'Papa Was Willing To Cast Me But...'

'He has always let us do our own thing but if we ever need anything, he is there with the best advice.'

Junaid Khan is all set for his first big screen release, the romcom Loveyapa, opposite Khushi Kapoor. It will release on February 7.

Interestingly, it is not produced by his daddy, Aamir Khan.

Junaid tells Subhash K Jha, "Papa was and remains more than willing to cast me in films that he feels I'm correct for. But beyond that, he won't go out of his way for it and that's how it should be."

Your sophomore venture is up for release. Were you more anxious during your debut in Maharaj?

I'm very excited. I like the film and music very much. How people will respond to it, time will tell.

So far, I have found the experience of having an upcoming release more surreal than anxious, whether it was Maharaj or Loveyapa.

Loveyapa is worlds apart from Maharaj.

Yes. Even how they were made.

I found the experience of shooting Loveyapa more intense.

We had a very young crew with a first-time DOP (Director Of Photography), first-time Production Designer and Phantom Films making a film after a very long time.

That brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm on set.

Maharaj had a very senior and experienced crew, which made the filming experience more relaxed and controlled.

Both films and characters are very different.

My character in Maharaj was closer to my personality than Loveyapa.

Your father Aamir Khan was willing to launch you, yet you chose the independent path. Was that a conscious decision?

That's just how things happened.

Papa was and remains more than willing to cast me in films that he feels I'm correct for. But beyond that, he won't go out of his way for it and that's how it should be.

The first project where everything aligned came from Yash Raj Films and the second from Phantom Films.

But my next film is with Aamir Khan Productions. We have already finished filming.

 

What was it like shooting this romcom in Delhi?

It was a lot of fun. We shot in Mumbai and Delhi from the summer going into the monsoon.

There were a lot of praying to the rain gods and hair-makeup-wardrobe complaining about the sweaty actors.

But personally, I got to work with some fantastic senior actors like Ashutosh Ranaji, who I'm a huge fan of and who brings this fantastic energy on set.

He gives so much to the scenes and elevates everyone's performances.

Kiku Sharda sir is probably the biggest star in our film.

In this film, he's doing drama instead of comedy and he's just fabulous.

Grusha Kapoor ma'am plays my mother. I feel that relationship has the best chemistry in the film.

Are you taking tips from your dad regarding your career?

I mostly do my own thing and Papa encourages that.

He has always let us do our own thing but if we ever need anything, he is there with the best advice.

I normally go to him when I need some specific advice and he is very helpful.

Whom did you grow up idolising?

Our country has such fantastic actors that the list is very long.

Irrfan (Khan) saab, Naseer (Naseeruddin Shah) saab, Srideviji, (Amitabh) Bachchan saab, Rani (Mukerji), Kareena (Kapoor), the list is very long.

Aamir was very keen on working with Srideviji, now you are working with her daughter. Surreal?

Definitely. Papa and I are both huge fans of Srideviji.

Mr India was one of my favourite films growing up.

For years, Papa had wanted to work with her. But I will also say that Srideviji's daughter Khushi is going to be a big star in her own right.

She is absolutely dynamite in our film.

What after Loveyapa?

I have a Aamir Khan Productions Film with Sai Pallavi called Ek Din.

We have finished filming. It will be out soon, hopefully.

I'm also on stage in March at Mumbai's NCPA theatre.