Interview: I am singing ‘Soft Chitti, Warm Chitti’ lullaby to my friends and the world – Aparshakti Khurana

Aparshakti Khurana, who made a strong entry in Bollywood with the film ‘Dangal’, on one hand showed his/her mastery in comedy, while on the other hand he/she surprised everyone by showing the range of acting in a serious avatar in the web series ‘Jubilee’. Aparshakti, who is currently enjoying the super success of ‘Stree 2’, will soon be seen in different avatars in many more films. Here is this special conversation with him/her:Very few sequel films are getting the kind of love that ‘Stree 2’ is getting from the audience. What do you think this team did right that most people fail to do? What compliments did you get?
To be honest, while shooting the film, everyone had only one thing in mind – to do a good job. I think here the story moves very cleanly from the first film to the second, so its biggest strength is the writing. Secondly, the bonding between all of us, especially mine, Rajkumar Rao and Abhishek Banerjee, has become so strong even beyond the film that that friendship is visible on screen and people connect with it, but I would give the biggest credit for this to the audience who gave so much love to the film. Otherwise, no one has seen such a big opening and such a big business of a film of this genre before. People are giving a lot of love. I am also getting a lot of calls and I have to sing a lullaby to everyone. That lullaby Soft Chitti, Warm Chitti… has become an anthem, my friends, acquaintances all say that sing that lullaby once. On the other hand, my wife scolds me that you did not sing a lullaby to me, and you are singing it to everyone else. (Laughs)

Due to your excellent comic timing and unconventional look in ‘Dangal’, you were limited to comedy and hero’s friend roles for a long time, but you changed everyone’s thinking by playing an amazing intense role in Jubilee. How difficult was it to break this image?
First of all, thank you for noticing this, because it is difficult for an actor to break out of one rut and prove himself in another at the same time. I mean, it is not like I did Dangal 20 years ago and am now doing a serious role. I am doing these different roles in the same time frame, but I will not say that I was anxious to change my image or I could not sleep at night or I wanted to prove something. I wanted to do different things as an actor but I did not have the thought that I would do anything for it. The reason for this was that one should be thankful for the fact that I am getting good work. Then, no one told me that you only do comedy. Till now people loved my comedy. Then, I accepted serious roles as well. Now they have accepted me in music as well. Two great hit songs Kudiye Ni… and Zaroor… have also been added to my account. This is a huge victory for an artist. It does not happen with everyone that people love you in every role.

How does your acting process change when you play different roles like Madan Kumar in Jubilee and Bittu in Stree? Do you find yourself changing during that time?
See, I respect those who say they change with every role. Everyone has their own process but I believe there is a reason why it is called acting. You have to act like that person, not become that person. If I become Madan Kumar for three months, then I will roam around like a hero even at home, keep smoking, which I don’t do in real life, I will not consider anyone as anything. So, it is not like that. As soon as I leave the set, sit in the car, I start listening to Punjabi songs. Whatever role I play, my song playlist does not change.

In the upcoming film ‘Berlin’ you are playing the role of a sign language expert. How did you prepare for it? Also, there is comedy in Badtameez Gill again?
Till now, what used to happen with me was that I had to speak Khari Boli at some places, Awadhi at some places and Haryanvi at other places. Like, there was Haryanvi in ​​Dangal, Punjabi in Street Dancer and a slight Bengali touch in Jubilee. Whereas, here I had to learn sign language, which was a completely different thing. This is why I love my profession. Here, one gets to do so many new things which are not possible anywhere else. I really enjoyed learning sign language and investigating the entire case through it during the shooting. Whereas, Badtameez Gill is the story of a Punjabi family, who do not get along with each other. In this, Vaani Kapoor plays my sister and Paresh Rawal plays our father. The kind of fights you will see in this, are seen in every Indian family.

You worked with Aamir Khan in your first film ‘Dangal’. Now you are working with Pankaj Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in the film Jab Khuli Kitaab. What did you learn from these legends?
All these seniors. Their experience and talent is so vast, they have so many qualities. Like, we need time to prepare, but they get the script and they are ready. We get to learn a lot from them, but the thing that we learn the most is how to respect our work and the people around us. Only then can a person go such a long way, otherwise it is very difficult to become Pankaj Kapoor or Aamir Khan. It is very important for you to respect your work, co-actors, team, everyone. That is what brings blessings.

‘Stree 2’, along with entertainment, talks about the power of women and attacks the narrow thinking of male dominance. As a father of a daughter, how scared are you of the cruelty towards women that has been seen from Kolkata to Badlapur?
Of course, it is very scary to think about it. We have kept the message of the film such that it reaches people and they become a little aware, because whenever such an incident happens, we tremble from within. I think that apart from the government, we ourselves will also have to take some responsibility. The government will also have to do many things in view of security, but we ourselves will have to be alert by keeping our eyes and ears open. Children will have to be taught self-defense from school itself. Above all, both sons and daughters will have to be explained from home itself that they are equal, so there are many things to do. To be honest, this is a very complex issue. I don’t understand what to say? What to do? How will these circumstances change? We are living in very strange times. According to me, this is the failure of all of us as a society.