As an actor, isn’t it limiting for you to be always associated with comedy?
I think is unfair that that is the case but that is the perception because Bheja Fry was a huge hit and comparatively Dasvidaniya was not as big a hit. The majority of my TV career was also lighter and comedy-related, plus all the films I have done which were not comedies — like Johnny Gaddaar, Manorama Six Feet Under, Khoya Khoya Chand, Via Darjeeling – were not seen as much. But I don’t get worried about the comic bracketing. I concentrate on the job that comes my way.
Bheja Frying Again?
On what basis do you choose scripts?
Well, I would not want to do another story or indulgence like Bheja Fry. I would rather do Bheja Fry 2, than do all those other films like Bheja Fry. I try and stay away from similar films to Dasvidaniya or, now, Chalo Dilli. There have already been three offers of scripts which are all about travelling. In fact I stopped doing films after my first Hindi film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999). It became a super-duper hit and then after that all the roles I got offered were the heroine’s distant cousin from America or hero’s distant friend from Africa. I did one more film, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, where the character was in love with the heroine. Then after this I was like ‘ho gaya mera cousin. Cousin ka quota khatam’. Then I played a police commissioner in Jism. He was also the hero’s friend but a righteous guy. There was a wonderful spine to the character. After this became a hit, again I got offered similar roles with a small change — this time I would be a doctor or lawyer, but doing the same thing. So I stopped doing films in 2002-03 and went back to TV.
