'Vidya has matured a lot'

Rajkumar Gupta is part of a new breed of perfectionists among Bollywood directors. Instead of going for more number of films to his name, he prefers to flesh out his characters and story, as is seen in his latest venture Ghanchakkar.

Talking about the comic thriller, a new genre for both the director and the actors, Rajkumar says, “When Vidya and Emraan read the script, they realised that they hadn’t done something like this before, which is what excited me since I hadn’t either. It had situational humour that wasn’t below the belt or over the top. When Parvez Sheikh and I started writing the screenplay together, it became a script with a fine balance of comedy and thriller. The end characters that came out were a lazy safe breaker and his hatti katti Punjabi wife, who has her own notions of the world.” 

About the inspirations behind the characters, Rajkumar says, “As writer-directors, there are a lot of things that you see and people you interact with and they subconsciously get inside your head. Vidya’s character, specifically, is different in terms of dressing, behaves and talks. It’s inspired by people I’ve seen — like my friend’s sisters or bindaas aunts — but no one in particular.”

During the initial phases of the film, Rajkumar had even told Vidya that her role would not be flattering to her looks. “I was a little scared that she would say no because it’s a big thing for an actress to look a little unflattering. But Vidya is one of the most fearless stars that we have today. She keeps challenging herself and her vanity and as an actor and that’s why she’s a class apart from anybody else working in our industry today. She loved the character so much that she said ‘whatever you require, I’ll go all out to do that’,” notes the director, who has earlier directed her in ‘No One Killed Jessica’.

Comparing the two experiences, he adds, “Vidya has matured a lot, honed her craft as an actress and explored different genres. The way she is, she’ll always keep on doing that. The best thing about her is that she is humble, which seeps into her character as well.”
After Ghanchakkar hits the screens, he will focus all his energy on his next project, a romantic thriller called ‘Rapchik Romance’. “I want to explore different genres. As a film-maker, it’s always challenging to make the film that you want to make. You’re always running against things — budgets, schedules, yourself,” he explains.

He has high expectations from Bangalore and feels that the City will appreciate the film. “Bangalore’s been lovely for all my films. It’s one of the brilliant cities that I keep hearing about even though I’ve not had the opportunity to stay here for a long period of time. Emraan and I were joking about getting our own place here,” he signs off.