EXCLUSIVE | Aparshakti Khurana: 'Earlier, Khan surname wasn't accepted; now, Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman are our pillars'

Spoilers ahead in the interview

In an exclusive interview with team Jubilee, which includes director Vikramaditya Motwane, and actors Aditi Rao Hydari, Aparshakti Khurana, Prosenjit Chatterjee, and Sidhant Gupta, the discussion delved into the making of the show, the relatability with the characters they are playing, and how the Khans could never imagine of being actors once upon a time in India.

Vikram, the opening credits of Jubilee are very intriguing; those black-and-white visuals coupled with that background music seem to be an ode to the cinema of the 40s. Did you ever think of making the whole show in black-and-white?

Yes, I did, and I was shot down in less than three seconds (Laughs). It was a very purist idea to make the entire season in black and white. I don’t know how much it would have worked, how it would have looked, ten episodes in black-and-white. I like the color, I like what we have done, I like the use of color; I’m quite happy with the balance. I initially I wanted full purist black and white, 4 by 3.

Prosenjit on what fascinated him about the character of Srikant Roy that he plays.

What do I say? I think the character is so strong. There are people who used to own studios and who used to have a lot of power, and who made a lot of contribution to cinema. But at the same time, my character is very egoistic and a dictator in his own way. I really liked my character and I know some people who used to be like that. He’s a very very strong character with a lot of layers, and his first love is cinema. It was very fascinating.

 

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Does Aditi see any similarities between her and the character of Sumitra Kumari that she plays?

A beaming Hydari opens- It was so much fun to play her because she’s nothing like me. In the past, I have played characters that have been drawn somewhere from within me. What was also very exciting about it is that there was something knowing about being an actress you know, but of a completely different human being, who is an actress. So it was kind of a very odd and an interesting experience, because the more I talk about it the more I realize because when I’m working, I’m only enjoying the process of acting. It’s only when I’m asked this question that I start thinking about it and I am like ‘it’s so odd.’ As an actor, there is always a play between your persona as an actor and your public persona, and the vulnerability of just feeling, feeling very deeply, be it for love, be it for cinema or be it for anything. And that quality which is possible in actors of extreme empathy and feeling, here, it is juxtaposed with her external personality, which she is blocking. She does not want to let anybody in except for the person she falls in love with. Everything then changes for her and I found this very exciting. And you can only do things like this with a super super nurturing director, otherwise it is very frightening to be pushed into a place that is so alien to you. But I enjoyed the process so much because this is the perfect way of working, to surrender and play within that. And you are put back on track and there have been places when I have lost, but they’ll bring me back on track. I am lucky that I was able to do it like this.

Aparshakti, when your character Binod Das lands a role in Roy’s film Sunghursh, there’s a lot of doubt among people. When you started your journey, were there people who were like ‘Will he be able to pull it off’?

Not in a negative way. This actually happens with everybody when you are trying to choose a profession that is not very mainstream; normally parents want their children to become doctors and engineers. When I was growing up, Chandigarh was a small town, and I had a middle-class upbringing. So it becomes very difficult for parents and relatives to believe that their children want to become actors. There were some people maybe who were taking me very lightly, but I would not like to blame them because it is a very unusual choice for a Chandigarh boy. And if you look at Jubilee, there were a couple of people who were trying to slander me down as Binod Das, that he will not be able to become Madan Kumar. Apar then points at Aditi and screams hysterically- This is the woman who was trying to slander me down. He then points at Prosenjit and says- This is the man who had faith in me that I could become Madan Kumar.

Aditi then jumps in between and says, ‘I also like how a female actor and a male actor are at loggerheads about who is the bigger star.’ Apar then continues- Thank you Vikram sir for breaking all the stereotypes.

Sidhant, what I like about your character is there’s a complete switch in your arc; from a theatre actor to a refugee to a director. How was the prep for you like?

