Tusshar: New, improved, determined! Star son wants to make it big -- on his terms

Quietly, gently and unobtrusively, this star son has completed his second film Kya Dil Ne Kahaa. Tusshar is like that.

Polite, unostentatious, Tusshar's determination to score beyond the first hit Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, in which he starred opposite Kareena Kapoor, shows in the way he works on the sets. There is an air of grave concentration around him as he prepares for his second release. Subhash K Jha meets a calm actor.

What do you expect from Kya Dil Ne Kahaa?

I hope it does moderately well at least. I have put in my best effort and hope I am appreciated.

I think I have improved since Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai. My clothes have definitely improved. Now I know what looks good on me.

How different is it working on your sister [producer] Ekta Kapoor's sets in Kya Pyar Karoge Mujhse?

When your sister is watching you on the monitor, you tend to be more self-conscious. On the sets, I am aware of her problems. If there is a problem with the light or the camera, I am worried too. I am not just an actor on her sets. I worry about the other artistes' coming on time. I suffer with Ekta.

After the first schedule of Kya Pyar Karoge Mujhse I had to distance myself from production problems to concentrate on my performance.

What kind of film is Kya Pyar Karoge Mujhse?

It is a romantic thriller. Anurag Basu, who has directed my sister's [television] serials, will helm this project. My sister is creatively involved with the project, including the scripting. Anurag is a very good technician. I think he is doing a good job.

You do like working with newcomers?

Yeah, I guess. I am working with four new directors. It feels good to be associaited with young, enthusiastic people whom you can relate to.

Take Tejaa, who is directing Ek Duje Ke Liye. He is new to Hindi cinema. I play a loner called Ravi Kumar in his film. He comes out of his shell when he falls in love. The Telugu original was a hige hit. When I saw it in the theatre, I was amazed. Youngsters were dancing in the aisles.

The original starred Uday Kiran and a girl from Ekta's serial, Kabhi Sautan Kabhi Saheli. That film is almost complete. It will probably be my next release. It will be followed by Vashu Bhagnani's Jeena Sirf Mere Liye with Kareena, and then Ekta's film.

Your career seems to be sensibly chalked out?

I would give myself credit for that. I make an effort to take up projects that will be completed on time. I also try to space out my releases. It is very important that films release on time.

I intend to be very careful about my schedule. I plan to do only three films at a time. For the last six months I have been shooting non-stop. I want to work at a more relaxed pace. I don't want to become like my dad [yesteryear star Jeetendra] in the 1980s when he worked on so many South Indian films that people lost count. Sixty per cent of them were hits. But hits or not, they were not very memorable films.

Had he worked in fewer films, all of them might have been hits. Overwork is bound to show after a point. I have learnt from the way my father conducted his career, though he did whatever he believed in.

But I will be very cautious about planning my career.

What sort of offers are coming your way?

I don't necessarily get leading roles. I was even offered a villain's role which I turned down. I have no dates until next year.

One offer I regret letting go was J P Dutta's LoC. There are so many actors in the film --- I just couldn't decide whether I wanted to be in it. I am also supposed to do a film produced by [actress] Farida Jalal and directed by Anant Mahadevan. It is a classy subject.

Esha Deol is your costar in two films...

Yes we really had a good time shooting for Kya Dil Ne Kahaa. The entire team including director Sanjay Chhel is young. The schedule in New Zealand was wonderful because we became pals. And we got comfortable with each other on screen.

How different is Esha from Kareena Kapoor?

They are both well prepared before they come on the sets. Kareena is more attuned to the way the industry and a film set works. Esha is like a normal 20-something doing her job.

The two of you are supposed to be keenly interested in each other.

Please! What is that supposed to mean? We are great pals, that's it. Earlier some magazines linked me with Amisha Patel. She was my sister Ekta's friend. She left for the States a year before me. The gossips had us engaged!

As a star kid do you empathize with Esha's problems?

We do share a bond especially with the way the press reacted to our performances in our first films. They tend to be harsh on star kids. Critics expect that little bit extra from an Abhishek Bachchan, Esha Deol, Arya Babbar or Tusshar Kapoor.

Of course they were kind to me once my first film came out. I couldn't have asked for a better response from the audience.

Fortunately all my forthcoming films have the potential to please the masses and classes. The days of run-of-the-mill films are over. The success of a film like Company is a good sign. People are in the mood for the unconventional.

How unconventional is Sanjay Chhel's Kya Dil Ne Kahaa?

I think this film comes at a very appropriate time. Considering marriages are falling apart all around me, I empathise with my character in the film. I play an NRI who is disillusioned with marriage because his parents squabble all the time.

My character here is far more aggressive and rebellious than in Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai.

Did you like your character in Mujhe Kucch…

Yeah! He was so quiet and understated. Yet he came across as emotionally strong. I am shy like my character, but far more ambitious. In fact, I was so shy as a teenager that I couldn't even order food at restaurants. Maybe it had to do with having celebrity parents.

But my trip to the US took care of my inhibitions. It took me away from the world of magazine covers, success, failure and sham.

Enjoy the attention now?

Love it! I read all my fan mail. I get letters from people under 30. They discuss my plus and minus points as though I was a close relative.

I still enjoy doing the same things I did earlier like quiet dinners with close friends. I like watching television and movies. I loved Here's Lucy, and my favourite films are Terminator, The Blue Lagoon, The Godfather and Dirty Rotten Soundrels.

Corny humour like American Pie bores me to death.

How has your dad taken your success?

Well, he has given up alcohol. So he has reacted far less emotionally than he would have otherwise.

Nowadays he meets his friends and comes straight home. He is not interested in acting, unless he plays my dad --- he is acting in Ekta's film.