in a while.
Q. It’s your third film as the main lead. Are you feeling the heat?
A. Aashiqui 2 changed my life because it was my first solo film that did well. After that, I have been offered many films where I am required to play the main lead. It brings with it its own kind of pressure and responsibilities. But all my life, I wanted to be in that space in my career. So instead of worrying about it, I am enjoying all this pressure. There are so many different kinds of roles out there. Ten years ago, after a successful film such as Aashiqui 2, I would be offered the same kind of roles. But not any more. I suppose there are not many drunk and depressing roles flying around anyway. I am lucky that I am here today because different kinds of films are being made today.