A fun day with the gundays

AYASH RAJ film, a Valentine’s Day release and it’s not a soppy love story? What’s going on? Somebody check Shah Rukh Khan’s phone is on the hook, because the top release for 2014’s celebration of love will be, more bang for your buck, Gunday rather than one of the Darr actor’s trademark schmoozes.

Heading the cast list are Bollywood’s most promising young upstarts, Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh. Helmed by YSF prodigy Ali Abas Zafar and featuring the indomitable Priyanka Chopra, only one word can sum up this ensemble’s dynamic – explosive.

This is just as well given the picture’s subject matter. Two best friends rise the ranks of 1970s Kolkata’s underworld. Ultimately becoming top dogs, the ‘gundays’ own the city until, yep you guessed it, cabaret dancer Priyanka slinks into the picture upsetting the applecart.

The group’s combustive streak was all-too-apparent when they visited DIFF to unveil the movie’s trailer on Friday. Sat in the Al Qasr hotel’s Kouba bar, media heaving to get their interviews, the actors and filmmaker couldn’t have made themselves more at home. Joshing with the familiar faces (how often do they visit Dubai?) and generally trying to be as big nuisances as possible, the pair of jokers in the pack Arjun and Ranveer stole the show with frequent cries of “We are rambunctious, baby!”

Priyanka, pulled from pillar to post by various outlets, was on good form, taking all in her stride with a smile despite the rushed visit. And Ali, who was always going to be somewhat overshadowed by the three stars, also managed to hold his own. We hear from each of them in preparation for next year’s opening.

Ranveer

“We may be crazy, but Ali had one thing to say to reign us in… ‘please.’ When he said that, we were serious for ten minutes. Time is money, I suppose.”
“It’s one of those films that is so rich on paper that you just have to get a grip, get into the groove and just go with it.

“There wasn’t a lot of improvisation. The script was so tight. There was no room for it. The words and director did a lot of the work for us.”

“It’s the kind of film that all of us grew up on. When we decided we wanted to be actors this is the kind of movie that you pray you will be doing.”

Ali

“We’re done shooting. From here onwards, the promotion starts. Because it’s set in a period, we have to overlay some CGI. The edit is locked, though, and I’m happy with the final product.”

“I always think positive energy is the best thing to expect on set from your actors, especially when doing a challenging film. It was extensively shot in real locations. That meant 48 degree shoots on trains. These guys never said ‘no.’”

“The way these characters are written – nobody else could have played these parts. The boys make for good protagonists and Priyanka is such a seasoned actress.”

Priyanka

“This movie is based in a very important time in history – the Bangladesh War. We always talk about partition and you see a lot of films about that, but that provides the backdrop for this story.”

“These two boys grow up as refugees and become the biggest dons in Kolkata. It is a very interesting period.”

“It’s a very different part for me. I play a Bengali cabaret dancer. I haven’t seen that form of dance onscreen since Chicago and never in Hindi films. It was great to be able to explore that side of my character. She is very bold.”

Arjun

“I’ve never had such an energetic co-star. Our director, though, is worse than us. He is keeping a very low profile at the moment.”

“This is a celebration of Indian cinema at its best. To be a part of it so early on in our careers – we have been blessed.”

“The kind of attitude you need to pull off a film of this calibre comes from within. Either you have it or you don’t.”

“In today’s cinema it is difficult to find a commercial film like this that works on many different levels. Normally they can be a bit too simple.”

“It was one of the toughest films to do. It was hard work, but it came together beautifully because we had the best team around us.”