“Fruit And Nut is a crazy comedy”- Kunal Vijaykar

It is difficult to describe Kunal Vijaykar. But when you know that his debut film as a director is titled Fruit And Nut, you sure can come up with lots of descriptions for this cute little man. Ask him, and he calls himself 'lazy'. More difficult when you come to know that the film stars a comic genius Boman Irani, a mad comic genius Cyrus Broacha and an attractive lady Dia Mirza sandwiched between them. What a cast! After reading this, probably you want to describe Kunal Vijaykar as a Nutty professor, guiding his actors to deliver the maddest moments on the big screen. We chat with the subdued, normal guy who happens to be abnormally funny. He is unscripted, uncensored and unexpected just like his film Fruit And Nut. He is Kunal Vijaykar.

There is a Golmaal and All The Best which fit into a comedy. Then there is a Bheja Fry and Fruit And Nut. Are there genres in genres too?
Honestly, I don't think so. Fruit And Nut is a crazy comedy. It doesn't fall under any kind of a comedy category. I'm not sure you need to apply brains to understand my film. But I have to say, Fruit And Nut does not fall under the Golmaal category nor the All The Best one. It has got its own life. I'm not trying to show-off by saying this but sometimes I need to figure out myself what to call my film because we haven't seen this kind of a genre in Indian cinema before as far as I am concerned.

As a filmmaker, does it make life easy to pitch your film to fellow colleagues from the theatre and other entertainment background like Boman and Cyrus?
I don't know whether it makes life easy in my dealings with the other actors. But it does make my life easy in terms of comprehension of what we are doing. I also act out scenes myself and show them sometimes, sadly, because I love it and also the fact that I come from the actor background.

Is the film about a loser who keeps on losing his job every time?
Well, I don't know. It's a minor statement to make. The film is a full on comedy and you need to see it to proclaim it what it's all about. If it is what you say, superb.

It's understood why you've got Boman and Cyrus. But why Dia Mirza?
Honestly, Dia was one of the first people to have said 'yes' to me. Secondly, we needed a slightly dignified lady and that's what she comes across as. She didn't have to do any stupidity and comedy that everyone else is doing. Dia is a person who is stuck in the middle of all this and I roped her in because she looks great in a saree, man!

And why go for a title like Fruit And Nut? Anything to do with the chocolate fixation Kunal?
You got me there. Yes, Fruit And Nut is my favourite chocolate. Seriously, sometimes I think that the title and the film does not necessarily have to have anything with each other. As long as you feel fine with it, it works. Fruit And Nut came out as an idea when Boman and me were sitting and having dinner. He picked up a chocolate and told me, "Why don't we call the film Fruit And Nut?"

Cyrus is one actor who is least tapped into as far as films are concerned. What do you think the reason is?
Of course, definitely. I think that nobody really knows that he loves acting and has been doing it for the longest time. Cyrus is looking for the right kind of work and I'm guessing this that very few people have known him as a performer. He was acting on stage since he was fourteen and he is also getting offers from a selected few who know him and are ready to break the mould.

Will Fruit And Nut break the mould as far as scripting goes?
It will break the mould, not because we intended to but because it is very close to our personalities. To put it simply, it was a sincere and an honest effort. There was no formula applied whether it'll work with the mass audiences and all. We did what we found funny.

What is the definition of funny?
It's very simple. 'What makes you laugh' is the definition of funny.

More films for Kunal in the coming years or is it one out of sheer passion?
It is out of sheer passion and I'd like to take it as it comes. Yes, I'd love to make more films. I have an idea in my mind. If some miracle happens then I'll make it. But there are scripts which are happening that I'm quite happy doing.

Brief us about one bizarre traits of Boman Irani
I'll tell you. Mr Boman Irani can't bathe alone. He needs somebody while he is bathing. I mean that he needs somebody to chat to while he is having a bath. Normally it's his wife who stands besides him or a friend. This habit of Boman exists ever since he was a child. This is a kind of thing that comes with stardom (laughs).

What is success? And you prepared for the failure too?
Everyone has to, right? Let's put it this way. Success is eventually a calculation. It's how much you spend vis-a-vis how much you make. We've taken care to make this film within a certain amount of budget so it can recover the cost. If it does, then it's a hit. I don't know what the future is. There are directors who've made disastrous films and are still making them. So there is a hope for me even if this film does not do well.

All your comic characters in one word please
Kunal Vijaykar is lazy, Boman Irani is kind, Dia Mirza is attractive and Cyrus Broacha is a shirker... and Fruit And Nut is insane.