AAYUSH SHARMA TALKS ABOUT HIS DEBUT FILM, SALMAN KHAN AND WHY HE FELL IN LOVE WITH GARBA 

By Asjad Nazir.

PERHAPS the one major Indian festival Bollywood hasn’t set a film around is Navratri.

That is all set to change with Love Yatri, which is set to be released on the eve of this year’s festival and sees Bollywood superstar Salman Khan launch his brother-in-law Aayush Sharma as a leading man. The newcomer plays a garba instructor who unexpectedly finds love in the musical romance set in the heart of Gujarat and London.

With a powerful figure like Salman backing him and an unusual storyline, Aayush looked confident when Eastern Eye caught up with him in London to talk about Love Yatri, his garba [dance form specific to the Navratri festival] skills, future hopes, the biggest thing he has learned from his superstar brother-in-law and more.

Who have been your biggest acting influences?

Shah Rukh (Khan) bhai was a very big influence. I am also a big fan of Hrithik (Roshan) sir and obviously Salman (Khan) bhai. I think Ranbir Kapoor right now is very good.

Did you feel pressure taking on a lead role for your debut film?

Well, initially, yes. I was like, ‘will I be able to pull it off?’ But it has not been that difficult because I have a very strong family which has been taking care of me and just making sure everything is done right. I have also trained for the past four years. So everything has been very smooth and the director has made sure I have been very comfortable, and

fine. So everything has been great.

What did you most like about the subject of Love Yatri? Is it the fact that no one has done something like this before?

Yes, Asjad, honestly that is the first thing that came to my mind. There is a big festival like Navratri in Gujarat and nobody has really made a film about it. There is so much that happens around that time without people really talking about it, so that was one thing I was intrigued by. I didn’t know much about Gujarat and wanted to find out more about it

and the festival.

But more than anything, I think the script is very honest and pure. You don’t have any of those masala ingredients you find in a Bollywood film like item songs or unnecessary action scenes. It’s a very clean film.

What can you tell us about the character you play in the film?

I am playing a garba instructor, who is a simple, middle-class guy staying in Baroda. He doesn’t have any aim in life, but meets a girl who changes everything. They fall in love and it’s about how he finds a direction in life because of the girl.

What was the biggest challenge you faced doing Love Yatri?

I am not from Gujarat and most of the time when you see characters from that state on TV or in films, they make them into caricatures or comedians. I wanted my character to be authentic and make sure he didn’t come across in the wrong light or caricature-like.

When I travelled to Ahmedabad, I saw that it is a normal city like Mumbai. Young people talking Hindi and English. Nobody had the accents people use on TV. So the intention was to make it real rather than overdoing it or hamming it up.

Do you have a favourite moment in the movie?

We recently shot the climax of the film in London and I think that was amazing. I felt the whole journey had culminated in that most special moment.

How did day one compare to the last day of shooting?

On day one I was a little nervous and wondering if I would be able to do a good job. On the first day we shot a romantic song and I was determined not to do too many takes. I tried to get the scene done in five takes, maximum. (Laughs) More than that I started getting worked up and thinking, ‘why was I taking so long?’ After two or three rehearsals, we got our take on that first day. But in the first few days I could hear ‘action’ while I was asleep. But by the end I was very comfortable and didn’t have that early stress.

How do you feel about watching the final product?

I am very excited because I want people to see what we have done. I couldn’t believe when the various schedules were over, as just a few months ago, we were thinking about shooting the film. So I am really looking forward to the film because we have all worked so hard on it.

Are you now a garba dance master?

(Smiles) I have trained for garba. So now I am like, ‘bring it on.’ I have told everyone that after the film is released, I will be going to every function and doing garba. I think we have good music in the film.

Tell us about the music because that has to be good in a film like this?

I am happy to say that everyone who has heard the album loves the music. They feel it is very apt for the film and very young. It’s very fresh. You know how nowadays you see a lot of remixes of old songs? Here all the songs are original and there are no remakes. We are very proud of the music and I think not just Gujaratis, but everyone will be happy with the music, which I think will be a big success.

Are you ready for your whole life to change because you will be in the spotlight?

Yes, mentally I am, because I am involved in a family that has that kind of limelight. I have seen it happen to other people and I know this is what I have to be ready for.

As an actor, what is the master plan going forward?

After this I would like to do an action film. I might do a comedy and also a family drama, then come back to a love story, but honestly in this industry, you never know. Let us see how Love Yatri lands up with audiences and how people accept me as an actor. Then we will see.

What Gujarati qualities have you adopted playing this role?

