DCP D'Silva of the new Don

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
He recently played comic roles like Lucky Singh in Lage Raho Munnabhai and Kishen Khurana is Khosla Ka Ghosla for which his performance was highly praised. But now, in his next film Don -The Chase Begins Again, Boman will be seen in a serious action packed role of DCP Desilva. So, let's talk with him and know about the most awaited remake Don.

Tell us about the film Don
Don is a remake and at the same time there are new elements in the film. The new film is also very faithful to the original one. When you watch the new Don, you will feel like you have seen two different films all together. Though the story is similar, the whole movie experience is different.

What is that newness that you are talking about?
We live in today's world so there has to be change and freshness in the film. The sets and costumes which existed 28 years back where of course different from today. Today, the cinema has changed, camera angles, equipments have changed, and the story telling techniques have changed. The story and film structure is almost the same but the experience will be different.

You play the role of DCP D'Silva which Iftekhar played in the original Don. So, how did you decide to portray that character?
This role is written almost identical to the original one. But then, two different actors were playing it so that's where the very first difference comes in. As every actor has his own style of talking, body language is different. But there was never a time when I thought that I will consciously do something different from Iftekharji. I just played the role the way it will suit the story of the film. However, just one thing that I kept in mind before playing this role was that Iftekhar saab played this role with immense dignity. He looked very dignified, very polished looking gentleman in the film. So, if I manage to bring even a small percent of that dignity, I would be very happy.

So, how was the experience of playing a Cop?
When you are kids, you love playing the Cop-Thief game. You like to carry guns and hide etc. So, working in film was like reliving your childhood and I enjoyed it a lot. It was playing those games again after becoming a grown up.

Don was a trendsetting film in Bollywood. So, don't you think that there will be comparison between the two films?
The problem is some people have started doing comparison even before watching the film. What I feel is that people will compare the film but the comparison will be like 'Oh! This had happened in the old Don or this character was played by him in the old Don...' that's it. Nothing more than that. I'm sure there won't be comparisons that this film is better than the other. People will treat Don as a new and different film altogether. This is because the whole experience of watching these two films is completely different. A couple of days back the old Don was played on television and I sat and watched the movie again and enjoyed a lot. If you go to Hollywood, take the film Ben-hur for example, the film won 11 Academy Awards but then it was also a remake of an old film. But the old film was also a great black and white film in the silent era. But the experience of both these films was different. Similarly, this film has its own experience and you should enjoy that. Shah Rukh Khan will bring a different energy altogether and so will Priyanka.

How was the experience of working with Farhan Akhtar?
After working with Farhan I get a great sense of hope that young people have opportunity and once they get that opportunity they live up to their expectations. This young boy made a film like Dil Chahta Hai, he made a serious and giant film like Lakshya. In Lakshya I had a very small role. But this time it was different. When we go to foreign locations to shoot a film, the whole unit becomes like a family. You all go to work together and come back at the same place. The hotel becomes like a small neighborhood. So in such situations you get to know other people even better. So that way I have grown very fond of Farhan. He is a very fun person when he is not working but he is an extremely focused person when he is working.

How was the experience of working with Shah Rukh Khan?
Shah Rukh is one of the most charming and intelligent people I have ever met. He is a very sharp and very intelligent person; a very smart human being. It is fun to be on sets with Shah Rukh because he always brings lots of energy on the sets. So since, he is so sharp and intelligent himself, it was very helpful for playing the character of Don. At the same time, his light heartedness, warmth, affable nature was helpful for the character of Vijay. So I think he could use the qualities of his personality for both the characters.

You have been mainly doing comedies till recent and in Don you are portraying a very serious character. So, was that challenging for you?
It is the job of an actor to make a role challenging. If the role is not challenging then there is no fun in playing it. When he reads his role an actor should be scared thinking how he will play the role. Besides, there are 6 to 7 films of mine where I have played serious roles. Also in my entire theatre career, I have mainly played serious roles. Therefore, this is not new to me, but it might be new to the audiences. I hope they enjoy it. People won't be annoyed thinking I played a serious character. They would be annoyed if my work is bad. If I do good work, people like it, irrespective of whether I play a comedy or serious role.

The music of Don has come under controversy since the song have been remixed and used which is not liked by some veterans in the industry.
If you have to remake a film like Sound of Music would you create new music and new tracks for the film then? A movie is also identified by its music. The flavour of a film comes from its music, the background score; the signature tune is also used. But then it is used with a modern twist. If we change the music, then the film becomes completely different altogether. The essence of Don would be lost then. We love the music also, like we love the story and the characters. We haven't even changed the name of the characters in the film. When we make a remake, it is supposed to be a same film set in modern times.