'It Helped To Have Shah Rukh Around'

'He is one of the most down-to-earth and hardworking guys I know, and that's true of all superstars, including Bachchan sahab.'

IMAGE: Shreyas Talpade and Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om.

Shreyas Talpade plays Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Kangana Ranaut's film Emergency.

In the first part of this interview Shreyas spoke about why he said yes to the film.

"When I asked Shah Rukh if it would be okay to slap him on the back as best friends do, he said, 'Kheechna hai, phekna hai, jo karna hai, kar lo bejhijhak (You want to pull me, push me, do whatever you want with me without hesitation)'," Shreyas tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya recallIng working with King Khan on Om Shanti Om.

Pappu Master from Om Shanti Om remains unforgettable even after 18 years. What was it like working with the irrepressible and very mainstream Farah Khan after Iqbal and Dor with Nagesh Kukunoor?

(Chuckles) Yeah, they come from two different schools of filmmaking and I was still in the Nagesh zone which is why my first scene with Shah Rukh was a little too subtle.

Farah hollered from across the room, "Shreyas, thoda aur chahiye, Nagesh se bahut upar aur Karan Johar se thoda neechey."

Her words made me realise that this was 70 mm cinema in its true sense and demanded a different style of acting.

It helped to have Shah Rukh Khan around as I learnt so much from him.

The first day on the set I asked him nervously what I should call him, and I said, "Shah Rukh."

Pointing out that he was a superstar, I prodded, asking if I should call him Shah Rukhji, Shah Rukh sir, bhaiya or dada.

Smiling, he reiterated, "Just Shah Rukh," pointing out that since we were playing buddies, we should behave like friends off screen too.

During a scene, when I asked him if it would be okay to slap him on the back as best friends do, he said, "Kheechna hai, phekna hai, jo karna hai, kar lo bejhijhak (You want to pull me, push me, do whatever you want with me without hesitation)."

Even during the promotions, he went all out, and when in London, came to my room to explain the next day's schedule.

He is one of the most down-to-earth and hardworking guys I know, and that's true of all superstars, including (Amitabh) Bachchan sahab.

Om Shanti Om was the biggest film of the year and the way he promoted it was a textbook lesson for me.

I used some of the lessons learnt for Poster Boys which I produced.

And Deepika?

Well, Om Shanti Om was her first film so she was a little nervous because everything was new for her.

But even then, she was very confident and that's made her the superstar she is today.

IMAGE: Kangana Ranaut and Shreyas Talpade in Emergency.

What about Kangana Ranaut? Was it difficult working with a director who's also a National Award winning actor??

I thought it would be because when I was directing Poster Boys during a scene with Sunny and Bobby Deol, I was so focused on how they were saying their lines, that when it was my turn, I just kept looking at them, till Sunny Paaji said, "Oye tera line hai, bol."

With my associate director urging me to relax, and Sunny Paaji pointing out that if I didn't like something, we could always go for another take, I learnt an invaluable lesson that when you are an actor, you can't be a director.

The incident was playing on my mind during Emergency, as I watched Kangana set up the shot.

Through it all, she was Kangana, the director, but the minute she stepped in front of the camera, she was Indira Gandhi.

I marveled at the split-second metamorphosis, she made a difficult transition look so easy, like Suryakumar Yadav taking that catch to win us the T20 World Cup.

Yes, she is a four-time National Award-winning actress, and I am sure, she will win a fifth for Emergency.

Working with her was a challenge because being a fantabulous actor, she had performed every part in her head and you had to at least match up to that performance if not better it.

At the same time, unlike other directors who will ask for another take to be safe even after they have got what they want, as soon as she got what she wanted, even if it was in the first take, she would move on immediately and decisively without wasting time.

What's the one thing you learnt from playing Atal Bihari Vajpayee?

Atalji had so many qualities that have inspired many through generations; he was honest, sincere, disciplined, learned, respected, but most importantly, he was always himself.

Even when he was ridiculed for the long pauses he took, with some wondering if he had dozed off, he did not change the way he spoke and that says a lot for the person he was.

IMAGE: Shreyas Talpade and Amrita Rao with Shyam Benegal on the sets of Welcome to Sajjanpur. Photograph: Kind courtesy Shreyas Talpade/Instagram

We recently lost Shyam Benegal. What are your memories of him from Welcome to Sajjanpur?

Well-read and well-spoken. Shyam Babu was an encyclopedia.

He never shot beyond 5.30 pm, only once he apologetically said we had a night shoot.

(Laughs) We wrapped up by 8.30 pm.

At 8 pm, every evening, we would all meet at the hotel restaurant.

He would ask if anyone wanted beer or wine, then order the food, telling the chef exactly how he wanted the dishes prepared.

Over dinner, he would talk on a variety of subjects, from history and geography to cinema, literature and personal experiences and we would all listen hypnotised.

Was he a strict director?

He was a disciplined and organised director who knew what he wanted, but at the same time, he gave an actor the freedom to improvise.

I remember just before we started shooting, I was rehearsing my first scene with Ravi Kishan and we were fooling around while Shyam Babu sat reading a newspaper.

Later, when we played out the scene on camera, he asked for one more take, saying, "What happened to all that you were doing earlier?"

I pointed out that the scene would get too lengthy and he told me to do whatever I wanted and leave it to him to decide what to keep at the editing table.

One important thing he taught me is that comedy mean jumping around, it has to make a social or political statement.

Could you elaborate?

Well, there's this scene where the light goes off and my character quips, "Chalo phir andhera ho gaya... Sirf 20 ghante ke liye."

The statement while spoken jokingly, says a lot about the village and the administration.

I will always regret that I couldn't do Shyam Babu's next film, Well Done Abba, because I had already committed the dates to Rohit (Shetty) for Gomaal 3.

Both films were shot in Hyderabad at the same time and though I would meet him there, I couldn't work with him again.

IMAGE: Shweta Basu Prasad, Naseeruddin Shah and Shreyas Talpade in Iqbal.

Since you started your acting career with an iconic cricket film, what are your thoughts on the present Indian team?

After the disastrous Australian tour, they are in the dock, but honestly, you can't expect them to win every match.

Winning and losing is a part of any sport, but in India, cinema and cricket are religion so people will love you and tear into you with the same intensity.

Also, today, everyone has a phone and an Instagram account, even a YouTube channel, and is a critic, not shy of expressing their opinions.

You have to respect their freedom of speech and move on without giving up.

That's what makes Sachin Tendulkar the God of cricket, he always worked hard on his game irrespective of whether India was winning or losing.

Not all of us can be God, but we can chase excellence with the same sincerity and dedication knowing ups and down will continue to happen.

Sachin Tendulkar's coach Ramakant Achrekar was impressed with your cricketing talent. Do you think you could have made it to the India XI?

(Laughs) My brother would have wanted me to.

At one time, three cousins were part of the cricket team while I was the kachcha limbu in our joint family.

That's why my brother took me to Achrekar sir for coaching, and within three months, I had moved from the Under-15 to the Under-19 team.

But when I reached college, it was exhausting to go for coaching in the morning and for studies in the afternoon.

By that time, I had started doing theatre too and one day, I told my brother I wanted to focus on acting rather than cricket.

My brother was a little disappointed, pointing out that I was doing well and even Achrekar sir was happy, but left the final decision to me.

Today, all I can say is that the boy who once never even made it to the playing XI has starred in two of the best cricket films -- Iqbal and Kaun Pravin Tambe?

(Laughs) Even after all these years, youngsters come up to me and say they want to play like Iqbal.