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Creed no bar

Mrudula Rajyadhyaksha

A still from Dehek. Click for bigger pic!

It's all director Latif Binny's fault. He suggested to the PR we take the ferry to Madh island. That is why we are slowly burning ourselves medium rare in the blazing sun, and sniffing discreetly to keep out the smell of ancient fish as we wait on the Versova jetty.

We begin to shift impatiently and hope the boat returns in the promised ten minutes. When it finally heaves in to a fading putter of engines, we shuffle forward in the queue and clamber over the wooden side into a boat already crowded with Koli fishermen and other regulars.

A hunk in a brown shirt and goggles steps in and settles in a corner just as the ropes slip off and the boat slides into the undulating black and dirty water of the creek.

By now, the heat and the fish have so penetrated our clothes, that we don't feel them any more. We try to convince ourselves we are really roughing it out, feeling a little miserable about it all.

Suddenly three girls beside us go over to the hunk and chat with him. Very bold, we tell ourselves. But as they come back, we overhear one girl telling another, "Haan, woh Akshaye Khanna hi hai (Yes, that is Akshay K). So we hotfoot it over and squint through the dark glasses. Hey, that's him alright, looking more comfortable in the stench and the heat than any of us.

Akshaye is soon shaking hands with the men and saying flattering things to the women that have them all a-giggle. He looks very relaxed, appearing to enjoy the adulation.

Before we get a chance to talk to him, we've reached the other side and, for the first time we regret the duration of the trip.

Two other boys whom we hadn't even noticed join Akshaye in a waiting white Maruti van. We get into an auto, tell the driver -- who must have loved it -- to follow that car! We reach the Island Fort in quick time, paying off the auto driver who must have been disappointed there wasn't a shootout happening, with blood and bodies sprinkled around in plenty.

We wander onto the sets while the cameraman is still peeking in through the wrong end of the lens -- adjusting it, it appears. Others are tottering around with huge reflectors and lights. We've come in early, bringing in a bit of fish and sun onto the drab sets.

We see a fair, good-looking man busy talking to what seems like an underling. That, we're informed, is the director. Since we haven't met before, we genuflect and bare our teeth and duck our heads obsequiously. Introductions and preliminaries past, we ask him where he started off.

"I am from theatre and then with N Chandra. That was when Rajkumar Santoshi, who was assisting Govind Nihalani, decided to branch off on his own. We were friends. I wanted a good role in his Ghayal because I wanted to become an actor. Instead, he offered me the job of an assistant.... And I got into direction." No regrets there; he actually seems to like the way he got into direction.

His first film, Aakrosh -- of the same name as Nihalani's debut film -- starring Sunil and Shilpa Shetty flopped. It was actually released incomplete since the producer lost patience and asked him to release the film as it was.

Binny hasn't lost his confidence though. In fact, he says he's working harder, trying to avoid his previous mistakes and new ones waiting to trip him up. And right now he isn't in a mood to discuss trouble on the sidelines so do we mind...? We hurriedly ask him about the storyline.

"It's a love story involving a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl set in today's so-called modern times. Their communities try to stop them meeting and make social and political use of their personal problems." It's a film, he tells you seriously, with a message.

The film got going around three years ago when both Akshaye and Sonali Bendre were the most promising things around. The right combo, it appeared, for a fresh, love story. Three years on, they aren't fresh faces anymore. They're looking tired, a little worn around the edges: the industry hasn't really been kind to them.

Sonali Bendre. Click for bigger pic!

Binny claims he has no problem since at least the subject is fresh. Really? Hasn't he heard of Mani Ratnam's Bombay?

"But that was based on the riots and actually they both get married in the film," he temporises. "Whereas my folks have to face many problems..." He offers you a choice between tea and lunch. We prefer the former, despite the heat.

He tells us about the characters, especially Sonali's since, unlike in her all films, she wears only a salwar kameez and is fully covered all the time. That, of course, is a big disappointment. So what else is there in a film starring her?

"Performance, he says laconically, "She has done a good job and acted very well." We take him at his word.

Akshaye, we ask.

"He has grown as an actor from his first day. I can't guarantee box office success but this role will take him to the levels of Aamir Khan in acting," Binny says confidently.

He admits that the Madh island fort is doubling up for a fort in Jaipur the duo have allegedly eloped to. That, he says, cuts production costs a great deal.