Oh my god you’ve seen all the episodes. My prep was to listen to my director. My prep also was to find Jay Khanna within me so that I could reflect whatever he stands for. The script gives you the arc, and you have to emotionally invest yourself in it, hold on to the person that you are playing and let go. I could trust the script from day one because it was very honest and relevant. Sure it’s a period set-up but it’s very very relevant in terms of story, in terms of everything. I could also relate to the character because of Vikram and that silent surrender. I used to ask a lot of questions and by the end of it, he got fed up with me (smiles). The one thing I couldn’t question was his vision, and how he was on the sets. It’s a feeling of trust and that’s why we all could do what we did.

Vikram, there’s a scene in the film when Binod Das’ character says Khan log actor nahin bante isiliye unhe Kumar banna pada. Is this a reference, an ode to Dilip Kumar?

Not just Dilip Kumar. Yes, Dilip Kumar is the obvious reference. There were many others at that point of time who had to change their identity in order to be able to be accepted by the masses. It’s also a kind of a joke, the way it stands today. It was a very serious thing to say back then but today it has some pun, it’s a little tongue-in-cheek. This one statement of the industry has changed.

Prosenjit, you have been acting for over four decades. How much has the industry changed or evolved in the last forty years?

A lot. Right from the time I started till now, dubbing has changed. Technology has changed. To keep it short, once you go on to the sets, the ambience is the same. The still photographers, the make-up man, the characters are the same. Once you are standing in front of the camera, it’s not just about the actor, but the entire team’s intent is to make a good film. The technology has changed, we as actors are now getting better pay, there are vanity vans now. There was a time when all of us actors used to sit in make-up rooms, so yeah, such things have changed.

Aditi, Padmaavat, Taj, Heeramandi, and now Jubilee; what’s the joy and the challenge of being a part of such stunning period worlds?

When you are getting blessings na, you don’t question them (laughs). Thank you thank you, I’m very grateful. Since so many people are asking me this question, some days I am able to come up with things that are tangible for me to explain and some days I’m like, I don’t know. It’s not the era in which I’m working, it’s more about the emotional journey that my character is going through, and which is the team that I’m doing that with. You are going to be spending 60, 70, 80 odd days on the sets, and feeling every day as an actor like a sponge gives you a certain amount of joy. Watching the DOP light, the assistant directors, the director, for him to smile if the shot goes well, that’s the thing that occupies me, whether I’m wearing a Garara or ripped jeans. This is my playground and with a good team, you get to be a child on a playground; and that’s literally I’m all looking for. And the fact that I have been a part of so many titles in different time periods, I really enjoy that. As an actor, as an audience, I love to go to a world I really don’t know about. And history, especially oral history, over a period of years, changes, and there are so many versions of it. And the more these stories are told and retold, and depending upon who is telling them and re-telling them, that actually adds a lot more creativity, a lot more layering, and you get to be a part of that vision. It’s very exciting, I love it. And I don’t think you can choose it, the people have to choose you to be in these kind of films and shows. And you have to be honest about it, sometimes people think period means posturing, and that you have to do things in slow motion, but it’s not like that, you are just a human being, whatever era you’re in. Ultimately, it’s the emotion that has to connect to you. You have to feel what I’m feeling.

Apar, since you say that line about Khan and Kumar, how do you feel Binod Das would have reacted if he were to be a part of the Hindi film industry of the later years that saw so many Khans becoming a part of it?

This is what makes that line special. There was a time when people used to say that if your second name is Khan, you cannot become an actor in this country because of the acceptability factor. Cut to now, when Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan are the pillars of the industry. These are the three stars that define stardom in our country. It’s a shift that has come out of industry through evolvement, through awareness, through education, through cinema, through literature, and a lot of other things. Today, when we talk about the growth of our country, education, simultaneously, we also talk about these things. Yesterday, we all were having a conversation about women empowerment, how female actors were not given the kind of importance they deserved back then, and today they are at par.

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