I love Calcutta, the food, the people…I have friends from Calcutta. I’m shooting something interesting with Prosenjit (Chatterjee) da. We might come to Calcutta for that. Is Bengali food missing me?” Aparshakti Khurana bubbles with enthusiasm as he speaks from the sidelines of a football ground before taking the field. The conversation would pivot on his “condom comedy” film Helmet, which marks a career milestone, being his first as solo lead. It would drop on Zee5 this Friday. He spoke to The Telegraph last week while he was awaiting the birth of little Arzoie, born last Friday.
Congratulations!
Thank you. Two of my babies are set to be out. Helmet is also my baby. Looking for blessings for both.
You didn’t take the message of Helmet too seriously, did you?
(Laughs out long and loud) I took seven years to have a kid. So I was using it (condom) for seven years, you know! But sooner or later, you need to get into the space of parenthood, as well. I have also been acting for seven years — too many small roles, character parts... Saat saal ke mohabbat ke baad I am coming out with my first lead.
From the trailer, it seems just the kind of film that would be up your brother Ayushmann’s street. Are you two wired similarly?
We have shared a room for the initial 22 years of our lives. We are bound to have similar mindsets. Having said that, he is the flag-bearer for such films in our country and has made a very different and big space for himself. I am hoping the kind of love people have showered on him, they bless this film with as well.
Does he have a role in your choice of scripts?
We discuss music and films. And we have been mature in giving each other suggestions. But at the end of the day, it is important to take the praise and the blame for one’s own choices. So far, nothing (we do) has backfired. Most things have connected with people. Not very often do both brothers get so much love. We are both happy in our spaces.
Tell us about the humour in Helmet.
The humour is very situational and real. Real life mein jo cheezein hoti hai ussi se nikla hai comedy. It is awkward comedy. Jo awkwardness hoti hai dimaag mein when people talk about condoms. But it is not so awkward that you can’t see it with family. It is a family film. It doesn’t have anything crass or vulgar. It is important to watch it with family, especially if you get embarrassed about condoms in front of them. Un ke saath baith ke nahin dekhoge toh kya fayda?
The situation that is shown in the trailer — of a young man trying to buy condom at a shop — have you faced something similar in life?
That has happened to everybody! (Laughs) I have a weird story. Like you have delivery boys on bikes these days coming up at doorsteps wearing their helmets, that is exactly how I had gone to pick up my first pack of condoms. I did not take off my helmet! That was 10 years back. It can’t be that awkward now. We crib so much about so many things not being right in our country. We need to understand that the root cause of most of our problems is population. We need to control our population to grow as a nation. This film will promote that message in the most entertaining way. There is nothing preachy in the film.
What about the music?
There are four songs. One is by Tanishk Bagchi and Vayu. It is a wedding song. Tanishk is an ace music director. He has scored for Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Tony Kakkar has given us a big party song. All big films have a Tony Kakkar song. Pritam da’s music company Jam 8 has given us a song, Mauka mauka.
Pranutan Bahl, the female lead, told us that she loved that her character sold condoms in the end.
Yes, why not?! It was important to have that. You have never seen a girl going out to get a condom. It’s considered a boy thing. Why? That’s going to break the (gender) barrier in a bigger way.
How was the experience of working with Pranutan?
She comes from a huge filmi background — (grandmother) Nutanji , (father) Mohnish (Bahl) sir… she is such a talented and humble person. Me, Pranutan, Abhishek (Banerjee), Ashish Verma... we were a happy bunch of people shooting this film. Also Sharib Hashmi — you have seen him in The Family Man — Jameel Khan sir… The kind of lines that there are in the script, you really needed such actors to deliver those lines.
How important is Helmet in your career?
It’s my first lead film. You have seen my work in other spaces. I am very happy and humble about it. I hope I get the same love and respect in this space. Just in case I don’t, I am ready to learn and unlearn from my mistakes and start all over again.
You were saying you’re working with Prosenjit on a web show.
Yes. We are halfway through. We have shot in Delhi and Bombay, we will shoot in Lucknow. We are trying to decide whether to go to Calcutta or build the sets here (in Mumbai). It will depend on the third wave (of Covid). Then we’ll go to Sri Lanka. Also, I have just finished an untitled film for T-Series with R. Madhavan sir, Khushali Kumar and Darshan Kumaar. It’s a tight suspense thriller. I’m also listening to other projects in the lead space.
How is your football with All Stars going?
As we speak, I am at the ground. Every Sunday is with All Stars and every Friday is with friends from my radio days.
You started with cricket (played for the Haryana Under-19 team). Why did you shift to football?
Life is so hectic that you need to choose things through which you can work out quickly. So football is a workout for me. You get to run a lot, lot of cardio... I have done Delhi half marathon four or five times. Even in my cricket days, I used to run a lot.
Ayushmann is not such a sports freak...
No. He is more into watching content, listening to music….
You and Ayushmann had co-composed the hit single Ik vaari in 2016. Do you still jam together?
Honestly, we don’t get time. But we discuss a lot of music. If we were in the same house, may be things could have happened.
You posted a picture with Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain.
I was in Guwahati and we were at an event together. What a lovely, humble and talented girl! The entire nation is so proud of her.
You must have met many sportstars.
Yes, in my days as a sports anchor. I am also associated with Virat Kohli Foundation and Indian Sports Honours for the last couple of years. It is amazing to host that show as you get to meet see so many young sportspersons and hear their stories. It is great to see how much Virat is doing for them.
You still manage to balance acting assignments with hosting....
Because I was a radio jockey, it gives me an edge when I host shows. For hosting, you don’t have to play a character, you can be yourself. It is important to come out of character and have a normal life for as long as you can, to maintain your sanity. Even on the sets, you need to walk and talk as yourself so that you remember who you are.
What about music? Bachpan ka pyar has been well received.
Yes. I did a Punjabi version. My followers on Instagram loved that. It got me the maximum number of views. It was fun to pen that down and sing it. It is quite a loopy song.
Would you nudge your producers to include a song or two by you in your films?
No, no, I am not that guy. Most things that have happened in my life have happened in an organic way. If it happens, it will happen. I do not have to hammer that into anyone’s head.
You posted an emotional message when Dilip Kumar passed away.
My parents and grandparents were big fans. When he died, it was an emotional moment for my father. I called him and found him sobbing. He loved the stage and was a singer. He himself could not do creative things in life. In the ’70s and ’80s, it was not easy to shift to Bombay from Chandigarh. But he could see us doing that and encouraged us. That seed was in his mind because he was such a big Dilip Kumar fan.
As an astrologer, is there anything that he did not see coming in your life?
He is not allowed to practise astrology on family members. He has never tried to read our horoscope. I think he is a lot more mature than other fathers. He has seen so many failures. People come to him with failures. So he is in a better place to understand what is right and what is wrong in life. He inculcated reality checks in us to prepare us better for life.