"KCK is about people believing in you" - Farhan Akhtar
It was 11.30am. London's Somerset House was burning. I mean, summer time in London is like sitting on a red hot coal. I was drinking my favourite beer along with fellow journalists who were there to attend a press conference of SRK for his film Chak De India which had its premiere at the same venue later in the evening. The lady sitting in front of me passed a comment, "You sound so much like Farhan Akhtar. Talking to you is like talking to him." It was Nasreen Munni Kabir (author, documentary film maker and producer on British television) who briefed me about Farhan for the first time.
Then the rest followed. Adah Sharma, Minissha Lamba, Rahul Dev, Amrita Rao, etc. Farhan's latest release, Karthik Calling Karthik is spooky in a way. Why? Because he receives a phone call from himself. Now read this - I was supposed to call Farhan for an interview last week. The rest I'm sure you'd have got it, right?
It's
surprisingly
spooky
but
the
truth
that
many
of
the
industry
people
think
that
I
sound
like
Farhan
Akhtar.
With
a
film
like
KCK
releasing,
can
you
recall
of
such
similar
instances?
(laughs)
Not
that
I've
heard
of.
I
haven't
got
anybody
coming
to
me
and
telling
me
that
I
sound
like
someone.
This
is
the
first
time
I've
heard
from
you
that
you
sound
like
me
(laughs).
Has
the
marketing
now
taken
over
the
definition
of
success
in
Indian
cinema?
I
don't
think
so
yaar.
If
you
take
last
year
for
example,
out
of
the
hundreds
of
films
released,
probably
three
or
four
were
successful.
Some
of
them
were
from
very
big
production
houses;
some
were
from
big
studios,
etc.
All
were
marketed
well.
But
finally
it
was
the
content
that
the
people
connected
to.
Yes,
you
need
to
market
your
film
to
make
people
aware
of
your
film
but
more
than
the
quantitative
marketing,
what
you're
putting
out
there
to
create
curiosity
is
more
important.
Have
you
ever
received
a
phone
call
in
your
life
that
changed
your
life,
momentarily,
forever?
Yes,
there
have
been
some
calls
I've
made
and
I've
received
that
have
changed
my
life
momentarily.
Probably
a
call
from
Aamir
Khan
saying
that
he
is
doing
Dil
Chahta
Hai
was
a
life
altering
moment.
The
other
was
a
call
from
the
hospital
saying
that
my
baby
was
on
the
way
(laughs).
Vijay
Lalwani
has
stated
that
he
is
a
sucker
of
originality.
Now,
how
challenging
is
it
to
rope
in
a
director
who
casts
an
actor
who
is
a
director
himself?
And
is
it
like
Karthik
casting
Karthik?
From
Vijay's
point
of
view,
how
he
sees
things
is
best
explained
by
him.
When
I
am
on
set
as
an
actor,
I'm
not
thinking
of
direction.
I'm
not
thinking
of
wanting
to
direct.
I'm
very
happy
with
what
I've
been
asked
to
do
and
focus
only
on
that.
If
at
all
there
is
any
kind
of
stress
on
the
shoot,
then
I
step
in
my
producers
shoes
and
deal
with
it.
But
other
than
that,
I
don't
want
to
involve
myself
into
these
tricky
situations.
Whether
it's
Vijay
Lalwani,
Abhishek
Kapoor
or
Zoya
Akhtar,
all
three
have
their
own
creative
voices.
There
are
certain
boundaries
and
parameters
in
which
you
make
a
film
and
a
director
in
me
only
comes
in
the
pre-production
stage
when
we
discuss
things
out
as
to
how
we
will
carry
on
the
shoot.
How
do
you
get
self
motivated,
Farhan?
I
get
very
excited
by
an
idea.
That
works
for
me.
And
it's
pretty
much
wanting
to
turn
that
idea
into
a
film.
I
share
that
idea
with
lots
of
people.
That
keeps
my
enthusiasm
up
through
the
entire
project.
