Wednesday, Jun 25, 2014

It was a moment of reckoning for Bollywood actor Siddharth Malhotra as he watched the action-packed film Agneepath in a busy cinema hall in Mumbai. The 2012 blockbuster had Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan as the valiant avenging hero, but it was Sanjay Dutt as the menacing, bald villain, Kancha Cheena, that got the crowd cheering.

“Even if he was doing the most evil things, he had that likeability factor. That kind of charisma to play a negative character endearingly, few actors have … like Sanjay Dutt or Shah Rukh Khan,” said Malhotra in an interview with tabloid!.

So are villains the new heroes? That theory can be put to test this Thursday, in Malhotra’s latest film, Ek Villain. Malhotra, who was discovered by Bollywood’s most influential producer-director, Karan Johar, will swap the sophisticated suave look that he made his own in his debut feature Student Of The Year for a troubled, stubble-ridden anti-hero, Guru, in Ek Villain.

“It’s a love story of a bad person. It tells you what happens when a negative character succumbs to those emotions … It’s romance set against a dark, odd space,” said Malhotra.

Directed by Mohit Suri of Aashiqui 2 fame, Guru, with his traumatic childhood that includes witnessing a gruesome murder while young, has a complex mental make-up.

“But I am not a sophisticated villain that you are accustomed to. Guru was born and brought up in Goa and he then moves to Mumbai. We all have a good and a bad side to us. Sometimes, it is more real to make stories on negative characters. The trick is how do we make the bad look good?,” said Malhotra.

Enter Aisha, a seemingly uncomplicated, chatty girl, played by Shraddha Kapoor.

“I am the only positive factor of Ek Villain. She is somebody who wants to spread the love and make other people’s dreams come true. She loves to crack jokes even if nobody gets it. She is always laughing and in good spirits all the time,” said Kapoor.

The daughter of Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor became an overnight star with the stupendous success of Aashiqui 2. Her role as a rags-to-riches Bollywood playback singer in love with her alcoholic mentor (Aditya Roy Kapur) got her noticed in a big way and she’s now working with the likes of award-winning director Vishal Bharadwaj for his Hamlet film, Haider, starring Shahid Kapoor. Ek Villain is her second time being directed by Suri. So did he have to sell the script to them?

“I have always been a Mohit Suri fan and when he offered me Ek Villain, I considered it my biggest prize after Aashiqui 2. I said ‘yes’ to Ek Villain after he narrated its first scene. I didn’t even know the whole story. I trust him with my life and I know he will take it as a challenge to present me in an avatar that’s different from my role in Aashiqui 2,” said Kapoor. She may have blind faith in Suri, but Malhtora and the director took their time to get to know each other. They met several times before taking the plunge.

“I was shooting for Hasee Toh Phasee when I heard the script. I found it unique that he wanted to make a story about a bad person. It sounded pretty alien to what I have done so far in my career and how I was perceived. It was certainly an out-of-the-box move for me,” said Malhotra, adding that he would not have given the go-ahead had the story been narrated by a new director. After his hip Bollywood debut Student Of The Year in 2012, he became the quintessential pin-up boy, idolised by teenagers. Playing an anti-hero could prove costly if his hormone-charged fans don’t buy into his evil act.

“But if there’s one person who can pull it off, it has to be Suri. I am glad that he saw a jhalak [slice] of the evil guy in me after our meetings … he was intrigued that I had come from Delhi to Mumbai to pursue a career in films … He thrives on people’s emotions and their dark sides,” said Malhotra. According to them, Suri is not a fan of uncomplicated, life-embracing characters. ‘Play with pain’

“Imagine he’s asking you how your day went. He doesn’t want to know that it went well. He wants to know the bits about who made you angry, irritated and frustrated,” said Kapoor. Malhotra couldn’t agree more. Angst was an emotion that got Suri soaring (if you look at his previous track record in Bollywood, emotionally heightened films such as Woh Lamhe and Aashiqui 2 were led by protagonists who should be on suicide-watch).

“He loves to play with pain. Even look at Aashiqui 2, he thrived on re-telling the phase of a singer’s life when his cards were down. The hero has lost all hope,” said Malhotra. So, how difficult is to be intense on cue?

“If you have to do such scenes convincingly, then it takes a toll on our moods. After a scene that requires you to scream loudly, it takes a couple of hours to feel normal again … but Mohit made it easy by playing music that evokes those kind of emotions. Ek Villain was emotionally and physically tiring, but I am happy that I am acting in a unique film,” said Malhotra. The actor had also put on some weight to look the part of a street-toughened villain.

For Kapoor, riding a bike and becoming familiar with her 200-page script was the biggest challenge.

“I have never spoken so much in my life … Aisha speaks so much and she speaks at a particular speed. To crack those jokes at that pace was not easy. The idea was to have fun and be in a good mood while enacting those scenes.”

The movie also has a surprise package. Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh, who’s known for his impeccable comic timing, will play another anti-hero in Ek Villain.

“Ek Villain will surprise and entertain you. We are the new-age heroes who have streaks of grey in them. The movie will make you question what’s good and what’s bad in a person,” said Malhotra.

By Manjusha Radhakrishnan, Senior Reporter

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