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Steven Baker chats up Imran Khan, who is back with his latest release
Break Ke Baad
Helmed by debut director Danish Aslam, Break Ke Baad, a film that Imran describes as "a young, urban love story", sees him paired opposite Deepika Padukone for the first time, in a production that has been shot in Delhi, Mumbai and Mauritius. Excerpts from an interview: How does it feel to be releasing your fifth film Break Ke Baad? Do you feel you are a bankable star? I am aware that I have had a certain amount of success and I have a certain box office clout, so I am in a position of some power. But I have a hard time taking it seriously. I have a hard time saying ‘I am a star’. I think that is a good thing, as the second you start thinking you have reached somewhere, then maybe you will get complacent and take things for granted. I still think of myself as someone who has something to prove. Tell us about your character (Abhay Gulati) in the film If you see the promos, it is a young, urban love story about a boy and a girl who have been dating for a really long time. The characters are about 23 or 24 years old and they have been dating since they were about 15 or 16 years old. Within the first 20 minutes of the film, you see them break up and see what happens after they break up — what their journey is, who they become and what they learn. My character is a guy who is not a very ambitious. He doesn’t know what to do in life or what kind of career he wants. The only thing he is clear about is that he loves this one girl and wants to be with her. The girl, however, is very ambitious and career-minded, and this is what leads to them splitting up. She goes to Australia, and after some time, he realises he has to get this girl back and follows her there. In the process, he becomes aware of what he wants to do with his own life. It sounds a bit like Love Aaj Kal. Perhaps, a touch of Wake Up Sid also? Yes, there are elements of both of them. Love Aaj Kal for the break-up angle and Wake Up Sid for the fact of the guy who doesn’t know what to do in life. At its core, more than that, Break Ke Baad is a love story. It’s a film that celebrates the concept of being in love. The guy is a classic old-fashioned hero, who will go to any length for the girl he loves and follow her to the end of the earth. It seems as if your audience wants to see Imran Khan only in the role of a romantic hero. Yes you are right. Though I wouldn’t blame it on an audience expectation but on the quality of a film. I feel that if a film has not worked, you can’t argue with that. If it has not worked, it has not worked. How was it working with Deepika Padukone for the first time? I have got to know Deepika over the course of making the film. She has really impressed me personally and professionally. She is someone who really cares about her work and puts in a lot of effort and is very concerned with improving herself and becoming a better actor. On a personal level, she is very humble and down-to-earth and I would say she has become a very dear friend to me. When director Danish Aslam narrated the film, did you accept it immediately? No, when I first heard the narration, I said no to it. I liked the first half but felt the second half was not working. I then went on and signed I Hate Luv Storys. I had shot for nearly a month, when I bumped into Danish again and he said he had reworked the script. I took it from him again and he had dramatically changed the second half and it was really good. I called him up the very next day and said, "Listen, it’s awesome I am on". Has the content of the film been influenced by the producer Kunal Kohli? Not at all. It is very much Danish’s film. Kunal has been an extraordinary producer and being a successful director himself, I can imagine that there might have been some expectations from people that he might shape it to his taste but he never did that. Danish has made the film exactly the way he wanted it and the way he saw it, and I would really commend Kunal for that. — TWF
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