Obviously I have fallen in love with garba. When I was training to be an actor, I was training in Bollywood and hip hop dance, but when I signed this film I remember Salman bhai asking, ‘are you sure you can do garba?’ I said yes because I thought, ‘what is so difficult? It’s just about a few sticks and dancing around’, but when my first workshop started I realised it’s completely different from what you see on TV. I started rehearsing and within a few months I enjoyed it so much that I feel it’s a better dance form than hip hop and Bollywood. I am completely in love with it and will practice it every year. It’s one cool thing I picked up from Gujarat.

Tell us something not many people know about you?

(Laughs) I am the laziest person when it comes to getting up in the morning. I hate morning shoots and my director has been making me wake up at 7am to come on set. So I am still dreaming in the hours after I wake up. People think I am an early riser, but I’m not.

What kind of movies do you like watching as an audience member?

I really like entertaining films. I like watching films that are action, have a lot of masala and everything. They are ones I have grown up on. I really like south Indian films and watch a lot of them. I do like some Hollywood films as well, but enjoy Indian films more. I prefer entertaining films and don’t really follow what you would call ‘critical’ cinema.

You have a lovely leading lady in Warina Hussain in Love Yatri, but if you could star opposite any other heroine in the future, who would it be?

In Hollywood I would love to star opposite Megan Fox and think that would be good. In Hindi cinema I would love to work with Alia Bhatt and think she is just an amazing actor. I think there is so much I can learn from Alia if I had the opportunity to work with her.

Are you excited as an actor that Hindi cinema is tackling so many new subjects like Love Yatri? 

Yes, for sure, and that does include my film, which is something new. We have attempted something different, yet we are very confident that people will accept it. I think  audiences have evolved and they want to watch subjects that are different. We have a classic love story, but it is set up in a different way. So it is a great time for the Indian film industry.

Finally, Salman Khan nurtures new talent really well, but what is the biggest thing you have learned from him?

Honestly it is his hard work. Those who know him personally know how hard he works. Those who watch him on screen may think he is very effortless and perhaps not putting

much in. What I learned from him is that it’s not how hard we work, but how effortless we make it look on camera. That is very important. As he says, what you do as an actor on screen is the most important thing and it matters because that is what people watch. Every time I see him he is always working to achieve that. He is doing it at a time where he is one of the most successful actors of all time. So I have learned from him to never take it easy, always work hard and make sure it looks effortless on screen.

• Love Yatri will be in cinemas on Friday (5).

SUNIEL’S SON SET FOR DEBUT

PRODUCER Sajid Nadiadwala will launch popular actor Suniel Shetty’s son Ahan into Bollywood with a Hindi language remake of Telugu drama RX100, which is due to be released in May 2019.

The film revolves around a couple whose relationship takes a dramatic turn when they disclose their relationship to family elders. I have heard from insiders that Ahan has the all-round ability to be a major star in Hindi cinema and has been preparing with intensive training in the past few years.

ZAYN IN THE NEWS AGAIN

THE recent revelations that Zayn Malik allegedly slept with curvy 41-year old masseuse Enrica Petrongari weeks after he temporarily split up with Gigi Hadid in March may have permanently damaged his relationship with his supermodel girlfriend.

Petrongari went into graphic detail about her encounter with the 25-year-old pop superstar at his £10-million New York apartment after she sold her story to the press, which won’t have gone down too well with Hadid. The star couple were in a relationship for two years before they broke up in March, but had reunited in the summer.

REMIXES ANGER AKHTAR

I AGREE with Javed Akhtar when he said the recent Bollywood trend of remixing old songs was creative vandalism. He thinks the lyricists of today should be more confident in their own ability instead of disrespecting classic songs by legendary singers. I also fully concur

with the multi-award winning writer also pouring scorn on the current generation of Bollywood filmmakers, who he said spend less than one per cent of the budget on scripts.

KAPOOR FAMILY BEREAVED

I BELIEVE Krishna Raj Kapoor was one of the greatest unsung heroes of Hindi cinema

and was the perfect illustration of the saying, “behind every great man is an even greater woman.”

The wife of late actor Raj Kapoor died of a heart attack aged 87. She was a dignified  woman who kept the family together despite her superstar husband repeatedly cheating on her with glamorous leading ladies like Nargis and then was a patriarch in a family that included leading lights like Rishi Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Ranbir Kapoor.

NO BOLLYWOOD ME TOO

ACTRESS Tanushree Dutta has received a lot of support from big names in Bollywood, including top leading ladies, after she accused Nana Patekar of sexually harassing her on

the sets of 2008 film Horn Ok Pleassss. She also alleged that director Vivek Agnihotri asked the actress to strip on the sets of Chocolate, but co-stars Irrfan Khan and Suniel Shetty intervened and stopped it from happening.

Although stars like Sonam Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Parineeti Chopra, Richa Chadha, Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap and Konkona Sen Sharma came out in support, this

won’t lead to a #MeToostyle movement in Bollywood because the men have too much power in the industry.