This is the craziest character I’ve played, and the only crazier character I have seen on screen is the Joker from The Dark Knight, says Shahid Kapoor.
What sort of person is Tommy Singh, your character in Udta Punjab?
Tommy is obnoxious, rude, badly behaved. You will hear a lot of expletives from him, and he is everything that will turn you off. But my brief from my director (Abhishek Chaubey) was that Tommy will do everything wrong in the first five minutes, but end of the fifth minute, everyone should love him. I had no idea how to manage that (laughs). But the response that I’ve got from viewers after they watched the promo has led me to be optimistic. Basically, he’s a guy who will entertain you, but you can’t take him seriously. You enjoy watching him and his antics; he is a bit of an exhibitionist. This is the craziest character I’ve played, and the only crazier character I have seen on screen is the Joker from The Dark Knight. The only difference is that the Joker seems to have no humanity, while Tommy is really just a kid who is lost in his addiction.
There has been talk that Tommy is based on Honey Singh.
No, this character is not based on anyone. It is a very original character. Of course, we have all seen many stars who fall into the same category as Tommy Singh, people who have led brazen lives, and been addicts. But as far as Tommy is concerned, this is a not a silhouette that has been seen before.
What did the prep for this role involve?
No food, and three hours of training every day for three months; I had to look starved. Tommy is a huge star, so he needs to have that personality, but he also needs to look like an addict. Then during the shoot, I had to spend two hours every day for putting on and removing the tattoos, and of course, the long hair with streaks in them. That’s for the physical part. The mental part was much tougher, because I had to get inside the head of this guy who is an addict, while I have never even had any alcohol, forget any other kind of substance. I’ve never even been high. It was an insecure journey, and I did feel very challenged.
Were you excited about working with Abhishek Chaubey, whose previous films — Ishqiya and Dedh Ishqiya — were both critically acclaimed?
I have definitely liked Abhishek’s previous work. I remember when my father was working with Vishal (Bhardwaj) on Maqbool, he told me that there’s this very bright guy called Abhishek, who is assisting him. That remark always stayed with me. And then, one day Abhishek and I met, and he narrated the story of Udta Punjab. In our first meeting itself, I was on board. It wasn’t something I had planned or thought through.
What do you think went wrong with your last film, Shandaar?
It was just a bad film. I don’t think it was up to the mark. The narrative was incoherent and so the audience just couldn’t get it.
You will be a father soon. Are you excited or scared?
Yes, definitely very excited. I wouldn’t say I’m scared, really, but yeah, it feels a little like waiting for something really big to happen.
