"I attribute Koel Puri for spanking my butt" - Purab Kohli
This was one interview I was looking forward to, not just because I'd rated Rock On five stars in my Observer series newspapers in London, eight months ago, but because I was too desperate to meet the 'Killer Drummer' Purab Kohli for I too tried to sing 'I will survive' in front of my friends. The trouble was I didn't survive a second. For me, he rocked and yet there was no mention of him in my review. Perhaps I over looked it. But not any more. Come to think of it, his ability to give grandiose and surreal characters soul is proof of his heapin' helpin' of pure uncut manly talent and frankly he's one slice of grade A man steak I wouldn't mind tenderizing.
Anyway, Purab shows up as he opens the door to our Bollywood encounter with his curly hair, dressed in standard, more like any struggling actor-retro-grunge, flashing his 'Popeye muscles' trying to break free from his unbuttoned green and yellow chequered summer shirt adoring his brown vest. Extending his hand in salutation, he glides into a bar chair opposite me offering me something to drink on a sweaty Thursday. He urges me to have a ginger drink stacked up with ice. I accept. Then he immediately jumps off his chair and stands next to the door to enact a real life scene when Gattu aka Abhishek Kapoor danced and jumped in joy after reading the first ever review of Rock On which I'd written.
That was a classic performance by a Bandra boy in full flamboyance. Where majority of the actors would've stayed away from a performance like that in front of a journalist, Purab didn't give a damn about glimmering the prudent history - He was hired to deliver, and he does deliver...KD style. He is just cool and always has been ever since he started his career as a Channel 'V' VJ... Dipping into the depths of his exquisite mind to discover his version of Purab Kohli, buried beneath the 'Killer Drummer', the actor goes back and forth into his past, present and the future as we finds out whether or not Purab will survive in Bollywood after the super success of Rock On, his journey from 'Chicken' to 'KD', his ability to open up to his fans, his turn ons, Rangeen and A Rectangular Love Story - his unreleased films and his unexplored areas in acting.
Is
the
Killer
Drummer's
charm
here
to
stay
for
good?
I
hope
so.
I
think
it's
a
part
of
me
that
a
lot
of
people
have
liked.
A
lot
of
'KD'
in
the
film
was
me.
I
think
we
all
as
actors
hope
that
we
can
retain
ourselves
in
the
business
for
a
longer
period
of
time
to
get
more
work,
do
more
work
and
get
popular.
From
a
mere
'Chicken'
in
Supari
to
'KD'
in
Rock
On,
would
you
term
your
rise
to
fame
as
meteoric?
I
still
think
it's
a
journey
more
than
a
rise.
I
was
not
someone
who
had
an
idea
that
it
was
acting
I
wanted
to
pursue
as
my
career
or
to
do
a
film
like
Rock
On.
If
you
look
back
at
my
career,
the
first
thing
I
did
in
my
life
was
act
in
a
television
series
called
'Hip
Hip
Hurray'.
Then
I
moved
on
to
be
a
VJ
on
Channel
V.
I
mean,
today
if
someone
was
to
come
up
to
me
with
a
film
like
Supari,
I
would've
been
weary
to
do
it,
thinking
back
that
you
want
that
good
launch,
you
want
that
big
producer,
the
right
cast,
etc.
These
are
the
elements
which
help
you
to
climb
up
to
be
a
star
and
it's
not
rocket
science
now.
I've
always
tried
and
tested
things
in
my
life
and
it
has
worked.
My
rise
has
been
a
journey
which
ain't
meteoric
but
after
Rock
On,
you
can
definitely
say
so.
Your
ability
to
get
people
in
your
audience
to
open
up
to
you
is
pretty
astounding.
What
do
you
attribute
that
to?
I'm
quite
an
open
person.
If
people
ask
me
questions
about
myself,
I
have
nothing
to
hide
because
I
choose
to
live
an
honest
life.
In
terms
of
opening
up
to
your
audience
and
your
audience
accepting
you
for
who
you
are
is
what
they
eventually
see
on
the
big
screen.
To
a
certain
extent,
'Killer
Drummer'
was
actually
me
in
the
real
and
reel
life.
That's
the
way
I
am
and
I
have
grown
up
playing
the
parts
that
I've
played.
I
started
acting
when
I
was
just
eighteen
and
I'll
be
thirty
in
a
few
months.
