'Ajay Devgan is a chilled out guy'
How did you get this role?
Dharmendra Sharma, the editor of the film, recommended my name to co-producer Kumar Mangat for another film. I was not chosen for that film but I was thrilled when I got a call for this role in U Me Aur Hum within two days and I did not even have to audition for it!
What can you say about Ajay Devgan the director?
He is a chilled out guy but completely down to earth. I have never felt like a newcomer from the day I met him. We had a blast during the shoot and the team was, to repeat a cliché, like family. I'm a natural and a versatile actor. Ajay was totally engrossed in the film when he was directing and nothing but nothing would take him away from his work.
Let's hear about this famous prank you played on your co-actor Hazel during the shoot?
In the film, I'm playing a mischievous young boy trying to woo Hazel who is an Anglo-Indian. I made her believe that later on in the film, she had to switch over to a traditional Indian mode of dressing in a saree, bindi and the rest of the stuff. I also told her that she would have to speak in shuddh (pure) Hindi and behave like an Indian girl. She believed me and began rehearsing with her friends back home to get the perfect stuff. I even told Ajay Sir about it, fearing that he would scold me. But he did not. I also went ahead and began to teach her Hindi and the culture. When she learnt it was all rubbish, she was angry but we all had a hearty laugh over it. Actually, it was in keeping with the character I play in the film, that of a prankster.
How would you describe yourself at this stage of your career?
My looks are extremely mobile and flexible. I can look equally credible as a beggar off the streets and an NRI. Yet, I surrender myself to the director's demands once I have signed on the dotted line for a film. I look at commercial modelling today like acting because the logistics are the same – there is a script, a storyline, the commercial is shot on 35mm with make-up and costume in place, there are dramatics and you may have to dance, jump, fight and do acrobatic stuff, just as an actor has to do in films. I improvise a lot on the sets if the director permits me to. But in the final analysis, I'm a director's actor, period. But I’m too young to be hero-material just yet and am patient enough to wait. My endorsements permit me the financial viability to wait and my family, currently in the US, is extremely supportive. I'm looking forward to around two to three completely commercial films in the future but I'm in no hurry at all.
