In a strictly tongue-in-cheek tete-a-te Kunal speaks about his first kiss and his last assignment for quite some time.
You do a lot of dancing in Laaga Chunri Mein Daag (LCMD)
I love dancing. But I'm not very good at it. I was intimidated by who I was dancing with. Abhishek and Rani are damn good dancers. Finally they made it easier for me. But you know what? You don't necessarily have to be a pro at dancing to enjoy it. You've to be shameless before the camera.
I believe you and Abhishek went to the gym together?
I didn't get that privilege. But we had super-fun on the sets. The minute he entered we knew he'd up to some mischief. I was relatively the well -behaved guy around.
Abhishek Bachchan wants to be as scrawny as you
He's a mad hatter. Scrawny is in. Every kid says, 'Main gym jaa ke scrawny banoonga.'
Like Kunal
Then we'll change it to lean. I've remained as lean as I was when I came in.
You have a kissing scene with Konkona in LCMD?
My first on-screen kiss. Konkona and I did it well, considering we did it in below-zero temperature in Switzerland with fifty people gawking.
Are you making excuses for bad kissing?
Ha ! No. Actually I got good reactions to it.
You are a huge fan of Jaya Bachchan?
Oh yes, and I couldn't believe it when I got to work with her. When you grow up watching and admiring someone and then you get to work with her, the feeling is unbelievable.
I got the same feeling when I worked with Aamir Khan. When we worked with him we became friends. But even today when I look at the posters of Rang De Basanti I can't believe that's me with him.
Jayaji fed us the best lunches on the sets. She used to bring lunch for fifteen people. I eat enough for five people.
LCMD is your first family film.
Yeah I guess my films so far have been unorthodox with me cast as loners. But you know what?I'm a very family-oriented person. I've grown up watching the family films of Sooraj Barjartya and Mr Yash Chopra.
LCMD is my first taste of a family film. I haven't done a conventional family film before. Here the sharp editing and other technique add rather than take away from the main drama.
Dada (Pradeep Sarkar) brings in a lot of technique without taking away from the main drama. I feel a film like LCMD hasn't come in a long time.
Good boy, that's you what you are supposed to say.
No seriously. I wouldn't endorse a product I didn't believe in. If I don't like one of my films I'd keep quiet.
Like Hat Trick?
I don't know why this belief went around. I liked Hat Trick and so did some people.
You're paired with Konkona again in Aaja Nachle
Yeah, again we're paired together, though there's a bunch of us this time. A third film with Konkona? I don't know...Konkona makes me feel like Salieri while she's Mozart.
You mean, like Bobby Deol and Upen Patel in Shaka Laka Boom Boom?
That I haven't seen. So I'll stick to Mozart and Salieri.
Are you admitting Konkona is superior to you.
That's an understatement. You know I'd come on the sets,do my rehearsals get my lines right, be fully prepared. She'd just come on the sets, casually inquire about the scene then read a book, and give a perfect shot.
That's exactly what Hrithik used to say about Kareena during Yaadein.
Did he? I really like to work on my shots, to make up for my lack of talent, though I feel I don't work hard enough.
What are you working on now?
Nothing after Aaja Nachle. I go by my instincts. It took me just a couple of minutes to say yes to LCMD and Aaja Nachle. If I've to convince myself to do a film then it's not worth doing.Maybe I'm being naïve. But I really see no point in doing a film just to be busy.
What will you do in the coming months?
I was supposed to do a play Baghdad Ka Ghulam with Barry John. I had worked with Barry earlier and this play had Rahuvir Yadav in it. Unfortunately it got postponed. I was excited about it because it was my first play after Rang De Basanti.
I'm hearing lots of scripts....I write poetry and I like to jot down my thoughts. They never seem to end, though. And I'm a passionately inquisitive person. So there's never a dull moment in my life.
No films at all?
It's in the pipeline. Whoever invented that term is a genius. Lack of work doesn't make me nervous.
What are you looking for?
I'll know when I get the next good offer. But whatever the role, lead or otherwise, it has to help me grow as an actor.