Big-budget flops led to Delhi Belly

Imran Khan says character-based films like Delhi Belly have evolved out of last year’s big-budget flops                                         

Delhi Belly is going to ruin your chocolate-boy image, do you really need an image makeover?

I don't need one. But as an actor, my intention has always been to do interesting things. I’ve grown up loving Guy Ritchie and Tarantino. Watching movies like ‘Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’ gave me a different perspective to cinema. It was a feeling of discovering that cinema could be like that too. It was a clutter-breaker, right from the style of story-telling, classic shots, plus breaking the rules. I always wanted to work in a film like that. If I haven’t worked in a film like that yet is because such films are never made in India. So, 'Delhi Belly' seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity and I honestly don’t know if anyone will ever try something like this again.

Since 'Delhi Belly' can be safely called an unconventional film, what are the risks of giving people something they don't expect and is there an upside?

The risk is obvious that people will not accept it. And this stands true for any film from any industry anywhere in the world or for any art form for that matter. If people aren't ready for it or it doesn't appeal or connect to them, it won’t work. The upside is huge if the film potentially works or clicks with the audience as it could pave the way for a very new style of movies in India. On one hand, it would show that our audience has evolved to be interested in new things and secondly, it will encourage producers and directors to try stuff like this. Very often the people who have the power to take decisions fear that the audience isn’t ready and that restricts the immense talent that we have in our industry. We all watch every foreign film that releases and think that it would be great to have a Hindi film like it but then we’re pulled back the thought that it would not work in India. Aamir on the other hand, said, ‘I think we’re ready. A good film is a good film and people will watch it’.

How does one make breakthrough cinema appear commercial and viable?

If a film isn’t a classic Hindi film, it becomes a niche film or an art film which only certain people
may want to watch. This is because somewhere there's a sense that commercial cinema has to be mutually exclusive from good cinema. ‘Taare Zameen Par’ is a tremendously successful film although it was quite apart from conventional Hindi films. So the idea here is why should you compromise? Be greedy and grab the whole pie! If I am going to make a film, I am going to make it my way and I am going to make it without any artistic compromise but I am going to make something that is universally liked.

Would you call ‘Delhi Belly’ a realistic film?

The film is in hyper reality. The characters are relatable as they’re regular guys like you and me who get caught up in an unusual situation, a scenario that can never happen in real life. So the
characters are realistic, how they respond to the situation is believable but the situation they end up in may not happen.

How did you prepare for the character? Did you face any challenges?

This was a surprisingly easy character for me to get into. The moment I read the first couple of pages, I understood this guy, his humour and his language. It came naturally to me.

But we’ve read otherwise, as you’ve said in previous interviews that you’re very unlike your character in 'Delhi Belly'?

Personality wise, we’re very different. But what catches me is his sense of humour, which is dead pan and underplayed. You never emphasize the fact that you’re making a joke, you never underline it. And personally, that’s how my sense of humour is. But the weirdest challenge for me was acting in English. English is my first language and I’ve learnt Hindi later. But when I was asked to narrate dialogues in English, I found myself being theatrical and over-enunciating, like we’re doing Shakespeare. None of us could understand why we were doing it. We would read out a scene and our director Abhinav would be like, “What’re you guys doing?” It took us like an entire day to get over with it and speak naturally. Luckily, we had two weeks of rehearsals to hammer that part out of us.


Any pointers from your ‘mamu’ Aamir for this role?

Aamir has never been one to give any advice, for a role or for my career. He always said, ‘Figure stuff out for yourself, that’s the only way you'll learn. And if you do something right then that success is yours’.

As an actor what have you learnt from working in this film?

Every film teaches you something. Whether you’re working with a senior actor or with someone who has less experience than you, there’s always something you learn. I am working on my 8th film right now and I’ve learnt something new in every film. It could be even something like a trick that someone has used. For example, I was doing a scene with a very senior actor recently. We were sitting for a while as the lights were being changed for a shot and it got a bit stagnant. So I got up and stretched a bit and walked around the room and came back. This actor asked me what I was doing and I told him that I got a bit limbo sitting at a place, but now I’ve done my quick walk and I’m ready for the scene. And this actor was happy to learn this and said it’s a great trick and that he had never thought of it in all the years he had spent in the industry.

This film looks like a dark comic thriller, is there an ideal formula for one?

There has to be an element of crime along with a vein of humour that comes through no matter how dark it gets. In ‘Pulp Fiction’ people die, yet Travolta is hilarious without acknowledging the fact. So, my character in ‘Delhi Belly’ is that of a complete loser, who you would not turn to in a crisis. Yet, by the end of this film he does stand up for himself and pulls his shit together.


Why do you think we're seeing a trend ofstrong character-based films like ‘Delhi Belly’ and a few big-budget sagas like ‘Lagaan’?

I think there are two reasons for this. Firstly, audiences have had a distinct change in sensibilities. Secondly, a lot of big-budget films haven’t done well last year, so the industry has changed too. It’s easier and safer to make a tight-budget film and it also lets producers try something new or different. It’s like, I’m making this film in two crores, so might as well experiment with it. This is a reason why we’re getting to watch films like ‘LSD’ and ‘Shaitaan’ and I love such films.