As
long
as
we
jump
into
the
idea
quickly
and
change
gears,
is
what
I
like
doing.
From
the
time
that
everyone
hears
of
an
idea
and
from
the
time
that
we
shoot
the
film
and
complete
it,
there
shouldn't
be
any
gap,
as
it
may
kill
the
enthusiasm.
It's
important
to
get
self
motivated.
Excel
Entertainment
is
known
to
excel
as
far
as
story
ideas
are
concerned.
Do
you
think
the
makers
have
a
knack
of
selecting
scripts
which
aren't
only
original
and
new
age
but
a
bit
out
of
the
box?
Honestly,
if
you
ask
me,
it's
a
combination
of
both.
We
try
to
balance
out
what
we're
doing
in
terms
of
stories
that
we
select.
We
go
with
certain
ideas
that
are
so
new.
To
me,
Karthik
Calling
Karthik,
to
some
level,
is
the
first
film
of
its
kind.
I've
never
heard
of
any
film
before
that
a
person
is
getting
phone
calls
from
himself.
Then
we
balance
it
out
with
a
film
that
Zoya
is
doing
currently.
It's
a
coming
of
age
story
about
three
friends
on
the
road
trip
coming
to
terms
with
certain
aspects
in
their
life.
Straight
way,
I
thought
that
Zoya's
film
is
addressing
a
larger
kind
of
an
audience.
But
if
that's
the
case
Farhan,
why
isn't
our
audience
ready
to
accept
films
like
Rocket
Singh...?
I
don't
know.
It
depends
on
the
mood
of
the
audiences
too.
Like
we
discussed
earlier,
when
it
comes
to
marketing
any
film,
there
has
to
be,
somewhere,
one
central
idea
that
people
connect
with.
If
you
fail
to
do
that,
people
don't
want
to
go
to
the
cinemas
on
a
tentative
feeling
about
the
film.
When
I
don't
know
or
am
not
clear
as
to
what
the
film
is
all
about,
why
would
I
go
and
watch
it.
Just
to
put
it
in
a
very
black
and
white
way
-
Is
it
a
good
versus
an
evil
film,
is
it
somebody
fighting
the
system,
is
it
about
love
prevails
over
everything.
But
the
audiences
like
some
clarity
when
they
see
a
poster
or
a
promo.
It's
sometimes
confusing
as
to
which
Farhan
Akhtar
the
audiences
really
want
-
Is
it
Farhan
the
director?
Actor
and
singer?
Or
the
handsome
guy
from
India's
most
prolific
production
house
-
Excel
Entertainment?
(laughs)
Almost
everywhere
I
go
and
almost
everyone
I
meet,
you
know,
people
do
speak
to
me
about
Don.
People
do
speak
to
me
about
Dil
Chahta
Hai
and
Lakshya,
as
much
as
people
speak
to
me
about
Luck
By
Chance
or
Rock
On.
There
is
certain
awareness
into
peoples
head
as
to
what
I
do.
I
actually
get
very
frustrated
when
people
ask
me
-
Which
of
the
above
do
you
prefer
doing?
It
feels
as
if
everything
I
do
has
to
be
bottled
up
separately
and
stored
for
good.
I
think
you
have
one
chance
and
one
life
to
do
everything
you
ever
wanted
to
do
or
things
which
excites
you
and
things
that
challenge
you,
as
long
as
you're
not
causing
anybody
any
damage.
My
question
was
deliberate
Farhan,
because
I
want
to
know,
do
you
think
a
film
is
sold
to
the
audiences
on
a
mere
star
face?
What's
your
figment
of
imagination?
I
wouldn't
completely
agree
with
you.
When
you
have
a
film
with
a
star
in
it,
there
is
an
initial
attention
that
is
focused
on
it.
There
were
so
many
films
that
we
can
talk
about
which
haven't
even
opened
up
at
the
box
office.
I
keep
coming
back
to
what
I
said
before
that
the
audiences
need
to
connect
with
what
the
film
is
all
about
and
what
the
message
of
the
film
is
going
to
be.
