Mausam: All you need is love

Just when you thought Bollywood has gone beyond those innocent courtships where coy glances between lovers indicate long-lasting love, along comes Mausam (Seasons).

The directorial debut of veteran actor Pankaj Kapur, the film has all the trappings of a grand love saga — there's the hero (Shahid Kapoor) atop a tree surreptitiously looking at the girl he fancies (Sonam Kapoor) and emotionally charged captions like "Destiny brought them together, but the world tore them apart".

Ask the protagonists about the relevance of their film — especially at a time when risque comedies such as Delhi Belly have a growing fan base — and they turn pretty defensive.

"I laughed my a** off during Delhi Belly," Shahid said while in Dubai promoting Mausam. "I loved it. If people want to see a film about s**t, they will also want to see a film about love," he said, alluding to the toilet humour in the Imran Khan-starrer. "I am sure there's an audience for it."

His on-screen lover, Sonam, goes a step further. She claims Mausam — a love story between an Indian Air Force fighter pilot and a Kashmiri refugee — is India's answer to Hollywood classics like Titanic and Romeo & Juliet.

"If you are a young romantic girl like I am, there are certain stories and movies that stay with you," Sonam said over the telephone from Mumbai.

"There's a purity and simplicity about them that's engaging. It's nice to be a part of a film that will be remembered for a long time to come. Even Gone With the Wind or a Mughal-e-Azam [has] that timeless quality."

Considered Bollywood royalty with a lineage including her father Anil Kapoor and influential Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor as her uncle, the Saawariya star is convinced unconditional love still sells. Plus there's something about men in uniforms that is a natural aphrodisiac, the actress added.

"I think any man looks great in a uniform. It makes them look authoritative and manly in an instant. Even a woman feels like a woman when [she] sees a man in uniform — your heart just skips a beat."

Contrary to Sonam's belief, Shahid — Bollywood's go-to boy for patient lover roles (think Vivaah and Jab We Met) — says cultivating an imposing, authoritative air wasn't as simple as merely donning a uniform. As part of his legwork, he spent an "entire day" at Pune Air Base mingling with IAF officers. He even grew a moustache.

To get under the skin of his character, Shahid also flew in an F-16 fighter jet.

"My dad [director Kapur] was particular that if I am playing an Air Force officer, then we need to do it right — get into that zone, that mind space. Those pilots I met are bigger stars than any of us. They have a cool life and are very disciplined and particular about how they conduct their lives.

"I still remember the day I met them, I was unshaven and my hair was all ruffled, and someone said, ‘I hope you get rid of all of that.'"

The release of the film, which was slated for last week, was postponed by a week because the IAF raised objections about an aerial fight sequence in the film.

Out of their comfort zones

Mausam — filmed in various locations in India, including Gwalior airbase and Agra, and in Scotland — took more than 18 months to shoot.

"There was a time when I used to wonder why actors don't do period dramas any more. Now I know. This took up more than one and a half years of my life," said Shahid.

He was not the only one who went out of his comfort zone. Five-film-old Sonam, who scores high on the best-dressed in Bollywood list, says clothes weren't a crutch in this film.

"There's this misconception that I am all about the clothes. I suppose it's because my character Aisha [in last year's fashion-forward Aisha], left a lasting impression, but for Mausam it was all about getting the emotions across. I left it to Anamika Khanna to style me as this Kashmiri girl."

Aisha — an Indian version of Clueless — was lauded for its style rather than substance. But Mausam, Sonam claims, has an ethereal quality to it that transcends fashion.

The trailers also sell the film as a love story that goes beyond romance.

Shahid may have even drawn on his personal life to give depth to his character, Harinder Singh. Calling himself an introvert, he says he is not a nightclub Casanova who strikes up conversations with six girls and happily leaves with any girl who responds to him.

"There is a certain beauty to watching the girl from a distance. That's cute," said Shahid, breaking out in an impish grin.

His childhood crushes, he says, went unrequited because he didn't have the courage to tell the objects of his affections about his feelings.

"I was 11 or 12 years old then. I used to stand on my balcony and watch her playing badminton.

"Later, there was another girl. She kept waiting for me to go up to her and tell her. But that never happened. We were even alone in a lift and finally she asked, ‘Will you give me a kiss?' Even then I just kept staring at her and I just ran out once the doors opened."

But in Mausam, he plays a more grown-up, commanding role.

"Mausam is all about unconditional love between two strong, passionate people," Shahid says.

"All they want in life is to be together."

Shahid on...

• His first celebrity crushes: "Madhuri Dixit and Marilyn Monroe."
• His best pick-up line: "I have never used a pick-up line. Fortunately, I have never needed one [laughs]. Frankly, I have never gone with the agenda of picking a girl up. You just start talking."
• His worst pick-up line: "More than what somebody says, it's the way they say it that makes all the difference. An innocent ‘So, what are you doing later?' can have a different vibe to it if asked in a certain way."
• Soulmates: "I believe somebody is out there meant for you. And yes, I am always on the look out for one. Because if I had found her, then I would have been settled by now."
• Turn-ons: "The way she smells, her eyes and an interesting conversation."
• Turns-offs: "Eyes that are shifting and are not steady."

Sonam on...

• Her Cannes outing this year: "I am glad that everybody loved my Jean Paul Gaultier gown [at the premiere of The Artist, left]. He's such a maestro in his art form and I am glad that he gave me his archival gown."
• Acting with her father, Anil Kapoor: "Not any time soon."
• Working with Shahid Kapoor: "We shared an easy camaraderie, chemistry, and I hope that shines through in the film."

Don't miss it

Mausam releases in cinemas across the UAE today. Read our review at gulfnews.com/tabloid