Arshad
Warsi
is
elated.
No,
it
isn't
because
2009
was
exceptional
for
him
with
any
major
hits
up
his
sleeves.
Instead
it
was
torrid
to
say
the
least
with
number
of
films
of
his
that
were
rotting
in
the
cans
finally
seeing
a
release
and
pronto
making
a
silent
exit
from
theatres
without
much
ado.
No
wonder,
Arshad
is
happy
that
finally
the
entire
backlog
of
films
is
out
of
his
way
and
he
is
beginning
on
a
fresh
note
as
the
first
decade
of
the
new
millennium
approaches
its
end.
With
newer
lot
of
films
like
Ishqiya
all
set
to
make
a
mark,
Arshad
can
be
seen
and
heard
in
good
spirits
as
he
converses
with
us
about
the
love
of
his
life
–
Ishqiya.
Looking
at
the
promos
of
Ishqiya,
it
seems
like
we
are
heading
towards
a
romantic
thriller,
right?
True,
basically
the
film
is
a
thriller
with
a
dose
of
action
to
it.
The
twist
here
though
is
the
relationship
between
me
and
Naseer
which
brings
in
certain
lightness
to
the
script.
In
fact
if
you
get
this
characterisation
aspect
out
of
Ishqiya,
it
will
turn
out
to
be
just
another
thriller.
With
Vishal
Bhardwaj
on
board,
one
can
well
expect
a
touch
of
realism
to
it
as
well.
What
I
really
like
in
cinema,
is
when
we
bring
in
realistic
acting
and
make
commercial
cinema
out
of
it.
When
you
make
a
good
film,
there
is
no
boundary
of
art
v/s
commercial
films.
In
Hollywood
movies,
we
can
see
already
that
happening
where
acting
is
all
so
real
even
in
the
most
commercial
setup.
Here
also
we
are
trying
to
do
that
though
somewhere
we
get
trapped
in
this
entire
filmy
chakkar.
I
am
glad
though
that
we
are
still
attempting
good
meaningful
cinema
like
My
Name
Is
Khan,
New
York,
Kurbaan,
Rocket
Singh
-
Salesman
of
the
Year,
Wake
Up
Sid,
Chak
De
India
etc.
Talking
about
you
and
Naseeruddin
Shah
coming
together,
why
don't
you
ever
mention
about
having
worked
with
him
in
Mujhe
Meri
Biwi
Se
Bachao
years
back?
(Laughs)
In
fact
we
both
keep
joking
about
it
that
it
was
such
a
fabulous
experience
working
in
that
film
that
we
chose
to
forget
all
about
it.
Touchwood,
Ishqiya
has
truly
been
a
far
greater
outing
for
both
of
us.
I
don't
know
why
it
took
people
such
a
long
time
to
bring
us
together
again.
You
must
have
learnt
quite
some
lessons
from
him
this
time
around...
While
working
with
him,
it
was
once
again
re-emphasised
for
me
that
in
real
acting,
an
actor
never
gives
an
impression
that
he
is
acting.
In
fact
this
is
something
that
I
try
in
each
of
my
films.
People
should
not
feel
that
I
am
acting
at
all.
Iska
ek
drawback
yeh
hota
hai
ki
kuch
logon
ko
lagta
hai
ki
main
acting
hi
nahi
kar
raha
(laughs)!
Coming
back
to
Ishqiya,
due
to
its
rustic
setting,
one
is
instantly
reminded
of
Omkara.
In
a
way
the
setting
of
Ishqiya
is
just
like
Omkara
because
of
the
village
and
small
town
feel
to
it.
In
a
place
like
Gorakhpur,
you
are
bound
to
encounter
dirty
roads,
dust,
heat
and
humidity,
something
which
is
prevalent
in
the
interiors
of
India,
especially
in
Northern
and
the
Central
regions.
Ishqiya
mein
Indianness
koot-koot
kar
bhari
hui
hai.
Right
from
the
look
to
the
treatment
to
story
and
performances,
Ishqiya
is
completely
different.
The
major
difference
here
with
Omkara
though
is
that
it
was
serious
while
we
have
a
very
dark
undercurrent
of
humour
even
in
the
most
serious
scenes.
Like
the
entire
episode
of
'ishq' and
'sex'?
(Laughs)
Yeah,
like
that
dialogue
around
'ishq'
and
sex.
I
don't
understand
why
there
was
so
much
hullabaloo
made
about
it?
In
fact
what
you
have
seen
in
the
trailer
is
all
that
you
get
to
hear
in
the
film
as
well.
That's
all.
The
film
is
not
at
all
abusive.
I
don't
know
why
there
have
been
such
protests.
We
seem
to
be
really
hypocrites
and
in
a
constant
denial
mode.
Politicians
use
more
abusive
words
in
Parliament
than
this.
Meanwhile,
it
seems
like
2009
was
pretty
much
a
backlog
completion
year
for
you
with
movies
like
Kisse
Pyaar
Karoon,
Ek
Se
Bure
Do
and
Shortkut
-The
Con
Is
On
being
out
of
your
way...
Really,
did
all
three
films
release
one
after
another
in
2009?
Achcha
hai,
mere
saare
paap
dhul
gaye
aur
main
bhi
dhul
gaya.
On
a
serious
note
though,
my
biggest
disappointment
was
for
Shortkut.
I
hadn't
expected
that
it
would
not
do
well.
The
story
had
so
much
'masti'
and
I
was
pining
my
hopes
on
it.
I
know
that
it
was
during
the
editing
stage
that
it
got
royally
screwed
because
the
portions
that
we
had
shot
for
in
entirety
were
brilliant.
Also,
it
wasn't
that
I
was
the
only
one
laughing
because
everyone
was
having
a
blast
on
the
sets.
I
still
maintain
that
if
a
separate
DVD
is
made
of
the
scenes
that
were
edited
out,
it
would
make
for
a
much
better
laugh
riot.
The
whole
idea
behind
making
this
film
was
lost.
Due
to
this
experience,
what's
the
kind
of
learning
that
you
have
gained
over
the
months
gone
by?
From
now,
whatever
I
will
do,
I
will
do
it
after
much
deliberate
thinking.
See,
there
are
times
when
actors
are
totally
involved
in
a
film
from
conceptualisation
till
the
final
print
is
rolled
out.
I
have
never
done
that
till
date
because
I
just
do
my
work
and
leave.
I
guess
this
is
the
area
where
I
need
to
improve
because
I
should
now
be
more
involved
in
editing
as
well
(smiles).
Story first published: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 16:57 [IST]