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Sheen and sparkle
TURNING A NEW LEAF: Tarun Arora in "Sheen".
LIKE MANY a newcomer to Bollywood, Tarun Arora says his entry into films was through "mere luck". Landing the role of the hero in "Sheen", the much talked about silver screen directorial debut of Ashok Pandit - so far known for TV serials and documentaries - was "not that difficult", since he knew Ashok Pandit and had even acted under him in music videos. "All of a sudden one day he called and said he wanted me to try this role." For Tarun, who has a number of modelling assignments, television commercials and videos under his belt, this big screen debut is a "perfect" launch vehicle, no matter that it is less `safe' than the celluloid romances regularly churned out by the dream weavers of Mumbai whose pre-release publicity is not so politically charged.
That his mother belongs to Jammu and he cherishes childhood memories of the place is only one of the reasons Tarun has a special affinity for the region. "A Punjabi born and brought up in Assam," he notes that the situation in Assam too, "is something alike". It was this disturbed situation that led to his being sent to Bangalore to study, he reveals. This commerce graduate with a degree in Hotel Management from Bangalore obviously has more to him than grease paint and memorised dialogues. "Table tennis used to be a part of my life," says the former all-India 8th rank holder. Travelling round the country too, helped shape his personality.
Tarun admits that though he was aware of what was happening in Kashmir, he "didn't know the depth of it". When he met Dr. Agni Shekhar, on whose short story the film "Sheen" is based, and others passionately involved with the Panun Kashmir movement he says, he felt the story of the Kashmiri Pandits "has to come across to the whole world".
Of his character, a Kashmiri Pandit boy named Manohar, he says, "It's a very sweet and small role. He's totally in love with Sheen; his whole life revolves around her. His best friend turns out to be a terrorist. He can't digest this."
Asked about memorable moments in the course of shooting, Tarun is frank enough to admit that it was difficult to do the opening scene in which he has to pick up his ladylove, who has been shot, and run with her in desperation to a hospital. "I just had to lift her and run. It wasn't easy. Expressions also had to come, as she is my life. I can't just lose her."
On the transition from modelling to acting, feels Tarun, "Ashok Sir made it much easier. He gave me a crash course with a theatre director, Jaydev Khatambare." He adds, "I had Raj Babbarji (playing the role of Manohar's father), who made me very comfortable."
His own expectations of stardom from his silver screen debut are "nil", says Tarun, stating, "I haven't done this to promote myself." But that doesn't mean this film - whose cast and crew seem to be chorusing that they are in it for the cause alone - is the only egg in his basket.
Currently shooting for the U.S.-based Shreedhar Reddy's "Nineteen Revolutions" which he describes as "sort of Hinglish" and expects to be released around the summer, Tarun says the character is "hardcore what I'm not." And what is he not? "I play a rich spoilt guy, trying to save society like a Robin Hood."
ANJANA RAJAN
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