LOL with Vinay Pathak

You seem to have that perfect comic timing. Does comedy come naturally to you or do you have to rehearse a lot to get it right?

To be very frank, I don’t know what is natural and unnatural. I just do my job. The writer writes the script for me, I read it a lot of times, learn the dialogues, practice and rehearse them. Everything depends on the director; what he wants and how he wants us to do a scene. The director makes us rehearse till he likes it. And when the shot is taken, it then goes to the editors for modifications and to make it look much better.

What is the inspiration behind picking comic roles?

It all depends on the roles and the characters that come my way. If you look at my career, I haven’t done comic roles in majority of my films. It’s just Bheja Fry and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, and now Bheja Fry 2. Dasvidaniya was not a comedy film. Only because Bheja Fry was such a huge hit, people don’t talk about Johnny Gaddaar, Khoya Khoya Chand and Manorama Six Feet Under. I’m just an actor. Whatever story attracts me or appeals to me, I try and do justice to those roles to the best of my ability and talent.

How different was the experience in Bheja Fry 2 from Bheja Fry?
It’s an altogether different story. Also it has new characters like K.K Menon and Minissha Lamba to add a different flavour to the recipe (laughs). But yes I am playing the same character.

Didn’t you miss Ranvir Shorey?
In this film I have K.K Menon with me, but of course, I did miss him. I’m being told that there will be another movie in which he would be present. In this sequel his character was not required. We meet every day though.

How was your experience shooting on a ship for months?
It was beautiful. We could see the sunrise and sunset every day. We were in the middle of the sea for 15 days. It was a complete holiday designed for us, but of course it was not one!

What is your advice to those who aren’t funny but want to be?
I can’t give any advice as I’m sailing in the same boat! I also want to be funny, but I don’t know what to do to be funny. I just stick to my script and my job as an actor because in real life I’m a very boring man.

According to you, how important is it to have a sense of humour?

In my opinion, sense of humour is something which maintains the cool of the body and helps in digestion (laughs). I’m saying this because my food gets digested very quickly!

How has your journey in the industry been and what are you expecting in the years to come?

My journey in the Hindi film industry has been fantastic. I’m expecting  a lot in the future; good stories, good scripts and an ability to work to the best I can.

What do you do when not shooting?

I wait for more shooting to happen (laughs). I like travelling a lot.