Jaaved Jaffery and Siddharth Anand having an affair! 
By Screen Weekly, May 14, 2007 - 08:56 IST
After two decades in the showbiz, the versatile performer finds himself eligible to play the lead more than ever now...
Good to see you back on screen in Ta Ra Rum Pum which is over a year after Salaam Namaste, but why the long interval between films?
Thanks, I wish all the filmmakers thought so too...but I am not game for cameos. Even when Siddharth Anand offered me Salaam Namaste, he convinced me that it would work out to be well, so I took up that offer as one-off appearance and none after. But what happened next was that I was offered similar comedy tracks and I wasn't biting the bait.
What's it between you and Siddharth that works, and he ropes you in every time?
We are having an affair you know - Hey! I was just joking. We are both happily married men, you know that! But seriously, what floored me about this lad was that he had an immense respect for my histrionic ability.
How did your Ta Ra Rum Pum role of Harry emerge?
We tried several permutations and combinations in defining the part of Harry. Initially we toyed with ideas of having a double role or a triple role of men on a bench a la Eddie Murphy. But finally we decided that these variations may dilute the character. Harry had to be someone intelligent, emotional and credible who is funny in moments. I had to be careful in not over-doing the Gujarati accent lest it became a caricature.
Are you flooded with compliments as well as film offers after Ta Ra Rum Pum?
The advantage of doing a Yash Raj film is that everybody sees it. Unlike Fire, in which I had a good role and those who saw liked my performance too - but that didn't give me the requisite exposure. But things are certainly looking up now, my career is in an exciting phase right now.
Ta Ra Rum Pum has definitely made an impact, David Dhawan and Raju Hirani have appreciated my work and there is definitely a film in the offing with David.
Would you say that the film industry dealt you an unfair hand? For someone as versatile as you - dancer, comedian, action man and actor - you could well have been a desi Eddie Murphy?
I don't know about fair or unfair, but it is about fate and destiny. I give my best shot and forget about it. But acting today is more about marketing, packaging and pubic relations! Perhaps I lacked in those departments. In the South when they put the dancing ability to best use and made him a dancing hero, in Hollywood they cashed in on Eddie Murphy or Jim Carey's comic genius by turning him into a funny hero. But that was not to be in my case!
You are part of an international production - The Forest. What is this one about?
Forest is produced by the famous actor Judith James's production house. It is a dark thriller being directed by the immensely talented Ashwini Kumar who made The Little Terrorist. The film has been shot in Jim Corbett National Park, a psychological thriller with a man-eating tiger in the backdrop. Nandana Sen is my co-star in it.
Isn't Indra Kumar's Dhamaal like Golmaal? What's your role in it?
The story is about five guys and no gals. Arshad and I are brothers in it, while Arshad is the over-smart one, I play the naive brother. They live with their friends and all of them are into pulling off small cons. Sanjay Dutt is a cop hot on their trails. It is a mad, crazy film that children will love. It's not like Golmaal, I think it's more like the Crazy Boys series.
In Victoria 203, you will be essaying a negative role.
I play the main villain, Bobby Bombatta, who's suave, sophisticated with a crazy, black satirical sense of humour. He's like Vijay Mallya-meets-Richard Branson type of a character.
Where does the original funny man find himself amongst the Laughter Champs?
Television needs to go on and it thrives on spinning more of what appeals. But I never planned my career, I won the All-India Dance Competition while in college and was offered Meri Jung. I introduced the purist jazz-meets-breakdance on the Indian screen in '85. In '94 I joined TV with Flashback, in those days where every anchor was grungy with Yankee mannerisms, I brought in the funny Hinglish. I did a critically acclaimed Fire and then played the lead in Jajantaram Mamantaram. I have built my equity and people still ask me why I don't do lead roles?
You think you are still eligible to play the lead?
I don't want to play a college kid, but I am definitely looking at roles that drive a film. Any 30 plus roles. The time is right now, I can certainly play the lead still.
Screen India
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Sanjay Dutt to resume shooting today with Dhamaal