While we're taking that in, Akshaye arrives on the sets and the director jumps from his chair. From that moment, we stop existing for him. Fortunately, the spot boy does not suffer from selective vision and so we get some tea while we watch the men going about their work. Correction, a woman too has landed up on the sets.

The scene is picturised between Akshaye and Henna, a supporting actress who plays Sonali's friend in the film.

The shot has Akshaye asking Henna why his lady love isn't meeting him anymore. Whereupon, the friend renders answer that her family has turned down their collective thumb on the union. Two rehearsals later, the director yells 'Cut' and seeks a change of camera. Akshaye too goes to the make-up van to change.

We catch him as he comes back in a green 'n' blue check shirt. We've been forewarned that he's temperamental and moody, and likely to shrink into a shell at the least uncomfortable of questions.

But Akshaye appears only too happy to join us. And we hazard that it isn't only because we share a common fishy odour about us. He asks the boy for a chair.

We ask the obvious question -- about the film and his role in it.

"I'm playing a normal college-going guy who has strong beliefs and goes by them too. He personally doesn't believe that religion can be a hurdle in love. So his reactions are strong. Overall, it's an interesting character; the film is also very good. I'm proud to be associated with the film," he says and raises his hand. No, he isn't going to wave a flag with the production company banner, just beckoning to the boy.

"Jara pani pilana?" he asks, and in a Bisleri bottle along with silver tumbler. The silver isn't for us. Nothing but the best for the hero.

He drinks the water, then asks for his cigarette pack and lighter. We ask him if he isn't lucky to have found stardom in such a short time. Lighting a Marlboo Lights, he says, "Give it to my hard work, sincerity. Here nothing works on luck alone. Though it will be stupid of me if I don't give due credit to those who made this possible for me." He takes a long drag.

Akshay Khanna. Click for bigger pic!

So why did he opt for public transport? Couldn't he have had a comfortable drive in an air-conditioned vehicle?

"It saves me 20, 25 minutes. I always come by ferry." He apparently isn't scared of being mobbed. "No, these local folk are very friendly and warm. They just come and shake hands," he says. "I love them... Truly nice people..."

But long before the cigarette's all burnt out, the director calls him over, this time for a shot with another supporting actor, Raza, who plays his friend in the film.

A few lines and a close up of Akshaye are all that's needed. The shot is immediately okayed and Akshaye goes in to change another shirt, For Raza, it's pack-up.

We ask the director, who suddenly realises that we are still around, why Akshaye has to go through so many changes of attire.

"That's because, these are different shots, different situations. It's patch work, as I told you. We are doing close-ups, so he isn't changing the jeans, only the shirts," the director explains, before heading back to his unit to deliver instructions.

We look around bemusedly till our hero returns.

"Let's finish the interview this time," he smiles. We ask him about his Border experience. Akshaye suddenly gets animated.

"That was a great film. Everything was good -- the script, director, technicians, everything. I enjoyed the film." What does he think of J P Dutta's remark that Akshaye surprised him in the film?

"Well, I'm happy, but why I don't know what he meant by that," he says, eyes twinkling. "But if I've satisfied him, it's great, great feeling for me."

Another cigarette waggles between his fingers and the lighter torches the tip. Just for kicks, we ask him to describe himself.

"Moody, down-to-earth, easy to get along with," he says. "I'm very open with my loved ones; otherwise, I'm not much of a talker. I don't have any fixed behaviour pattern. Sometimes, I react to certain things, sometimes I don't," he says between puffs.

The director comes out us looking for his hero, and Akshaye know it's time to work again.

"Shot ready?" he asks Binny who smiles in reply. He tells us the production car will drop us to the jetty after Akshaye leaves.

We look around and then light upon the heroine opening the door of her van to speak to someone. She is wearing normal blue jeans and a cotton shirt a size too big for her.

Isn't she supposed to be in a salwar kameez, we ask the director. He tells us she's supposed to be wearing Akshaye's clothes since as she hasn't carried her own when they elope. So it's bigger in size.

Are the clothes really Akshaye's, we ask, all agog.

"Not the jeans, but the shirt is his," he answers patiently. Not done to test a director's patience. They already have too many people doing it every day. So we grimace politely before tumbling into the car.