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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW! Mohit Chadda: My Biggest Takeaway From SRK Was His Energy & Spontaneity On Sets
"There is only one success- to be able to spend your life in your own way," Mohit Chadda swears by this popular saying. From being the first runner-up on India's Best Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj to playing the lead role in his upcoming film Flight, which is touted to be Bollywood's first-of-its-kind mid-air rescue mission film, the actor's career graph has seen its share of ups and downs. But, Chadda has no regrets about his journey.
In an exclusive tete-a-tete with Filmibeat, Flight actor Mohit Chadda gets candid about Big B lauding his film's trailer, his experience of sharing screen space with Shah Rukh Khan, the reason behind his sabbatical and much more.
Excerpts from our chat.
Q. The trailer of Flight has been receiving a lot of love from all nooks and corners. In fact, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan also lauded the trailer and sent his best wishes. How does it feel when you hear such compliments from the acting stalwarts of the film industry?
A. I feel blessed. It's so magnanimous of Mr Bachchan to do that. I am still fumbling. It was an emotional moment. I won't be able to forget that evening in my life. Apart from that, all the stalwarts from the industry supporting us, it's so generous and sweet of them to root for our film. I am thankful and at loss of words. When there's a notion of Bollywood being a big bad world, there are some people coming out to support independent films.
Q. How did the role happen to you?
A. Me and Suraj (director Suraj Joshi) go a long way. We have been into making ad films, small animation films. Obviously, we had started the company to make feature films. We had written a few scripts and approached studios, but no one wanted to back us because it was not a star-driven project. We were not getting any opportunities so we thought to make a film on a subject that would be interesting and at the same time, a good cinematic experience and so, Flight came up. I was associated with the film right from the writing stage. It was never like I will hear the script first.
Q. The trailer also gives a glimpse of some action that's in store for us. What were the major challenges before you while shooting for the film, especially when your character gets trapped in the plane?
A. Honestly, I can tell you more from the production point of view than as an actor. As an actor, when you are a part of the writing process, you are in the character right from the moment you write it and you always know what you need to do. So, the kind of preparation as an actor is quite opposite to saying that I prepared for this role for this much amount of time. I didn't need to prepare for it. The moment I was on the sets, I knew what I had to do. Apart from that, the action sequences were challenging. I pulled off some of the stunts by myself since there was no time for body doubles. I have been into martial arts and enjoyed doing them by myself. It was difficult, but at the same time it was also fun.
Q. Flight tells the story of a man's journey of survival against all odds. How much do you relate with this concept in real life?
A. I relate to this concept a hundred percent. This is our fight to survive. In fact, this is the entire world's fight to survive right now. It is completely relatable. The world is fighting the pandemic to survive and this is our fight to survive in the Hindi Film Industry.
Q. You made your debut in Bollywood with Dulha Mil Gaya in 2010. Now, you are all set to make your acting comeback with this film after almost a decade. What was the reason behind your sabbatical?
A. Honestly, I didn't make my debut with Dulha Mil Gaya. I don't want to sound negative because that's not my approach towards life. Besides Dulha Mil Gaya, I also shot for a film called Do Dooni Chaar. What happens is when you are working as a protagonist, you know the kind of work you are doing and how it's going to look at the end of the day. I wasn't playing the main protagonists in both these films. But, I was told that my roles were essential to the story. But unfortunately, by the time it came on screen, I couldn't see myself and that wasn't what I had come to do in the film industry. I wanted to do characters that are integral to the script. But this is what happened. Ultimately, you get branded very quickly. Speaking about the sabbatical, I wasn't getting the kind of work that I wanted to do. So, that's when we decided to make a film by ourselves. This was a creative opportunity for us.
Q. You worked with Shah Rukh Khan in Dulha Mil Gaya which is like a dream come true for every actor. What was your biggest takeaway while working with him?
A. My biggest takeway from him was the energy and the spontaneity that he has on the sets. There was so much to learn. I did get to shoot a specific scene with him for the film. It's very easy for a lot of people to trash big stars. But, nobody realizes the kind of effort that they put in. The best part is that their effort never shows. Even if I can achieve about 10 to 15 percent of what Shah Rukh Khan does on screen and the madness he creates, I would consider myself really successful.
Q. You and your wife Ishita Sharma worked together in Dulha Mil Gaya. Any plans of sharing screen space with her in the future.
A. If there's something that I got from Dulha Mil Gaya, it's that my wife got a 'dulha' and I got a 'dulhan'. (laughs) Coming back to films, Ishita is a part of Flight. She will be making a special appearance in the film.
Q. In the last few days, many filmmakers have postponed the release of their upcoming films owing to the second wave of COVID-19. However, you folks have stuck to the decision of releasing Flight in theatres on April 2. Was that a conscious decision considering people are still apprehensive to visit cinema halls?
A. We sent out a heartfelt message last night. We all enjoy big screen experience. Unfortunately, I completely understand the current situation. This is our fight to survive. Nobody realizes that cinema also needs to survive. It's not only about the people who work in films; it's about the families too. The film industry is one of the biggest tax providers to the economy of this country and no one is taking note of that. This is very sad. I understand that there are a few big chains which have a lot of money and can survive. But at the end of the day, the economy needs to keep running. We also thought that we love cinema and for us, the kind of money that we have is a lot, but maybe in terms of comparison, it might not be much. So, we hope that we will recover and going by the response to the trailer, we are hoping for a similar reaction in the theatres as well. If we can contribute in our small little way towards the film industry, we would be more than happy to do that. I am really grateful to all the exhibitors who have been sending us messages from all over the country. We didn't expect that.
Q. From Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj to Flight, when you look back at your journey, are you content with how your acting career has shaped up for you and do you think that Flight will present the audience with Mohit Chadda 2.0?
A. I think the version 1.0 never came out properly in terms of how I wanted the world to see me as an actor. But, I am completely content with my journey because I read somewhere that there's only one success- to be able to spend your life in your own way. I have been blessed with the support of my wife and my family. They allowed me to do whatever I wanted to do, whether it was about becoming an actor, starting a company or spend money on investing in films, which was the biggest risk. The veterans always say 'Apna paisa mat lagao', but I have always believed in putting your money where your mouth is. I am glad to do that. I don't have any regrets.
