Team Zubaan — Vicky Kaushal, Sarah Jane Dias and director Mozez Singh — were special visitors at The Asian Age office on Thursday. Here’s what they had to say...
Team Zubaan — Vicky Kaushal, Sarah Jane Dias and director Mozez Singh — were special visitors at The Asian Age office on Thursday. Here’s what they had to say...
It is for the first time that an Indian film opened the Busan Film Festival and the makers of Zubaan are admittedly surprised and adequately proud too. While the film has conquered Busan, the toughest beast to beat remains Bollywood. Right now, the team appears pleased that the trailer has spurred some questions in people’s minds.
Over an afternoon chat session at The Asian Age office, the film’s team comprising actors Vicky Kaushal, Sarah Jane Dias and director Mozez Singh spoke about their journey of making the film and their stint in the industry. Their experiences have been diverse, as we got to know over the one-hour long session that was peppered with anecdotes, nostalgia, confessions and more.
Many were vying for you to take home the Best Debutant award at a recent awards function for Masaan but Tiger Shroff beat you to it Vicky: I had done a small role in Bombay Velvet and before that in Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana. There was also a short film I had done called Geek Out. So technically, according to the organiser’s criteria, they couldn’t consider Masaan as my debut. Although I think that Shashank Arora (Titli) also did a splendid job and was a strong contender for the award.
What was the most difficult part about putting together Zubaan Mozez: The release. It’s so difficult to find a spot where you’re not competing with another huge monster. You have to keep in mind the other releases, kids’ exams and so on. If Rohit Shetty and Sanjay Bhansali had to deal with the release date struggle, imagine what we had to go through.
Vicky, how are you handling the adulation after Masaan Do you enjoy going to film festivals Vicky: I have been to two festivals. Masaan went to Cannes and Zubaan went to Busan. The great thing about travelling to the festivals is that you get a feedback about your role in a very non-judgemental way. They don’t know who the actor is or the director is. They treat you as an artist. There is no money aspect. When people appreciate you, it is only on the basis of your film — unlike in India where an actor has a lot of baggage. Masaan got a five-minute standing ovation at Cannes and Zubaan is the first official entry to make it to the opening of the Busan Film Festival. I was so nervous to face 6,000 people. But as an actor, the festivals are like a moral boost.
How did you bag this film Sarah: Mozez (director) wanted a singer who is also an actor —which I am. So when I got a call from Mukesh Chhabra’s (casting director) assistant, I was very confident — not so much about getting the part, but about doing well in the audition. You know there are auditions when you fake confidence, but this wasn’t one of them. All the words associated with the character such as ‘boho’, ‘bindaas’, ‘independent’ were those I could completely relate to. Then when I went to meet Mozez and got to know more about the film. Things just fell in place.
Vicky: I actually signed and shot Zubaan before Masaan. It was one of the most grilling auditions I have ever gone through. It was 2013, I was doing theatres and giving auditions everywhere. Mozez had auditioned some 300 guys but somehow my audition didn’t reach to him. I got a call from Guneet Monga (producer) after seven months asking me to audition for the same role. After an encore, I was told that I was among the top two contenders. The spot is jinxed for me since I always find myself in the top two or three spots and imagine the next five years of my life, but don’t end up bagging the role. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case this time. A week later I was called for a photo shoot with Sarah.
How was it working with Sarah/Vicky Sarah: When I met him, he was already in character. He is very humble, loving guy but when he was in character, I was dumb founded. I rarely meet people who leave an effect on me.
Vicky: I was the one who was nervous because Sarah is this model, actress, and singer and for the photo shoot — the first time we met — she was sitting on my lap!
Parallels have been drawn between your film and Pardes, going by the trailer... Mozez: I read a comment that there is a parallel in the sense that in the first part, this guy wanted to become big and is working with a rich family. But there are so many films like that. Take my word for it, we did not have Pardes in mind while putting together this film. I haven’t even seen it. I wouldn’t reveal much now because I want you to explore it.
Sarah: Instinctively, the Indian audience, when they can’t grasp something new, they will put it in a box — they either compare it to something else or tag it as a certain genre. Zubaan is different. So every time they see the promo, they don’t know how to interpret it. The easiest thing they could do is to compare it with something. It happened during Angry Indian Goddesses. The trailer has to leave an impact— it’ll either confuse or convince.
Confusion is good because it glues the audience until the film comes out. But then there are people who will think that there is a guy and a girl and there’s good music, so let’s watch the film. Either way, it works for us.