So
for
twelve
years,
I've
contributed
a
lot
to
the
roles
I've
played
and
vice
versa.
As
an
actor,
you
have
to
have
an
audience
or
fans
opening
up
to
you.
You
are
catering
to
them
because
they
want
to
see
more
of
you.
In
good
humour,
I
attribute
Koel
Puri
for
spanking
my
butt
in
Rock
On.
That's
what
got
the
beautiful
girls
all
over
the
world
to
open
up
in
front
of
me
(laughs).
You
weren't
nominated
for
the
Filmfare
Awards.
Many
feel
you
deserved
one.
We
feel
something
bigger
than
Filmfare
is
waiting
for
you?
Let's
hope
so.
But
I
do
crib
about
not
being
nominated.
First
the
Screen
Awards
nominations
came
out
and
I
was
surprised
not
to
see
my
name.
As
an
actor,
the
least
you
want
is
to
get
nominated.
I
mean
all
those
who've
seen
the
film
feel
that
I've
done
a
good
job
and
at
least
deserved
a
nomination.
Plus,
you
want
some
kind
of
recognition
for
a
performance
which
the
audiences
thought
was
fantastic.
So
one
day
Jitesh
Pillai
calls
me
up
and
invites
me
to
support
the
Rock
On
team
at
the
Filmfare.
I
go
there
and
the
next
thing
I
see
is
my
name
being
called
out
by
Shabana
Azmi
to
honour
me
for
my
performance
in
Rock
On.
It
was
a
special
certificate
which
was
given
to
me
by
Filmfare
and
I
was
too
excited
for
finally
getting
some
kind
of
recognition.
More
so
for
the
fact
that
it
was
Javed
saab,
Shabana
ji
and
Ritesh
Sidhwani
who
gave
me
the
first
reactions
after
watching
the
film.
I
remember,
after
watching
the
film,
Ritesh
comes
up
to
me
and
pats
my
back,
"Surprise
package,
surprise
package."
What's
the
turn
on
for
you
when
you
act?
I've
sat
down
and
thought
about
this
for
quite
some
time
now
as
to
what
do
I
love
doing
most
-
hosting
shows
or
acting?
The
answer
is
acting
because
it's
the
instant
appreciation
you
get
from
the
person
who
is
directing
you.
When
you
get
something
and
you
feel
it
in
your
heart
that
this
is
the
emotional
scene
you
need
to
perform,
right
away,
the
director
approaches
you
saying
that
he
loved
it
and
it
came
across
so
well.
That's
what
I
like
about
acting
and
that
feeling
is
just
so
beautiful.
That's
what
turns
me
on.
There
are
times
when
I
feel
that
I
could've
given
more
to
the
scene
and
that
in
itself
is
the
growth
of
an
actor.
When
you're
playing
a
host,
it
stagnates
because
everyday
you're
being
yourself.
When
you're
playing
a
character,
you're
doing
it
as
somebody
else
each
time
and
with
somebody
else,
whether
it's
your
co-actor
or
a
director.
There
has
not
been
a
better
feeling
for
me
when
I
tried
singing
'I
will
survive'.
The
only
problem
was
that
no
girls
pat
on
my
bum.
You
like
bending
your
own
rules,
don't
you?
(Laughs)
I
think
I'm
able
to
try
very
easily.
I
don't
restrict
myself
too
much.
The
societal
ways
of
bending
the
rules
would
be
in
films
like
My
Brother
Nikhil,
Awarapan
and
Rock
On.
Whatever
Gattu
had
written
in
the
script,
is
what
you
see
in
the
film.
'I
will
survive'
is
one
of
the
very
rare
occurrences
that
weren't
in
the
script.
Having
said
that,
Prachi's
song
'Ajeeb
dastaan
hain
yeh'
was
in
the
draft.
Now
the
question
which
was
troubling
Gattu
was,
how
does
Prachi
get
the
mike.
The
whole
party
sequence
was
shot
in
Film
City
in
three
days.
The
first
day
while
I
was
driving,
Gattu
calls
me
and
says,
"Tu
'I
will
survive'
gaana
gayega
kya?" I
said,
"Yeah
man,
let's
do
it.
It
sounds
amazing
yaar".
I
came
on
the
sets
wanting
to
sing
the
song
which
every
girl
enjoys.
