Freddy is the new evil icon in tinsel town

By Subhash K. Jha -

June 12, 2014 - 10:27 AM IST

A. Murugadoss's Holiday: A Soldier is Never Off Duty, the spectacular new film on counter-terrorism, gives a brand new and exciting face to evil.

He is Farhad, aka Freddy Daruwala, the winner of Mr India World pageant and a well-known fashion model, now all set for an innings in Bollywood. And going by the reaction to Farhad's suave villainy, he is in for a long innings in cinema.

Those who have seen Farhad in Holiday swear he has got what it takes.

In abundance.

Says Farhad, "I am nervous as hell. I've gone through some bad experiences. Holiday was god-sent. It is a terrorist's role. And I must admit I was hesitant to do it. I didn't want to start on a negative note. But when Murugadoss Sir and Vipul Sir told me about the role of the terror master-mind I was blown away. The guy was an absolute normal working-class type. Looking at him, you'd think he worked in a multi-national firm or as a computer engineer. They wanted to show how terrorism is nurtured in an absolutely normal working-class atmosphere. I liked that. I decided to take it on. Not that I had much of a choice. When the role of terrorist was offered to me I wasn't exactly spoilt for choices. Out here no one takes you seriously until you are from a film family, or you have big hits. I didn't qualify on either count."

Speaking just after the film's release Farhad says, "I am nervous. Because I've gone through my period of false starts when I was knocking on producers' doors. They don't open doors or even a window for you out here just because you are a known face in the modeling world. I had to start from scratch."

But why has he changed his name? "It was always Farhad. Friends called me Freddy. But that didn't seem like a name that would suit a Bollywood hero. So I reverted to my original name."

Freddy or Farhad, this guy speaks Hindi fluently. "I may look a certain way (read: cosmopolitan). Lekin main bilkul desi hoon. Bollywood hero ban-ne ka kya faayda agar Hindi nahin aati?"

For a guy from Surat who came up the hard way in the modeling world the all-new struggle in Bollywood was not a balls-breaker.

Farhad had a couple of false starts in Bollywood before Vipul and Murugadoss happened. "I did an embarrassing little film which I don't want to name. I got roped into it because I had no choice. By the time the long-delayed film got completed and released I had a certain name in the modeling world. They tried to cash in on my name by projecting me as a prominent part of the cast when in fact I had a cameo role. Luckily the film came and went."

Farhad was also part of the ill-fated Sher. "I was thrilled to be one of protagonists in a film that starred Mr Sanjay Dutt. But then the producers got into a financial crisis and the film was shelved. That shattered my self-confidence. I wouldn't have known where to go next if Vipul Sir had not offered me Holiday."

Frahad was apprehensive about the audition. "But it took Murugadoss Sir just a few minutes to decide I was the guy who would play the terrorist master-mind. I think he was looking for someone was is urbane cool. I fitted the bill."

Farhad trained hard to be prepared for the hand-to-hand combat with Akshay Kumar in the climax. The one thing that he did not do was to watch Vidyut Jamwal who played Farhad's role in the original Tamil version Thupakki.

Explains the model actor, "I made sure not to watch Thupakki. I didn't want to end up copying Vidyut's performance."

Farhad says he is not into athletic acting at all. "I know I won't be able to be as agile with my stunts and Vidyut Jamwal or Tiger Shroff. Besides, I am not keen on stunts and hardcore action scenes. I had to work very hard to prepare for my climactic fight in Holiday."

Farhad is very clear on where he intends to position himself in the film industry. "No more negative roles after Holiday. I didn't see my role in Holiday as negative or positive. I saw it as an interesting character. But my next role would be that of the leading man. I want to position myself as a good looking dashing man-of-the-world kind of hero. I want to be the regular guy who hangs out with friends on Saturday nights and is yet every woman's fantasy."

Speaking of women's fantasy here is a bit of heartbreaking news on Farhad's front. He is happily married.

Shedding light on the matter he says, "My wife Crystal is an American. She's a doctor and she lives in the US. So ours is a long-distance marriage. We met through our fathers who are friends and we fell in love. We've been married for three years."

Farhad says the distance serves his purpose well at the moment. "Right now, I need to focus completely on my acting career. If she was here I wouldn't be able to give her the attention I want to. But she's coming here this week .We'll watch Holiday together. I am eager to know her opinion on my performance."

No fear of losing his fan following due to his marital status?

"None at all. Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan came into the film industry with their wives. Did that affect their stardom?" Farhad quips.