| No Hiding From the Camera
Aftab Shivdasani
He made his debut
starring in ads as a child and then as a child artist
in, Mr. India, when he was seven. A couple of music
videos and modeling stints later Aftab Shivdasani was
launched in Mast by Ram Gopal Varma as a star struck
young man who is totally dazzled by a film actress and
eventually ends up winning her fair hand. The fantasy
flopped at the box office, but the Mast boy became a
sensation over night. At 21 he amazed audiences again
in the role of a man in his 30s who murders his wife
and cons his woman lawyer into falling in love with
him. Recalling that memorable role began the conversation
with Aftab Shivdasani as he sat suffering from jet lag
and yet graciously willing to talk.
Let’s begin with Kasoor. Here you were fresh after
playing a guy your age star struck like a lot of guys
by a femme fatale on celluloid in Mast and then at 21
years of age you ended up playing a man in his mid 30s,
a psychopath killer and a charmer, with some sizzling
love scenes to boot with Lisa Ray that became the talk
of the town and obviously you couldn’t even take a leaf
from personal experiences.
Well it was a humongous task because I had to play a
role that I didn’t expect to happen to me at such a
young age, of a mature married man, who murders his
wife. Especially after a simple role of a star struck
young guy in Mast. And you made a very valid point that
I could not even draw on my personal experiences, which
a lot of actors do, so I had to take my director’s advice.
I just followed his instructions. He would literally
act the scenes before me since the character was closer
to his age than mine. I had barely crossed 20. He would
draw the parameters for me, rehearse on the body language,
on the composure, the behavioral patterns. The whole
characterization was subtle and underplayed and for
a 20-21 year old to act that low-keyed would have been
tough without his help.
All those romantic scenes between Lisa Ray and me were
indeed the toughest part of the film. There is a very
thin line between crude sexuality and sensuality. Vikram
Bhatt did a remarkable job of portraying those scenes
very sensually, and yet aesthetically. He allowed a
very minimal crew on sets. I was 21 and to do intimate
scenes like those was very hard, but Lisa and I were
made to understand that this was a job and we were two
professionals and that is how we approached it. It was
that which made it work and that is why people found
those scenes aesthetically beautiful. Any iota of discomfort
would have shown starkly on the screen had the director
not done such a good job to make us feel at ease. You
can’t hide anything in front of the camera.
Did you expect the film to do so well?
I was very skeptical about how the film would fare.
Anyone and everyone who knew me had dissuaded me from
doing such a negative role so early on my career. It
was taking such a risk. People had just sort of created
an image about me of this good boy after Mast and they
felt it was too soon to be playing such a negative character.
It could have had serious repercussions. But I trusted
Vikram Bhatt implictly and also went by my instinct
and did it. I worked on my get-up in a big way, wearing
glasses, keeping a stubble to suit the character.
I feel the audience started taking me seriously as an
actor only after Kasoor. But, at the same time I’m glad
that I was introduced as a guy next door because that’s
the way a newcomer should be presented. I’m grateful
to Ramu for that. It is my good fortune that people
in general appreciated my performance in spite of the
film not faring well, even though it was a role tailor
made for Urmila. I have never crazily hero-worshipped
anyone as the character did in the film though I have
always admired Amitabh Bachchan for his acting.
A really fun film that you did was Love ke Liye Kuch
Bhi Karega with Saif Ali Khan and Fardeen Khan. Are
you comfortable doing 3-4 hero films? In Pyar Ishq Mohabbet
too your role seemed to be smaller compared to Arjun
Rampal’s and Sunil Shetty’s and there were rumors you
felt shortchanged.
Well, personally I think the entire concept of a solo
hero has disappeared today. I’m an actor first, so the
role is what matters to me. Secondly, Love Ke Liye Kuch
Bhi Karega in itself is not a run-of-the-mill conventional
plot. It’s a multi-starrer, so one cannot expect to
have one hero hogging the scene.
The film is a hardcore comedy with a romantic twist.
And I must say I enjoyed playing my part. It’s probably
one of the better roles of my career. I love that bindaas
character and I would love to do similar roles. The
role in Pyaar Ishq Mohabbet came to me after Bobby Deol
had date problems, and I knew exactly what the role
was. No one played dirty with me.
Your latest offering, Boney Kapoor’s Koi Mere Dil
se Poochey was an out and out showcase for Sanjay Kapoor,
Boney’s brother. His negative character overshadowed
everyone in that film, it was so powerfully etched.
I was aware of it from day one, but I signed the film
at a time when I needed a film more than the film needed
me. Mast had just bombed and people who were approaching
me prior to the film bombing shied away. Out of all
the movies I have acted in all of them have turned out
as I expected. I don’t think anyone gave me a reason
to regret or complain.
If there was a role you would give an arm and a leg
for which one would it be? The role Sunil Dutt did in
Mother India. The relationship between the son is just
what I share with my mom.
--Kavita Chhibber Narula
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