Jio Jamai pair Hiraan and Ishani got together recently for a chat on their film and more....

Hiraan, what kind of roles excite you now?

Hiraan: I have done Jackpot, Meher Ali and now I am doing Jio Jamai. Unless I get the right kind of scripts, how will I do different kinds of roles? I am open to acting in all kinds of films. As an actor, I don’t have any barrier.

What if you don’t get to play the hero?

Hiraan: There are no heroes in films now. The story is the hero… or the characters become the hero in cinema. Or the songs become the hero. Cinema itself is the hero. I’ll try to do full justice to the characters I get. That is more important to me.

Would you like to direct a film?

Hiraan: I would like to direct… yes… I am working on a sports biopic. I have done the research work on it for two years. The script is ready. I am just waiting for the right time and moment. See, I don’t want to be a director but this is a passion project. I have really worked hard on this project. The story is close to my heart. I have interacted closely with the person on whom the biopic is based on.

Would you act in that film?

Hiraan: Not sure about that but I would like to direct the film in 2020.

Do you get butterflies in your stomach before a film release?

Hiraan: Only once have I felt tense before the release of a film. That happened on the Friday morning of the release of my debut film Nabab Nandini. My sister and I took an auto to a theatre. My head was wrapped in a shawl. We got off the auto and as we were about to pay the driver, he recognised me. “Haven’t I seen you somewhere?” he had asked. We went inside the hall, sat in the balcony and watched the film. It was a houseful show and people were going crazy. I started crying… I was watching such frenzied reactions for the first time. We came out of the theatre just a minute before the end. We knew that the film would be a super- duper hit. Now I get a sense of a movie while dubbing it.

Ishani: Of course there is a certain amount of tension. Interestingly, I was in Class VII when I first watched his films. I used to follow Hiraanda’s dance steps. I used to find him really cute then.

Did you have a crush on him?

Ishani: Yes, I had a slight crush on him!

What was your first reaction after meeting him?

Ishani: He is so down to earth, a perfect gentleman. It was like I had known him for a long time.

Hiraan: She is quite receptive as an actress.

There are songs in the film…

Hiraan: But there are no dance steps! There is a romantic song and a sad song. For one song sequence, we got a Hayabusa. And I have done stunts on bikes before but she was a little scared initially. She was like, ‘Should I sit? I hope I don’t fall off.’

Ishani: The shot went off really well. Hiraanda guided me a lot. And we was like a friend on the sets.

What new things did you learn?

Ishani: He would tell me how to take my profile. Mostly technical things. He would talk to me about my look. Which ones are good, how to walk in a certain manner for a song.

Why is Jio Jamai special?

Hiraan: We now see the breaking down of relationships everywhere, among friends, lovers, brothers and sisters. Jio Jamai is about rebuilding relationships and forming new bonds of trust, of love and hope. It is about making an effort to form those bonds. That is the message of the film. I have done three Jamai films, but Jio Jamai has no connection to the previous two. This film is about nurturing relationships... things can be worked out.

What’s next for you Ishani?

Ishani: I am acting in a serial in Chennai. The team is helping me a lot. I am playing a heroine… it is about her life, journey and her struggles. It is a huge challenge for me since it is happening in a different language.