Villain is the new hero in Bollywood. Atleast for the time being. While Don SRK commits robberies and murders with élan and yet gets away with it, Priyanka Chopra murders her seven husbands in 7 Khoon Maaf only to garner public sympathy.
Welcome to the big bad world of cinema, where being evil is the 'in' thing. How else can we justify Kancha Cheena played by Sanjay Dutt in Agneepath overshadowing our good old Vijay Deenanath Chauhan in trailers of the new verison of the 1970 hit.
"Kya lekar aaye the, aur kya lekar jaoge…rah jaayenga sirf ek insaan… sarvashaktishali sarvshaktiman Kancha." Like Don SRK, Sanjay Dutt gets to mouth some interesting dialogues in the movie.
But does that perturb Hrithik Roshan who has to face two challenges -Looking different from the old Vijay Deenanath Chauhan (Amitabh Bachchan) and get noticed in the presence of larger-than-life Kancha Cheena? When we caught up with Hrithik Roshan along with Sanjay Dutt and Priyanka Chopra at Ambience Mall, Gurgaon, he had a different perspective on the whole thing. Here's what he said…
On competition with Sanjay Dutt
"I cannot compete with the man of Sanjay Dutt's caliber. He is the actor who can be a Munnabhai in one moment and a Kaancha Cheena in the next. I cannot compete with him. I can just be honest to my character. Even if there is a competition, it's between the two characters - Vijay Deenanath Chauhan and Kaancha Cheena and not Sanjay Dutt and I."
… And comparisons with Big B
"If you watch the film keeping Amitabh Bachchan in mind, I would fail to impress you. My character is in deep contrast with that of Mr Bachchan. I play a very simple, plausible and real character."
First reaction to the role
"When the role was offered to me, my first reaction was - No way! Stepping into the shoes of Amitabh Bachchan would mean apne haathon se apne pairon pe kulhari maarna. But when I read the script, I was blown away. It was a brand new film with new references. "
'I curse myself after taking up a role'
"If a role seems challenging to me, my first reaction is to get scared. I take it up and then curse myself for half-a-day. Then I start working on my character. I cannot just stand and act. I need to get into the skin of a character first. Before starting a film, I try to come into that mindset," says Hrithik.
And here's what Sanjay said on the Bhagvad Gita controversy that's making new these days:
No Bhagvad Gita reference
A religious organisation has objected to a dialogue by Sanjay Dutt in Karan Johar's film Agneepath and has demanded its removal. "There is no reference to Bhagvad Gita. How can there be any controversy when we haven't referred to Gita," said Sanjay Dutt.
The controversial dialogue: Sanjay Dutt is seen clutching Bhagvad Gita and saying, 'Main likhunga Gita ka unnesvaa (19th) adhyaya…Vijay Deenanath Chauhan ko marna padega'.
Who's Kaali
Priyanka Chopra who sat gracefully listening to the "two larger-than-life characters", also spoke a line or two about her character Kaali. "There are four primary characters in the film - Vijay Deenanath Chauhan (played by Hrithik), Kancha "Cheena (Played by Sanjay Dutt), Kaali (played by me) and Rauf Lala (played by Rishi Kapoor). Vijay Deenanath Chauhan is central to the plot and the three characters revolve around him in different phases of his life. My role in the film provided solace, softness, beauty to the film."
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