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`Our career graphs are similar'

They are both young, upcoming actors with impressive lineages. Abhay Deol and Soha Ali Khan get both funny and serious as the chemistry between them crackles

PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY Both Abhay and Soha believe that family connections can take them only so far

Two very different people from similar backgrounds. Genealogy aside, Abhay Deol and Soha Ali Khan are working hard to break away from any expectations and image they might have to live up to. As they promote their new movie Ahista Ahista together, both display off-screen camaraderie even as they squash rumours of an ongoing romance and fights between them. Abhay Deol clearly wants to play wicked interviewer to Soha Ali Khan as RENUKA VIJAY KUMAR listens in.

Abhay Deol: (grabbing the mic) So I'm doing the interview for Ahista, Ahista. Tell me Soha, how was it?

Soha Ali Khan: Stop being an actor and stop interviewing me!

Abhay: I have to say, Soha Ali Khan was very hard to work with and she played...

Soha: Are you asking me questions or are you interviewing yourself?

Abhay: Well, you're answering the questions badly . Say something nice.

Soha: Okay. Abhay Deol is a very good actor and Ahista Ahista is his best film.

Abhay: I'll take back what I said earlier... Soha Ali Khan is a very natural actor and... what else should I say? Are you looking forward to travelling the country to promote the film?

Soha: Yes, I am looking forward to promoting this film because it's...

Abhay: (cutting in) I didn't ask why... (laughter)

Soha: So this is a yes or no interview?

Abhay: Yes, it is. What would you have to say to the viewers about the film? What is it about?

Soha: It's about this boy who lives in old Delhi and is a very interesting character. Who works as a witness for marriages and still can't afford a new sweater...

Abhay: Yeah, that's true... but that's the stylist's fault.

Soha: So this guy has a lot of spunk and energy and then this girl, from a very different background comes into his life.

Abhay: Now I will talk about your character. So he sees this girl and approaches her and she is a very sweet girl who has run away from home. He kind of takes it upon himself to help her out and essentially it's about the relationship they share and where it leads him and her.

On meeting each other

Abhay: I met Soha through a common friend called Kunal Kapoor. That's how we met, remember?

Soha: Yes, that's right.

Abhay: Kunal's her co-actor from Rang De Basanti and after that, we hit it off and met a few times before we stated the movie. I think it was a natural process. It was just so easy to get along with her because she's funny.

Soha: And you're funny-looking.

Abhay: Yeah. But then this film came up for which Shivam (Shivam Nair, director of the movie) met her and liked her. And then he decided not to let our friendship develop any closer because we are supposed to play strangers in the film.

Soha: In fact, before we started shooting the film, he told me to stay away from Abhay so that we looked like we were uncomfortable with each other.

Abhay: It's all about acting... or not acting! Then of course, once we started making the film, we became better friends. Now I think we should do a comedy together. Don't you think, Soha?

Soha: I think so. I would like to do a comedy, like a dark, black comedy!

Soha: I'm not choosing films on the basis of commercial value. I just read the scripts and see if I like it. Some of them tend to be commercial. Even my next film with Sudhir Mishra is a sensible one even though it certainly is meant to be a commercial film. It's not highbrow in any way. I'm also doing a film with Aparna Sen. They are not mainstream filmmakers, but are very good filmmakers. They idea is to do good films.

Abhay: I want to do films that are commercially successful. But I don't define films as commercial or non-commercial I just define them as good or bad. I've finished Ahista Ahista , which according to me is a commercial film. But some people who saw it thought it was sensible cinema. Soha: I think there is a huge appetite for films like that

Abhay: My next point is that I do not think that the audiences of today are only looking for loud melodrama as such. They are looking for meaningful stuff and this film has that. The other three films I have finished too are meaningful. My next film, 1.40 Ki Local is a comedy film. It's a dark film, a funny film, but purely made for entertainment value. I would like to continue this process of picking films that appeal to me as a person.

Soha: I was encouraged by Rang De's success. It was a huge big collaborative effort and it had a lot to do with the strength of the script, the brilliance of our director and the chemistry of the entire cast.

Abhay: The industry woke up late to the response to Socha Na Tha. Luckily people liked my work and approached me form my work. But I have been keeping a low profile, as I'm very shy. I'm not the kind of person to go out there and try and be in the papers. Strangely enough, both our backgrounds helped us so much to get along in many ways. Even our career graphs are very similar.

Soha: I think it really is an asset to have people in the industry in your family because they have your interests in mind. They know a good script from a bad script. They know who are the right people to work with. So it's very important to use that. But apart from that, I don't think either of us have benefited in any tangible way from contacts.

Abhay: At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who you are related to. It only matters whether you can deliver the goods. Her parents and my parents are very similar in the way that they think the only way you can survive out there is if you can learn on your own.

Soha: And my parents wouldn't mind me saying this, but they don't want me to work in films. Especially my father. He is not at all a film person. He has never seen a Hindi film in his life and never will. But that's who he is.

Abhay: He's seen your films right?

Soha: No. He says, `I don't have three hours to watch your film.'

On their link-up as a gimmick

Soha: We are not really reacting to it or taking it seriously. You kind of get used to reading stuff about yourself, especially link-ups.

Abhay: There are so many people who go out there and do things for publicity. But there is so much competition out there, you might as well give us the benefit of doubt. Initially, it was that Soha didn't get along with me and I gave her a hard time and then it suddenly it's like, `Oh, they are in love with each other.' But knowing each other certainly made the film more enjoyable.

Soha: Working with someone like-minded certainly makes it easier. But tell me, would you ever shave your head for a role?

Abhay: Of course I would. Your brother did and I think he looked fabulous in Omkara.

Soha: Would you wax your legs for a film?

Abhay: No. Would you shave your head for a film?

Soha: I think I could. It depends on the film. I've got a nicely shaped head.

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