Pakistani actor Fawad Khan's fan following has preceded his Bollywood debut with Khoobsurat. His popularity quotient can be attributed to hit TV drama series Zindagi Gulzaar Hai. In a chat with NDTV's Pooja Talwaar, actors Fawad Khan shares his Bollywood experience, his thoughts on music and television, while actress Sonam Kapoor chats about her fashionista image.
NDTV: Was it unnerving for you leaving your comfort zone and start afresh in a new industry? They call you the 'King Khan' of television back home, how Bollywoodised are you feeling?
Fawad:
Not really actually. Every time it's a new experience, there are advantages for having developed an audience base at home, but I would limit myself as an actor if I don't venture into a new industry and work with new people. I feel travelling and working while travelling is the best exposure which is unmatched, and I would like to continue that and I would want my travels to take me further away.
NDTV:Hollywood?
Fawad: (Laughs) I wouldn't say Hollywood maybe, but wherever life takes me, even Mongolia. Anywhere you find certain comfort in the work that you pursue, anywhere you find a challenge , I think it would be worth pursuing.
NDTV: Fawad you do realise there is an army of women wanting to get close to you
Fawad: (Laughs) Auraton ki fauj mere peeche mujhe conquer karna hai, but I am grateful for the love and support and I don't think as an actor I have done much. This love and adulation makes me blush that they think that I have some talent and they put me in the league of actors they have.
NDTV: Fawad, after a film like Khuda Ke Liye, then serials , you have done a variety. Why did you think Khoobsurat would be the right launch for you?
Fawad: I wouldn't look at it as a launch pad. I think it was an ideal project. I had offers before and this one kind of clicked.
I met these guys and I thought they were a fun bunch of people to work with, and that's important. These people know what aesthetics are. I think that's very vital. People make a Rs 100 or Rs 150 crore film and it may look like it's not worth watching. And then there are some who can make a film with Rs 10 lakh and make it the opposite way. Their work speaks a lot and it's beautifully done. The team has done a phenomenal job and the boys back home are excited that I have Sonam (Kapoor) as my co-star.
NDTV: A lot of people feel very strongly about actors who want to work here in Bollywood, and feel there is no need for Pakistani actors to go across.
Fawad: Then they are not fans in the real sense if they feel like that. It's been going on for 40 years. We are a global village and global citizens but people don't want to put their money where their mouth is. If you really want to connect and experience cultures first hand, you have to be tolerant enough. I just feel it's an illogical argument altogether. As artists our work takes us wherever we go.
I think what punctuates this argument is that you cannot please everyone all the time. People who love to hate and have to love will do that all the time. You can't stop that. They will continue to breed hate.
And you know, I was at a TV show and I had someone ask me '18 crore Pakistanis want to ask you how hot is Sonam Kapoor'.
Sonam: Oh come on Fawad.
Fawad: Which is actually a sweet way of appreciating, and they watch these movies. It's very pleasant to see Hindi films; they have two releases say in a week. We connect more to Bollywood and Hollywood. My wife's friend said 'get me Salman Khan's autograph please otherwise don't come back'. Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan are huge. All these Khans and Kapoors are so popular.
NDTV: Fawad, how Bollywoodised are you now?
Fawad: There is no Bollywood or Hollywood, if you look at it. There is no 'wood' anymore. Now Pakistan television, in terms of quality, story lines is far more superior. But the industry is still trying to find its feet. With movies like Bhaag Zinda things are changing.
I am happy to see that, in the past year people have just got up and said 'come on let's go and make these stories' and investors are willing to put money in these films and take it to the next level. Last year, where a Rs 5 crore film was considered to be big budget and wouldn't get any returns, now people are willing to put in Rs 30-35 crores. It's a leap; it's a toddler and its running before its learnt how to walk. It could be dangerous, but am positive and looking forward to seeing where it goes.
NDTV: Sonam, you recently said no one takes you seriously as an actor. Your style icon/fashionista image is the biggest problem in the way of your acting career.
Sonam: I sometimes am not very clear about what I say. I have been around for 7 years but done just 10 films. I have done a film and a half in a year, which is very little compared to what other actors and actresses have done. I have one release a year and in between people have nothing to talk about me, so they talk about my fashion, what I wear, what I say. And since there are no controversies attached to me (I am not sleeping with my co-stars) so my clothes are the focus.
NDTV: Fawad, is TV no longer alluring, or films are the next stop? Actors are taking TV watching to another level. Do you plan to do that yourself?
Fawad: I would like to do that but first I would like to observe cinema. See what you have and then take that back, it's an awesome marriage. It's an amazing marriage between film and television; it's awesome to see cinematic master pieces on TV, like a 7 part, 13 part series. I recently watched True Detective, Breaking Bad , House of Cards and was like wow. I would like to do that, but obviously in our own language and context. But the way they look at it in their context, it is amazing. What Mr Bachchan's serial and Anil (Kapoor) saab's 24 has done, I see Indian television has done that.
NDTV: Sonam, you said you have a girl crush on Katrina Kaif. Really?
Sonam: Ya she is amazing, so beautiful, I can never be like her.
NDTV: Fawad, you are a singer but how come no playback in Khoobsurat? When do we hear you sing?
Fawad: Music for me in the past few years (can I be honest here), has been a disappointment. Music has been very personal for me and my taste is very eclectic. I try to pick different styles, and whatever I have heard I try to translate into something of my own. For me it's a very personal thing and I am very protective about it. There may come a day where I may just sit and do something.
I love Sneha Khanwalkar's work and would like to produce something with her. I have 40 odd compositions, a minute and half long each. I sit in my studio and listen to it, add a bit here and there, and then I think, maybe someday it will take concrete shape.
NDTV: Fawad, you mentioned in one of your interviews that you want to do off beat roles, even roles and films based on homosexuality? Do you really want to evolve as an actor to that extent, keeping in mind your female fan following?
Fawad: The thing is, the whole world thinks about homosexuality as it is just another subject. If I were to shock the audience into telling them what all I would like to get into right now, it would be taken into another context. Homosexuality is a subject you cannot talk about in a negative connotation. It's just an expression of people. If you talk about pedophiles and rapists, if you were to portray it as a character, it would be portrayed as a villain. I don't want to throw the audience off by saying this is what I want to indulge in. I want to indulge in a range of spheres, something completely off the board. The more characters you play, more dangerous it becomes getting into someone's psychology. But it also helps you realise different perspectives in life.
NDTV: Lastly Fawad what was easy dancing or going shirtless?
Fawad: Going Shirtless!
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