The
good
thing
is
that
all
the
junior
artists
who
were
enjoying
the
song
in
the
film
knew
the
song.
So
they
added
more
fun
and
all
started
having
a
great
time.
Koel
spanking
me
wasn't
planned.
It
just
happened
because
it
was
instinctive.
For
me,
these
are
moments
I'll
always
cherish.
Do
producers
and
directors
still
offer
you
roles
with
an
image
of
a
VJ
in
their
mind?
Yes
they
do,
and
that's
what
I
come
with,
isn't
it?
That's
great
but
it
also
restricts
me
to
a
certain
extent
where
there
are
some
roles
that
they
don't
look
at
me
at
all,
and
that's
what
I
am
trying
to
break
out
of.
I
am
focusing
in
the
same
path
right
now.
Me
and
my
agent
are
doing
exactly
that
but
my
being
a
VJ
has
its
pros
and
cons.
You're
doing
Rajat
Kapoor's
A
Rectangular
Love
Story.
You
cornered?
(Laughs)
The
film
is
Rajat's
take
on
a
love
story
which
has
four
corners.
There
is
Gul
Panag,
Ranvir
Shorey,
me
and
Neil
Bhopalam.
We
are
the
four
corners.
The
film
is
really
on
a
thread
and
even
if
you
know
a
little
here
and
there,
there
won't
be
any
surprises
left.
But
it's
not
a
regular
love
story
and
not
a
slapstick
humour.
It
is
situational
and
crazy.
Do
you
think
this
film
will
add
more
punch
to
your
career
after
the
recent
success
of
Rock
On
at
all
major
award
functions
I
don't
know.
Films
like
A
Rectangular
Love
Story,
Rangeen,
etc
are
films
I
had
said
Yes
to
before
Rock
On
released.
Not
that
I
would've
not
said
Yes
to
them.
They
are
fantastic
films.
I
still
stand
by
them.
After
Rock
On,
people
expect
a
certain
performance
coming
out
of
you,
something
better.
All
my
fans
on
Facebook
keep
asking
me
the
same
question
after
Rock
On
-
What
next?
Such
is
the
market.
At
one
level,
it
feels
great
that
people
are
wanting
more
out
of
me
but
at
the
other
level,
I
think,
I
better
watch
out
what
I'm
doing
now
because
I
really
don't
want
to
disappoint
my
fans.
That
is
there
at
the
back
of
my
mind.
How
has
Rangeen
shaped
up
for
you?
Again,
Rangeen
is
an
ensemble
cast
film.
It
has
Tisca
Chopra,
Rajat
Kapoor,
Tara
Shamra,
me
opposite
Koel
Puri
and
Manurishi
who
won
the
best
writer
for
Oye
Lucky
Lucky
Oye
at
the
Filmfare
this
year,
he
is
acting.
It's
a
Sharat
Kataria
film
who
is
to
debut
as
a
director
with
Rangeen.
He
is
the
same
guy
who
has
written
Bheja
Fry,
though
it
was
an
adaptation.
He
has
a
potential
of
being
a
big
director
in
Bollywood
as
he
has
really
got
everything
in
place.
From
the
first
time
I
read
the
script
to
my
last
scene
I
performed,
I
was
completely
convinced.
In
fact,
Gattu
has
got
the
similar
kind
of
emotions
in
Rock
On
as
he
did
in
his
first
film
Aryan.
The
same
sentiments
are
there
in
Sharat.
Which
areas
are
still
left
unexplored
by
you?
I
am
hoping
to
do
an
action
film
but
nobody
is
giving
it
to
me
(laughs).
I
am
good
at
intense
emotion
but
I'll
be
equally
good
in
action.
I
am
confident.
I
think
there
can
be
a
stronger
intense
emotion
coming
out
of
an
action
flick
if
someone
dares
to
make
it.
I
liked
the
raw
action
in
Ghajini.
I
love
watching
all
Ram
Gopal
Varma
films
because
his
action
films
are
a
work
of
a
genius.
Sanjay
Gupta
too
has
some
good
caliber
for
action
and
then
Sanjay
Gadhvi
does
some
good
stuntly
action
films.
Now
this
can
be
bizarre
but
that
minuscule
action
in
Aditya
Chopra's
DDLJ
in
the
end
was
great.
It
was
a
nice
action
sequence.
Hear
me
out
guys
and
bring
it
on!