‘Content on digital space is pushing the envelope’
Farhan Akhtar owns every character he plays. Be it Aditya Shroff (Rock On!!) or Imran Habib (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) or Milkha Singh (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag) or Kishen Girhotra (Lucknow Central), the actor has left an indelible mark on the mind of audiences. Now, the trailer of The Sky is Pink, which is Farhan’s latest project, shows glimpses of a brilliant Niren Chaudhary — the role he’s playing in the movie. Directed by Shonali Bose, The Sky... also stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Zaira Wasim and Rohit Saraf. Releasing on October 11, it is based on a true story of the late young author and motivational speaker, Aisha Chaudhary (Zaira Wasim), who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.
Ask Farhan whether there are any common grounds between him and Niren Chaudhary (Aisha’s father) and the actor replies, “Shonali had approached me to play the character and Niren was very clear that I portray him. We share a common interest — a passion for music. Niren plays the guitar and so do I. I guess, going by the work he’s seen me doing, he thought I was the right person.”
The actor says that he had an amazing experience working on the film. “After watching Shonali’s Margarita with a Straw, I had become a huge fan. I was very happy when she approached me with the project. Also, knowing her personally as a friend has been an enriching experience. Through the film I also got to know the Chaudhary family, they are like my own family now.”
DIRECTING TO ACTING
Farhan is one of the few personalities in Bollywood who is known for his acting and direction. He has helmed hit films like Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Don and Don 2. How easy or difficult is it for him to make the switch from direction to acting? “As an actor, I try to put myself in the director’s shoes. Say, as a director, I give a script to the actor, so then I want them to come back with thoughts, suggestions and questions as opposed to being a robot and saying, ‘Ok, I will do whatever you say’. That’s an important part of the collaboration,” he says, adding, “We cast actors because we trust them with the ability of infusing life into a part. We only give them the ‘so called body and skeleton’ but the soul has to be infused by them. To share ideas, questions, suggestions are part of the director-actor relationship but an actor should never interfere with the director’s vision.”
A director may have a better understanding of roles, but Farhan says, “It isn’t always true. Acting is a profession where people know their craft. It’s not true that because I am a director, I will know more about acting. Its demands are completely different.”
STAYING AWAY FROM DIRECTION
Critics and audience have a certain kind of respect for Farhan, the director. But his last directorial was Don 2, which released in 2011. There have been speculations about his next directorial but he hasn’t confirmed anything yet. Does the pressure of living up to the expectations of the audience make him choosy? “I am grateful about the fact that there is appreciation and desire among people to watch my next directorial and I am looking forward to it myself. But I am not keeping away from it because of the pressure from the outside world. The reason I am staying away is because there is a certain creative flow that’s happening with the work I am doing and I don’t want to interfere with that. I am just following my creative instincts.”
HIS EQUATION WITH PRIYANKA
Farhan directed Priyanka in Don and Don 2. She was his co-star in Zoya Akhtar’s Dil Dhadakne Do and now The Sky..., which Peecee has also co-produced. Ask him if their equation has changed over the years and he says, “She is to me the same Priyanka I worked with in our first film in 2006. Despite all the success, stardom and fame that came her way, she has remained the same person,” he says praising the actress.
He adds that with experience, her approach to work has changed. “Her discipline, professionalism and the way she approaches a scene has changed. I am very proud to see the way her career has spanned over the last few years. I feel happy and proud to be a part of a film, which is being produced by her and her mother.”
TRAINING AS A BOXER
The first look of Farhan’s forthcoming Toofan, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and produced by Excel Entertainment, was released early this week. It has created a lot of buzz on social media. The film and preparation looks as intense as Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which was also directed by Rakeysh. Farhan says, “Firstly, I would like to tell Rakeysh Mehra through your esteemed newspaper to come back to me with a romantic comedy (laughs). On a serious note, it’s very challenging but that’s what we all enjoy. Boxing is something I have never done before till I started prepping for the film.”
He adds that because he was a runner at school, training during Bhaag Milkha Bhaag wasn’t completely new. “But of course, I had to be as best as I could,” he says.
DIGITAL PLATFORMS
Through their production house Excel Entertainment, Farhan and his partner Ritesh Sidhwani have been doing not just entertaining films but web series too. Their web series Inside Edge was nominated at the 46th International Emmy Awards. Excel is gearing up for the second season of Made in Heaven, Inside Edge, Mirzapur. Talking about the long form that digital allows, Farhan says, “It allows you to delve more into characters. In a film, you have to tell a story in two-and-a-half hours maximum, but in digital you have a lot more time. Also, digital platforms being self regulated on some levels allow you to delve into subjects which otherwise would suffer in films due to censorship. You can shape up characters the way you want to without being apologetic.”
He doesn’t see web and films as competitive. “ I see it as an additional audience. There are people including myself, who love the experience of being at a cinema hall and watching something, having a community feeling where you don’t know the other person but you are laughing and crying together. There is something therapeutic and oneness about that. Watching a show on TV or a mobile phone is a different kind of experience. Both will co-exist happily. But the content on digital space is pushing the envelope way more and hopefully, films will be able to free itself from certain boundaries and catch up,” says Farhan, whose production Gully Boy is India’s official entry to the Oscars.
