IHLS stays on to be light-hearted - Imran Khan

It was a fresh new pairing when Imran Khan came together with Genelia D'Souza for Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. The musical romcom was a massive hit at the box office and it appeared that there won't be any looking back for the young actor who seemed to be doing everything right. Then came Kidnap and Luck and as it happened, Imran's 'luck' (at least for the time being) went for a toss. Now that I Hate Luv Storys is up for release in a couple of days from now, all seems to have been forgotten and happy days seem to be here again for the actor. Over to Imran who catches up with this correspondent and talks about this Karan Johar production which is currently creating just the right buzz for the audience.

Imran Khan coming together with Sonam Kapoor. A pair which has not yet been tried and tested. Something fresh and new in the offing for audience to enjoy?
Yeah, you can say that. I have always wanted to work with Sonam ever since the release of Saawariya. I really liked her there. When IHLS came to both of us, I was quite happy. The shooting went by and I wanted to see how we looked together on screen. Believe me, the reaction was that of total surprise.

Why surprise?
When you are at sets, you don't quite have the bigger picture around how you are working together. You get an inkling of it only after you see the first promo with all the music, colours etc. put into the scene. I said to myself that haan yaar, this is actually looking quite interesting and good. I became further confident when such fantastic comments started coming to me via Twitter.

Seems like direct connect with fans indeed helped you here.
In fact fans on Twitter have been interacting with us right through the making of the film. They were there during the shooting, they commented when the first look came out, they pointed out nice and flattering things when songs came on air and now as the film is up for release, they are talking about how they are looking forward to it. When such all around feedback comes in, it obviously feels very good. You get a very positive sense and know that you are on the right track.

Well, that in fact appears to be the case. Also, I believe IHLS is not just a laugh a minute affair and there is a fair bit of drama interspersed into the narrative as well. The song 'Bin Tere' is pretty much conveying that.
Yes, the drama is there but it is kept very minimal. See, the film is essentially a romcom. You know that there would be some 'rona dhona' in the second half of the film. However, it comes in very miniscule quantity. Otherwise essentially, IHLS stays on to be light hearted.

Wouldn't you have actually preferred an out and out smile and laugh affair though? Why any 'rona dhona' at all?
On the contrary, I myself like to cry when sitting amongst audience. As an audience, when you watch people suffering, you root for them. You think ki arrey yaar, isske saath aage kya hoga and all that. In fact if you ask me, I would have liked a little more 'rona dhona' in the film. But then Punit wanted to keep it light.

You seem to be having really different thoughts here.
Arrey different kya (smiles). Khud socho, it is only from drama the tension comes on screen. You start thinking ki happy ending hogi ya phir sad ending. When a hero cries, there is this extra something that comes in. This is when it becomes rounded entertainment. However, Punit's (Malhotra - the director) space runs easy; he wants to keep things fun and breezy. Wow, that actually rhymes!

In that aspect, Punit also seems to have reduced the generation gap pretty considerably. The world in IHLS appears to be quite different from what it was 5-10 years back.
Today the generation gap has indeed reduced. In fact the kind of relationship that my generation has with their parents is far easier than the one which was shared between my parents and my grandparents. I can see that for elders belonging to that era, there was a lot more formality whereas for me, it is quite relaxed and casual. There is fun, laughter and general easiness. It's more like meeting them on a friendly basis. This is the way I am with most of my friends' parents in real life. I can hang out with them. This is what is reflected in IHLS as well.

I am sure you would be looking forward to quite a few people hanging out to catch your flick. After all IHLS also marks a comeback of sorts for you when it comes to following a different route in comparison to both Kidnap and Luck.
(Laughs) That you will only know when the film releases. If it does well then you could choose to call it the way it sounds good to everyone!