Write about Kunal!

You are back on screen after quite a long while. You seem to be selective about the films you do…

Oh yes, I am selective. My well-meaning friends in the industry always tell me that one should be seen enough, so one should work more. But what I feel is that you should only do things that you can set your heart to. When I get a script like that, I do it. I don’t want to end up on the set of a film and then think, ‘man, what am I doing here?’ I act because I’m passionate about it and I want to feel very happy going to a set. There have been gaps but I’d rather have gaps than be part of films where my heart does not belong.

So what’s the type of script/role that you’d like to look at?

There is nothing like a ‘type’ that I wait for. When you read a script, you know if you want to be a part of it. What has happened in the past few years is that I, with some other writers, have started to write my own scripts. Well, if you’re not getting the kind of scripts you want to be a part of, then might as well make your own... Luv Shuv started off like that.

The long hair and the beard is gone …

Yeah. I kept hoping that some director would come up to me and say 'let’s change your look' but each time somebody came to me and I’d look forward to do something different, they’d say ‘no no this is why we came to you, because we want the beard and the long hair and the character looks exactly like this’ (laughs)! Finally the director of this film (Luv Shuv…) and I were on the same page. We cut the hair in stages; the beard was a French beard for a while, then a moustache, and then finally everything was gone! The spoiled character – Omi Khurana – that I play is somebody who ran away to London 10 years back; Punjabi boys in London have this particular kind of look… clean shaven, short hair and eye brows done, so we’ve tried to do that.

Did you miss the hair after it was gone?

No. I was looking forward to change. Besides, there is now a script which I am working on that requires me to go bald.

Anurag Kashyap’s films have been life-changing for some actors.  Are you also expecting magic after this?

I expect magic to happen after every film. Someone asked me if I got disappointed when a film didn’t work. I do sky diving. A film not working is like skydiving without a parachute. Really disappointing, to put it mildly. Basically, you expect magic to happen after every film. Fingers crossed, yes…

How was it working with Huma Qureshi?

She is a wonderful co-star and is very talented. She’s going to go a really long way. I was telling her that we should work together again as long as there is no scooter in between! Her scooter riding skills are absolutely amazing. She does wheelies and skids without intending to. When we were shooting for the first time, she was riding a scooter and I was riding pillion; I asked her how long she had been riding, and she said ‘one day’. And I went ‘can someone get me a handbrake please’ (laughs)!

Do you have a chicken Khurana type recipe in your family?

Actually every family has a chicken Khurana type recipe. Every family with a mom or a grandmom or an aunt can cook something really nice and if you asked them what went in it, they’d just shrug and say ‘oh nothing, it just happens…’

What according to you is the best bit about Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana?

I don’t know if it is 'the one' best thing about the movie, but the script, certainly. Like for a dish to be right, one has to throw in the right ingredients, and this is a film that has romance, humour – and humour which is different from the loud slapstick humour we watch – and family bonding etc. It’s about a lot of good ingredients coming together to make Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana.

Are you on to scripts that empower and inspire – like a Rang de Basanti..?

A film or a script like that just happens. You just keep writing what you believe in and hope that it would touch someone somewhere. It’s always great to have movies which not only entertain you but also have something to say. If I manage to write such a script, it would be great.