Badtameez Dil has a fun feisty flavour to it.Is it more fun to do something light and frothy?
Oh yes I am hoping with all my fingers crossed that the audience loves Badtameez Dil and it does really well for Amazon miniTV and the team decided that they need a part 2. Of course I want to do light stuff and I am very clear that I will do anything light but not if it’s not standing up for something.
What do you mean?
My character is just going to have to shift the status quo , make some difference, uske bina to mai kaam kar hi nahi sakti. It’s just in my DNA, I think. I have to move the needle in some ways, that is my sole responsibility as creator, as an artist. I have to serve humanity in some way. I don’t just want to do stuff because I want to do it. Of course, we all work for our selfish reasons, but I want to serve humanity. It is what art is, art serves humanity and I want to do that. Even if it is light, frothy, it can be no brainer but my character should break some norms.She should do something which is not expected.
The chemistry between you and Barun Sonti is amply on display.How difficult was it to get so comfortable with one another?
It was very comfortable to work with Barun and to create that chemistry because our written material was very good. Our characters as individuals were very clearly defined so when we knew these characters are coming into each other’s world, then what will happen is happening between the characters. So it’s not really like now what we do, we do because they were so well written on paper for both Karan and Liz. We knew what they would do when Karan and Liz would meet so we always approached it from there. That’s how you approach any character when you are working with other actors and characters. We also approach what the character is bringing in and that is how we really did it.
Lately the OTT platform is saturated with content. What, according to you two, makes Badtameez Dil stand out?
What the writer did was they took away all the clichés of the genre and they put a pin on it and they burst the bubble and I think that’s what makes it so refreshing and watchable. You are taking everything that has already been sold to you and you are just bursting that bubble for the audience. The audience gets the perspective, so that’s what we have done.We make a rom-com different from it already is or they already exist to be. So I think they did that if you see the show you will know that there is so much conversation around things that normally are taken as a no-no in a rom-com but we have not done that. There is a lot of stuff being said in the show which nobody talks about in a rom- com and even the character is similar to me.
In what ways?
She had body-image issues and she was supposed to have selfworth issues .It’s not like she is a heavy person but the way th rom-com up until now have sold things to us, you either have to be very sexy or you are not okay. If you don’t fit into the mould of how one should look then you’re not perfect and things are not okay with you. I feel like that is something that resonates with me also personally because I have a particular body type and I am bloody proud of my body and I will never ever succumb to what people want me to be.The moment I embraced myself, every prejudice went out. Nobody ever said anything about my body and that is what we wanted to do in the show also. This girl hs bod-image issues, she has those issues. The moment she stops having those issues, those issues disappear. The stuff like that which I think I have not been a part of narratives before.
What is Ekta Kapoor like as a producer? How hands- on is she?
I think Ekta is one of the most genius people of our country. She is a source of light because she is absolutely original in the way she operates. Nothing can get in the way of her creativity genius and I think that’s what we know of creative genius. They are so in touch with their creativity that nothing can malign them, nothing can corrupt them, nothing can change anything. She is fabulous, most hands on. She is very passionate about what she is doing. In our industry especially in this day and age, the only content, the only people, the only teams, the only work that is sort of lasting are that ones which have an intrinsic conviction – the power of conviction, the confidence of your conviction and she has that. In that sense,she’s a force to reckon with, we all know that and its not wrong. The more you work with her the more you realize that is true.
Tell me about your forthcoming projects?
Well there are couple of projects coming up but unfortunately I can’t talk about them because the teams have to come out and talk about them. There is ‘Lakkad Baggha 2’ that is going to be shot in the second half of the year and there are part 2s of a lot of stuff I have done. Apart from that honestly I have not signed anything new because I think I want to push myself into doing better work. I want to drive the story I think I have it in me. I am ready I have proven it time and again. I want to work with filmmakers and teams that wants to invest in me and want to drive the story through me, because I think I can do that. I can deliver, work as a team player so I am ready for that. So, if that doesn’t happen I am not going to do it. I am picky from the start. Nothing can stop me, but I am hoping that people are not as lazy, they take the risk and take me on for something challenging. I am up for challenges. I don’t know about the people in the industry. I hope they are too.
