In fact at the premiere if English Vinglish last week Adil, who is a seasoned stage actor and acting teacher trained at the National School of Drama, sat and watched the film with Tabu.
Says the actor fondly, `Yes, I met up with my latest screen-wife at the English Vinglish premiere. Tabu is very special, just like Sridevi. In fact my first screen-wife Vidya Blan from Ishqiya, was also there at the premiere. So I got a chance to meet up with my three glorious screen-wives all at the same venue. It was a pleasure working with all three of them. `
Adil who never craved for a career in movie acting, has lately shot for The Life Of Pi in Taiwan. Just how Adil bagged the coveted role in Ang Lee's film makes an interesting story. `A very dear friend of mine Dilip Shankar was the casting director.
He asked if I was interested in a screen adaptation of The Life Of Pi.
I said, sure. Then at around midnight one evening I got a call from Ang Lee's casting director who said the director wanted to meet me. I said, 'Wow, where, when? ' Ang Lee and I met at the Taj Lands End. The first thing I asked him is why he wanted to film this novel.
It seemed like such an impossible novel to film. It still does. I don't know how he managed it. I went to Taiwan to discuss details and then we shot there. `
The way the role of Sridevi's husband came to Adil makes an even more interesting story. `I was shooting at an inaccessible place when the casting director of English Vinglish asked me to shoot two scenes from the film on a video camera and send it to the director.
Gauri Shinde saw the scenes and I was on. That I was playing Sridevi's husband was entirely a stroke of luck. I am fortunate to have bagged the role. I know so many husbands like the guy in English Vinglish. I didn't try to act. I behaved how I've seen friends behave with their wives. `
Luckily for Adil his own wife in real life has no such grievances. `We are very happily married, ` informs the actor who is at the moment kicked about his next film, Partho Sengupta's Sunrise.
Says Adil, `It's not a big Bollywood blockbuster. I am really not interested in overnight fame. Or mass popularity. I love to act. I've been doing so on stage for many years now. Cinema is just one more avenue to explore my passion for acting. I am glad I am being noticed in English Vinglish. I want to do roles that are layered and enigmatic, like the one in Sriram Raghavan's Agent Vinod. `
Adil is uncomfortable with Bollywood's lack of protocol. `In Hollywood even Penelope Cruz has to audition for The Pirates Of The Caribbean. In Hindi cinema no one asks the stars to audition. I am glad that every role I've done so far has come to after auditions. `