Aftab Shivdasani

He made his debut starring in ads as a child and then as a child artist in, Mr. India, when he was seven…

A couple of music videos and modeling stints later Aftab Shivdasani was launched in Mast by Ram Gopal Varma as a star struck young man who is totally dazzled by a film actress and eventually ends up winning her fair hand. The fantasy flopped at the box office, but the Mast boy became a sensation over night. At 21 he amazed audiences again in the role of a man in his 30s who murders his wife and cons his woman lawyer into falling in love with him. Recalling that memorable role began the conversation with Aftab Shivdasani as he sat suffering from jet lag and yet graciously willing to talk.

Let’s begin with Kasoor. Here you were fresh after playing a guy your age star struck like a lot of guys by a femme fatale on celluloid in Mast and then at 21 years of age you ended up playing a man in his mid 30s, a psychopath killer and a charmer, with some sizzling love scenes to boot with Lisa Ray that became the talk of the town and obviously you couldn’t even take a leaf from personal experiences.

Well it was a humongous task because I had to play a role that I didn’t expect to happen to me at such a young age, of a mature married man, who murders his wife. Especially after a simple role of a star struck young guy in Mast. And you made a very valid point that I could not even draw on my personal experiences, which a lot of actors do, so I had to take my director’s advice. I just followed his instructions. He would literally act the scenes before me since the character was closer to his age than mine. I had barely crossed 20. He would draw the parameters for me, rehearse on the body language, on the composure, the behavioral patterns. The whole characterization was subtle and underplayed and for a 20-21 year old to act that low-keyed would have been tough without his help.
All those romantic scenes between Lisa Ray and me were indeed the toughest part of the film. There is a very thin line between crude sexuality and sensuality. Vikram Bhatt did a remarkable job of portraying those scenes very sensually, and yet aesthetically. He allowed a very minimal crew on sets. I was 21 and to do intimate scenes like those was very hard, but Lisa and I were made to understand that this was a job and we were two professionals and that is how we approached it. It was that which made it work and that is why people found those scenes aesthetically beautiful. Any iota of discomfort would have shown starkly on the screen had the director not done such a good job to make us feel at ease. You can’t hide anything in front of the camera.

Did you expect the film to do so well?

I was very skeptical about how the film would fare. Anyone and everyone who knew me had dissuaded me from doing such a negative role so early on my career. It was taking such a risk. People had just sort of created an image about me of this good boy after Mast and they felt it was too soon to be playing such a negative character. It could have had serious repercussions. But I trusted Vikram Bhatt implictly and also went by my instinct and did it. I worked on my get-up in a big way, wearing glasses, keeping a stubble to suit the character.
I feel the audience started taking me seriously as an actor only after Kasoor. But, at the same time I’m glad that I was introduced as a guy next door because that’s the way a newcomer should be presented. I’m grateful to Ramu for that. It is my good fortune that people in general appreciated my performance in spite of the film not faring well, even though it was a role tailor made for Urmila. I have never crazily hero-worshipped anyone as the character did in the film though I have always admired Amitabh Bachchan for his acting.

A really fun film that you did was Love ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega with Saif Ali Khan and Fardeen Khan. Are you comfortable doing 3-4 hero films? In Pyar Ishq Mohabbet too your role seemed to be smaller compared to Arjun Rampal’s and Sunil Shetty’s and there were rumors you felt shortchanged.

Well, personally I think the entire concept of a solo hero has disappeared today. I’m an actor first, so the role is what matters to me. Secondly, Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega in itself is not a run-of-the-mill conventional plot. It’s a multi-starrer, so one cannot expect to have one hero hogging the scene.

The film is a hardcore comedy with a romantic twist. And I must say I enjoyed playing my part. It’s probably one of the better roles of my career. I love that bindaas character and I would love to do similar roles. The role in Pyaar Ishq Mohabbet came to me after Bobby Deol had date problems, and I knew exactly what the role was. No one played dirty with me.

Your latest offering, Boney Kapoor’s Koi Mere Dil se Poochey was an out and out showcase for Sanjay Kapoor, Boney’s brother. His negative character overshadowed everyone in that film, it was so powerfully etched.

I was aware of it from day one, but I signed the film at a time when I needed a film more than the film needed me. Mast had just bombed and people who were approaching me prior to the film bombing shied away. Out of all the movies I have acted in all of them have turned out as I expected. I don’t think anyone gave me a reason to regret or complain.

If there was a role you would give an arm and a leg for which one would it be?

The role Sunil Dutt did in Mother India. The relationship between the son is just what I share with my mom.