In
the
last
couple
of
years,
the
big
blockbusters
have
been
basic,
simple
movies
with
a
simple
message.
Were
Maneckji
Cooper
boys
shy?
I
mean,
tell
me
the
truth
-
Recall
a
moment
where
you
must've
approached
a
girl
in
whom
you
liked
for
the
first
time
and
took
her
for
a
coffee.
(laughs)
Well,
that
depends
on
the
boy.
Actually
it
can
come
as
a
surprise
but
while
I
was
in
school,
I
didn't
drink
coffee.
So
coffee
wasn't
a
drink
of
choice.
But
we
would
go
to
Juhu
beach
to
have
ice
cream
or
a
gola.
But
no
moment
with
a
girl
from
my
school
with
whom
I
went
for
a
coffee
(laughs).
Is
KCK
all
about
attaining
self
confidence?
To
a
certain
extent
'Yes'.
It's
about
people
believing
in
you
and
having
confidence
in
you
only
when
you
have
belief
and
confidence
in
yourself.
If
your
attitude
towards
life
is
relatively
pessimistic
and
if
you
don't
believe
that
you
have
the
ability
to
achieve
something,
that's
really
how
the
world
will
perceive
you
as
at
the
end
of
the
day.
And
how
believable
was
Deepika
Padukone
and
how
confident
were
you
in
casting
her
for
the
film?
(laughs)
She
is
very
believable
in
the
film
and
good
too.
In
terms
of
casting
her,
it
was
Vijay's
decision.
He
wanted
her
in
the
film
and
we
were
more
than
happy
to
confide
in
Vijay.
She
is
somebody
who
is
very
sought
after.
From
whatever
I've
seen
of
her
from
Om
Shanti
Om
to
Love
Aaj
Kal,
there
is
a
definite
growth
within
her,
in
her
performances
and
in
her
talent.
When
I
worked
with
her,
I
could
see
that
and
that's
very
commendable.
And
how
much
have
you
grown
since
the
year
2000,
since
the
Dil
Chahta
Hai
days?
Honestly,
and
I
mean
this
with
absolute
sincerity.
I
feel
no
different
between
what
I
felt
at
the
time
when
I
was
making
Dil
Chahta
Hai
to
what
I
feel
now.
If
at
all
there
is
any
difference,
it
has
to
be
that
I've
got
a
lot
more
knowledge
and
experience
in
terms
of
making
movies.
Experience
adds
a
little
more
edge
to
your
skills.
In
terms
of
achievement,
the
one
thing
I
feel
glad
about
is
the
fact
that
people
have
been
extremely
supportive
of
the
films
Excel
Entertainment
has
made
and
have
really
appreciated
our
work.
That
gives
me
the
strength
to
constantly
work
with
new
talents.
What's
happened
with
Abhishek
after
him
winning
the
National
Award
is
the
fact
that
it
encourages
me,
Ritesh
Sidhwani
to
go
with
our
belief
that
we
can
constantly
harbour
new
talent.
That
was
something
I
wanted
to
work
towards
ever
since
our
company
was
established.
There
is
a
long
way
to
go
and
this
is
just
the
beginning.
Do
you
think
that
our
industry
is
all
about
young
minds
coming
together
that'll
shape
the
future
of
Bollywood?
I
feel
that
a
young
mind
has
nothing
to
do
with
shaping
the
future,
be
it
any
industry.
I
think
a
sixty
five
year
old
can
also
be
extremely
young
in
his
way
of
thinking
and
at
times,
can
be
ahead
of
you
in
terms
of
his
thought
process
and
being
contemporary.
A
young
mind
means
that
it's
a
mind
that
wants
to
gain
more
knowledge,
it's
a
mind
that
is
still
willing
to
learn,
experiencing
and
evolving.
Young
minds
can
be
in
any
art
form,
and
the
minds
that
are
thinking
ahead
and
thinking
forward
are
the
ones
that
are
going
to
keep
progressing
and
keep
on
doing
interesting
things.