Renaissance Man

Actor, director, producer (not to mention the writing and singing that he does), Farhan Akhtar is a man of many parts. In a freewheeling chat he tells us about playing accountant in Karthik Calling Karthik, wearing the director’s hat for Don 2 and a lot more.

What was it about Karthik Calling Karthik that got you interested?

When Vijay Lalwani (director) met me, he said the story is about a guy who starts getting phone calls from himself! It’s an immediate hook, an immediate intrigue. For me as an actor the story, the characterisation and what happens with him were very exciting. So the way the story played out, the quirky and distinct characters thoroughly intrigued me. Vijay and Amit Chandra who are co-partners in Magic Beans who want to start off their own production company wanted us to co-produce the film. I have known Amit for quite sometime and we have worked together on Don and subsequent projects and that’s how we got associated as producers.

So is Karthik schizophrenic?

He could be (laughs).

If I am asked, ‘Is it a double role?’ Or, ‘Is he imagining all of it?’ my answer is, ‘could be’. That’s the nature of the film. Unfortunately you can’t give out too much information.

And what made you rope in Deepika Padukone for the project?

As a director, Vijay felt that he did not want to waste too much time and footage over establishing that she’s this gorgeous person. When you see Deepika’s character in this office where we all work in together, she’s like a glamorous beacon. You can’t question why somebody in the office could have a crush on her. That’s what it stemmed from and when he met her and discussed the part, she totally got what he wanted. Again, she’s a person who was willing to put a lot of time in the prep, reading, rehearsals etc. She didn’t really hesitate when asked to cut her hair short and was willing to put in time and energy to make the role substantial. 

Source : http://www.screenindia.com/news/renaissance-man/583924/