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HomeEntertainmentCelebrity InterviewThe original baddie of Bollywood: Gulshan Grover

The original baddie of Bollywood: Gulshan Grover

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You have said your best work is yet to come, do you stand by that?

Absolutely! My best is yet to come. Some of the glimpses of that will be seen in the four films that are going to be released in the next two months.

 

It is extremely rare that an actor has four films releasing in such quick succession and you are different in each one. Firstly can you tell us about Bullet Raja?

Bullet Rajais with Saif Ali Khan, Sonakshi Sinha and directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. I play the main villain in the film. Saif Ali plays a rising gangster who is the king of bullets whereas my character is the king of money (he is money raja). He is in complete contrast to Saif’s character and this leads to conflict. So he is the protagonist and I am the antagonist. We go to war! This will be Saif’s best film because we have seen him being very polished, stylish and educated for a long time, whereas this is a small town guy who is rough around the edges. On top of it the director is one of the finest working in Indian cinema today.

 

Can you tell us about Sooper Se Ooper?

It’s a wacky, crazy, quirky comedy and I don’t play a bad guy in it. I play a co-lead with Vir Das. We play uncle and nephew. My character is inspired by legendary late great painter MF Husain and he is a learned man who is teaching at Oxford. The nephew looks for him and what he finds is an eccentric painter who is a wacky genius. It is about how they get caught in different circumstances.

 

You also have two other films?

My third film is a film called Yariaan. It is produced by T-Series owner Bhushan Kumar and directed by his wife Divya Khosla Kumar. It is actually the first in-house production they have done. This is a young, crazy romance and today’s love story about six young people in a college. I play a leading part of a college principal who is an extremely good guy with a certain amount of older values. He throws challenges at these youngsters. The film is shot in great locations including the very beautiful Darjeeling and Sikkim.

 

And the fourth film?

It is called Baat Bann Gayi. It’s a comedy like the classic Hrishikesh Mukherjee films. It’s based on a Shakespeare saying that we all have a look-a-like in some part of the world. Not necessarily a relative. So I play a double role in the film of a college professor and the role of a gay choreographer. They are not related, but they look almost exactly alike. The movie also has Ali Fazal who was in Fukrey. He also has a double role (a nice good guy supposedly in love with my sister and a gangster). The leading lady also has a double role. It is a great comedy of errors and I have a very central role in it. The best is yet to come and there will be glimpses of that in these films. The roles aren’t even remotely similar.

 

You have done more than 400 films, what keeps the fire burning?

I consider work as worship and understand that God has been very kind to me. If I had done anything else I would’ve been unhappy. I wanted to be an actor, I prayed for it and struggled for it. My family went to temples praying for me to become an actor.

 

Has the approach to your craft changed?

My craft has evolved, it hasn’t changed. Evolution is something seniors are often guilty of rejecting and often get left behind. If you are not going to allow younger energy or younger ways of looking at things combine with your years of experience, you are screwed. You’ll be left behind sitting in a room and saying these guys don’t understand.

 

What advice would you give a young actor?

If I would’ve answered this question six months ago I would’ve said be very dedicated, work hard and learn the craft. But today I would say along with all of that be prepared and have a certain kind of patience because stardom can be hollow.

 

What do you mean?

You may get attention, photographs, big offers and everything else like that, but then suddenly things may not go your way. Or maybe you will have to struggle more than others who are less talented. You should have a certain amount of maturity to deal with that. You need a certain amount of detachment, shouldn’t get too affected by it all and take extreme measures like ending your life. The glitter and glamour comes with a certain amount of frustration when things don’t go the way you want them to go. You may feel others are not so much interested in you, as you feel they should be. So today I would say along with the hard work and dedication you need to have the understanding that heartbreaks are serious here. People can change here by the hour, a screenplay can change in seconds and so you have to be ready to deal with it all.

 

You have travelled all over the world. What has been the most interesting place you have shot in?

I am from India and love every corner of my country. It is my home and the most beautiful to me. The second most beautiful place I have shot in is in England. You can get a certain kind of colour and feel only in England. This can be seen in the many films that have been shot here.

 

Can you talk about your connection to London?

London is like my second home. If you live in India or anywhere else in the world…when you have the ability to travel…you just want to go to London. It has been like that for centuries and will be like that for many years to come. When we say travel to go outside, London comes to mind first. Where else can you get the sites that you see here like Oxford Street; everybody from Gulshan Grover to Mr Amitabh Bachchan loves to shop here. It is also truly a multicultural city offering so many cultures and so many different types of cuisine. Everybody here is so friendly and it’s also a great city to shoot in. (Laughs) It also usually has cool pleasant weather, which isn’t the case today, because it’s so hot.

 

You have acted with all the great stars. Who did you enjoy acting with the most?

It is difficult to say and no one can choose because everybody has become great in their own way. Certain qualities or traits have elevated individuals to great heights. If I am in the business still after 30 years, still so interested in it and still so mad about the craft, it is because I have certain traits that are attractive to filmmakers, fans and co-stars.

 

It is 100 years of Indian cinema, which movie made a big impact on you?

There are many but one that immediately comes to mind is of course Mughal-e-Azam. In my life if I have truly learned a lot from one film then it was from

Mughal-e-Azam. Although I am a student of cinema, I am not just only talking about its cinematic moments. I have even learned about relationships, love, dynamics between a parent and a child, and many themes that are still relevant today in the 21st century from this film. It has stood the test of time in a completely relevant way. A lot of films have started to look dated and even a lot of acting has started look dated, but not with Mughal-e-Azam. This is still a great movie that you can watch today. It’s a piece of art. It’s a movie that’s completely relevant today and has stood the test of time. Nothing comes close to it today.

 

What does the future hold for you?

There is so much that I need to do. Not just for myself as an actor, but I really want to do things for society. I want to give back something to the people who’ve given me such love, affection, adulation, money and everything else. I feel very concerned about the young people not only the ones who are going into showbiz but those who may feel disillusioned in life or feel hollow for some reason. It’s in every walk of life, in every field, so I feel very concerned and connected to the youth because I have a young son. I think established people in whatever profession should take a responsibility to nurture new talent. The well-established should see how they can be of assistance to the younger generation. They should give counselling and guidance to the next generation in whatever field. Someone should come forward to make this happen and they should also learn from these youngsters. I would like to be someone who helps makes this happen.

 

 

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