Shreyas Talpade is here to stay

Courtesy: IndiaFM

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

We saw him in Nagesh Kukunoor's Iqbal as the underdog who with sheer determination makes his dreams come true. There was no looking back for Shreyas Talpade after that. With a lot of films in his kitty with big banners and directors, Shreyas is definitely here to stay.

Tell us about your role in Apna Sapna Money Money?
My character is Arjun Fernandes. Now don't jump to conclusions judging from the name. We purposely didn't go the stereotypical way Christians are portrayed in Indian cinema. There is no 'yes man, no man' in there. Arjun is a typical boy next door who is very sweet and honest. He stays in a basti where he owns a garage. He will do anything for his friends and the place where he resides. Now, he is in love with Riya Sen but her father objects thinking that he is a loafer. Her father tries to get her married off and this is when he calls his cousin Riteish Deshmukh for help. That is the story and it seems really rocking.

You are doing Nagesh Kukunoor's Dor as well.
That character is very interesting. I feel it was more difficult than what I did in Iqbal. I had a great time shooting for it. You guys showed one look of me in it where I play a chanawala. Let me tell you that is just one character of the film. I'm really charged up about the film and I thank Nagesh for this.

Tell us about The Hangman.
The film is about the life of a Hangman, whose profession is to hang criminals. This hangman has a dream of making his son a police officer. For this dream of his, he works very hard. He somehow manages to send his son to the city for higher studies. And what happens eventually, does his dream come true and does his son make it in the police force or not is what the film is all about. Actually, The Hangman was shot much before I shot for Iqbal and even in this film I was lucky enough to work with legends like Om Puri and Gulshan Grover.

What is your role in the film?
I play Om Puri's son in the film. Om Puri is the hangman and I am his son who goes on to fulfill his father's dream. Om Puri's is the main character but the film also revolves around the life of my character in the film. What he goes through to achieve what his father wants him to. I have a very important character in the film.

Tell us about M F Hussian's autobiographical film that you are doing
It was tentatively titled as The Making of a Painter. The film is basically a biography of a MF Hussain's, from the age of 15 to 40. It is about the struggle that he went through when he came down to Mumbai from Indore to make it big as a painter and how finally, a small town boy became the famous M.F.Hussain.

What is the development on the film?
The film was going to be directed by M.F.Hussain's son, Owais Hussain but honestly speaking I don't know what is happening about the film. No one from Hussain's side is contacting me or my secretary and so I can't really tell you about my development.

Then there is Priyadarshan's Pirate.
For me Pirate is something really different for one reason being that I play a rockstar in the film. The film is about a rock band with five members in it including 2 guys and 3 gals. Their dreams get shattered when a company dupes them and takes rights of one of the albums. It deals with the issue of music piracy.

So is it another Priyadarshan comedy?
There are elements of comedy in this film but there is an emotional angle as well.

Who else is in the film?
So far Kunal Khemu and I have been finalized. I don't know who the rest of the cast is.

A chanawala to a rockstar, you are playing a wide range of different characters...
I just want to thank God that these talented film-makers see me in a different light.

What are you other projects?
There are a couple of interesting projects but I don't want to say anything until they go on floors.

How does it feel from a humble start in Marathi cinema to becoming so famous in Bollywood?
Well it is something that I have been dreaming for quite sometime now. Having a successful career in Bollywood is what I always wanted. I am so glad that things have worked well for me and I am extremely satisfied as an actor. So it feels great.

You did a few films before Iqbal as well?
I was in Vipul Shah's Aankhen where I had a couple of scenes. Unfortunately one of those scenes was chopped off and even more unfortunately it was the scene which I shared with Amitabh Bachchan.

Then there was a small film by the name of Raghu Romeo - Bachelor of Hearts. Jhoke ki tarah aaya aur kisi ko pata chalne se pehle chala bhi gaya. My character was called Black Money. It was fun but went unnoticed.

Tell us about some of your more popular Marathi films
There is Pachadlela which is about 3 friends who go to a village. Then there is the thriller Sawarkhed and Resham Ghat which is adapted from a Marathi play. Another film is Bhetwhere I play a Union leader.

Would you act in Marathi films now that you have shifted to Bollywood?
Yes, of course. I just completed Bayo which is set in a period from 1940 to 1960. It is a love story with the Independence period as a backdrop. A boy and a girl from the same village fall in love but the boy gets into some sort of activism. He goes to London on the pretext of studies but he has other agendas in mind. He gets caught and is arrested. The girl waits for him in for about 20 years. It is a sweet love story which should release in September.