Meet the ‘kool’ duo

On Thursday afternoon, the temperature in The Asian Age office in Mumbai dropped considerably — all thanks to the two very “kool” guests who dropped by for a chat. Tusshar Kapoor and Aftab Shivdasani were refreshingly frank as they talked about their upcoming film Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3, which is being pitched as India’s first “porn comedy”. From censor troubles to dealing with fame in the initial stages of their careers, the long time it took to get this installment of the franchise into the theatres — here’s what they had to say:

AA: So tell us what’s cool about the third franchise Tusshar: Everything about this franchise is hot! The tag line of the film is that it’s India’s first “porn com”, which suggests that it’s gone a step ahead — conceptually at least. It’s not related to the first two films in the franchise: The characters are new, the director is new — it is a “pre-loaded” Kya Kool Hai Hum.

A lot of successful franchises take a long time to come up with their new installments. Why is that Tusshar: A lot of it is destiny, actually. (With KKHH), at that time, there was too much of a taboo surrounding sex comedies — amongst directors, not with the audience. Riteish (Deshmukh) was not too keen, and finally in 2011, we finalised a team. I guess after this (film) we won’t have to wait a long time (to make the other installments) because Aftab won’t give us a hard time and Umesh Ghadge (the director) will take the series forward.

Aftab, let’s go back a little to the start of your career there was a lot of euphoria around you in the Mast days how did you cope with that Aftab: I was not from a film family, and films happened suddenly. Ram Gopal Varma (signed me on) without an audition — I was a normal graduate from SoBo and everything changed in my life. I did not have time to figure out what the repercussions of it would be, even when I got all the adulation and fan following I did not know how to react because I was hanging out with this normal bunch of people and not getting any attention and suddenly you are the cynosure of all eyes. It took me a lot of time to adjust, I knew if I thought too much about it then it might have messed up my mind. I’m still not very comfortable with all that.

The chocolate boy look worked for you back then Aftab: Yeah, I think the character in Mast worked for me, I fitted very well into that slot. At that time this whole chocolate boy aura was going on — until two years later Tushaar came and took it away! [Laughs]

Tusshar: Before that, Hrithik came in 2000 and changed the game!

What have your experiences with the Censor Board been like, with this film Tusshar: It changes from time to time. The Censor Board six months ago is very different from the Censor Board now. Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 1 was outrageous but had zero cuts.

There are a lot of spoofs in the trailer, were you apprehensive of hurting any sentiments Tusshar: We were not worried about it at all, everybody here knows that it’s a form of flattery. If the movie hadn’t been a blockbuster or a cult or a commercial hit we wouldn’t have spoofed it. No one spoofs flop films — you only spoof films that are talked about and in Hollywood it’s been there for decades: Scary Movie, Hot Shots, Police Academy.

Aftab, were you apprehensive about stepping into a role vacated by someone else (Riteish) Aftab: No, I would have been uncomfortable if it was a continuation, if it was a genuine sequel to the previous film, but this film has got nothing to do with part one or two. It has no connection with the story. Even for both of us, our chemistry is very new. I was excited to be a part of a big franchise which was possibly one of the few adult comedies that have worked in the history of Bollywood and I have been part of both. It’s definitely a niche genre but it’s getting popular and the youth is loving these kind of films. Tusshar: Yes, the audience base has increased.

What were your thoughts while reading the script Tusshar: During the first Kya Kool Hain Hum I was definitely scandalised and I did tell the writer to remove a couple of scenes; even though it was a two hour and 45 minute film, there were three hours of writing material that had to be trimmed. It was quite shocking and scandalizing. I think here they typecast you and for a young person who is not established, it becomes difficult.

Aftab, were you scandalized too Aftab: So we were at the Balaji office, Tusshar and I were seated opposite each other, and the writer — Milap Zaveri — he is very animated in his approach towards life, forget about a narration! There were about 20 people with us in the narration and we would cringe every 30 seconds like, ‘What is he saying!’ But once we understood the humour and the flavour of the film, we were okay with that. Of course, we can always tweak it in such a way that we can make it look funny and not vulgar, because if it’s vulgar then it falls flat.

Did you watch a lot of porn to make a “porn comedy” Tusshar: [Laughs] It’s actually a situational comedy under the umbrella of a porn com so it’s about people who accidentally get into the adult film industry and unfortunately they have to strike a balance with a traditional, not-so-modern thinking family and it becomes a circus after that.

We hear that Ekta Kapoor (the producer) didn’t want women to be objectified in one of the songs in the film Tusshar: It’s more of a perception. Ekta did not want to sound as if she is objectifying women. She thought why not have a song where a guy is being objectified — just to balance things out — not that men should be objectified either! But if we had to word it a little more politically correctly, then this is the way it should be. Aftab: But I think women would like it better if we objectified the men! Write to us at feedback.age@gmail.com