Saturday, September 29, 2007
Arjun Rampal is the villain in Om Shanti Om
Arjun Rampal’s film career has never touched a peak nor has it failed in any sense. But now with Om Shanti Om looking great the actor is looking to make amends. Indiatimes Movies caught up with him as he talks about why he took up the role of Mukesh Mehra in OSO...
Are you playing a negative role in Om Shanti Om?
Yes, I’m playing a negative character whose name is Mukesh Mehra who happens to be a film producer.
What was it about the role that made you take it up immediately?
If I have to answer as to why I took up this role, it was because as an actor it is important that you crave to play different roles as far as possible. And when you get such a good opportunity to play someone so different and when you have someone like Farah Khan directing the film, I think it becomes very difficult to let go of such a golden opportunity. Also there was no resemblance of Arjun Rampal at all in Mukesh Mehra. I don’t have any of his qualities. I also got to play someone who begins at the age of 25 years in the film and ends up at 65. So it was a different look that I got to play with and different expressions too.
Since you played the role of a producer were you in any way inspired from anyone in the industry?
I don’t think any of the producers from Bollywood are like Mukesh Mehra. The fact is that Om Shanti Om is a larger than life film, with larger than life characters too. It is an exaggeration of lots of things and all these characters are make believe and not from real life. So I don’t know anyone like Mukesh Mehra.
Om Shanti Om is a period film that tracks incidents form the 70’s until 2007. So how difficult was it to make that transition in terms of looks?
Oh yes. To show the 70’s was relatively easy because I already have long hair. I just had to work on the sideburns and the costumes of that time period. But I had to struggle to get the look of 2007. And as I had to look my character who was 65 by then, I had to sit through four to five hours of make-up everyday of the shoot. So my day used to start at five in the morning because I had to be ready on the sets by nine. I had to use a lot of make-up and look old. But I need to mention that the make-up artists did a wonderful job.
Arjun, what do you think of Shah Rukh’s six pack abs?
Well I think it’s great. It is remarkable that he has achieved what he has at his age with his body. I think he was very determined to get those six packs and he has done it. It’s good to see him on the posters isn’t it?
And what do you have to say about newcomer Deepika Padukone and Shreyas Talpade?
I think Deepika has done a fantastic job. Though she had the responsibility of playing the central character in the movie, she came out really good and she has great potential. Shreyas and me don’t have that many scenes in the film where we are in the same frame. But from what I have observed of him and his earlier work in films, I think he has a very good future lying ahead of him.
So who do you think looks better, SRK prior to his six packs or SRK as of today?
I am sure Shah Rukh finds himself better like this. And I like him this way because anyone has to put in a lot of effort to work towards fitness and has to put in a lot of time for it as well. Hence anybody who says he does not want a good body or he does not want to look fit is lying.
IndiaTimesMovies
Are you playing a negative role in Om Shanti Om?
Yes, I’m playing a negative character whose name is Mukesh Mehra who happens to be a film producer.
What was it about the role that made you take it up immediately?
If I have to answer as to why I took up this role, it was because as an actor it is important that you crave to play different roles as far as possible. And when you get such a good opportunity to play someone so different and when you have someone like Farah Khan directing the film, I think it becomes very difficult to let go of such a golden opportunity. Also there was no resemblance of Arjun Rampal at all in Mukesh Mehra. I don’t have any of his qualities. I also got to play someone who begins at the age of 25 years in the film and ends up at 65. So it was a different look that I got to play with and different expressions too.
Since you played the role of a producer were you in any way inspired from anyone in the industry?
I don’t think any of the producers from Bollywood are like Mukesh Mehra. The fact is that Om Shanti Om is a larger than life film, with larger than life characters too. It is an exaggeration of lots of things and all these characters are make believe and not from real life. So I don’t know anyone like Mukesh Mehra.
Om Shanti Om is a period film that tracks incidents form the 70’s until 2007. So how difficult was it to make that transition in terms of looks?
Oh yes. To show the 70’s was relatively easy because I already have long hair. I just had to work on the sideburns and the costumes of that time period. But I had to struggle to get the look of 2007. And as I had to look my character who was 65 by then, I had to sit through four to five hours of make-up everyday of the shoot. So my day used to start at five in the morning because I had to be ready on the sets by nine. I had to use a lot of make-up and look old. But I need to mention that the make-up artists did a wonderful job.
Arjun, what do you think of Shah Rukh’s six pack abs?
Well I think it’s great. It is remarkable that he has achieved what he has at his age with his body. I think he was very determined to get those six packs and he has done it. It’s good to see him on the posters isn’t it?
And what do you have to say about newcomer Deepika Padukone and Shreyas Talpade?
I think Deepika has done a fantastic job. Though she had the responsibility of playing the central character in the movie, she came out really good and she has great potential. Shreyas and me don’t have that many scenes in the film where we are in the same frame. But from what I have observed of him and his earlier work in films, I think he has a very good future lying ahead of him.
So who do you think looks better, SRK prior to his six packs or SRK as of today?
I am sure Shah Rukh finds himself better like this. And I like him this way because anyone has to put in a lot of effort to work towards fitness and has to put in a lot of time for it as well. Hence anybody who says he does not want a good body or he does not want to look fit is lying.
IndiaTimesMovies
Labels: Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Farah Khan, Om Shanti Om, Shahrukh Khan, Shreyas Talpade
Posted By Ivan Me ... at 9:16 PM
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