How many people can boast that the global recession was the best thing that happened to them? Former steel entrepreneur Taaha Shah is one in that small but elite statistic. After his Dubai business took a hit in 2008, our Bollywood export wound up its operations and got down to pursuing his first love — acting.
But as the starry-eyed 23-year-old reveals, getting to Mumbai, the heart of the Indian film industry, was easy. Getting into the actual industry was a whole different ball game.
"I didn't know a single person [in Mumbai]. I did not know the roads, the people, the traffic system … I was like a lost puppy," he tells tabloid! "And there were days when I sat in an auto [rickshaw] with heat and dust in my face worrying about auditions, films..."
But Shah's determination has paid off it seems.
Cut to 2011 and he's earned himself a starring role in top-notch Bollywood production house Yash Raj Films' latest feature Luv Ka The End, that released in the UAE on Thursday.
Billed as a romantic comedy, Shah plays the title character Luv Nanda, a college student with a massive ego.
"He is the popular guy in school who considers himself to be a stud whom everybody loves to hang out with. And he is rich thanks to his smuggler-turned-politician dad. So he gets the best of everything — and he doesn't not like to lose," he explains.
‘Anti-romantic comedy'
Things however take a dramatic turn when a spurned girlfriend decides to get even with him.
"This is not your usual romantic Bollywood song and dance film. This is an anti-romantic comedy. It's anti-love — it's wacky and fun," says Shah, who attended a brief acting course in Abu Dhabi's New York Film Academy before heading to Mumbai.
The rich brat act, he insists, is reserved for the big screens alone.
"My mother could have easily bought me a car to drive around in Mumbai, but she thought I should experience everything," he says. "I remember when she started up this steel business for me, she sent me to Hyderabad to set up a training camp in a tiny village there. So I have experienced both — a sit-down meal at the Atlantis in Dubai and a drink under a tree with some old villager in Hyderabad."
Calling it the best leveller of sorts, Shah who studied at Sharjah's Choueifat school and Sharjah American International School, feels that his topsy-turvy reality helped him survive the notoriously cut-throat world of show-biz, where it can often be about the people you know.
His co-star Shraddha Kapoor for instance, is the daughter of Bollywood villain and comedian Shakti Kapoor.
"In Bollywood, you should never let your ego come your way because you are in an industry where everybody puts you down or have the power to do so," he says. "Luck is also a major factor."
Luv Ka The End was not intended to be his debut film, says Shah. He was first signed for a film to be produced by MTV in a role that required him to ride a bike.
‘Super excited'
"But as luck would have it, I broke my leg during my bike-riding practice sessions. So that didn't happen. And then there was this audition for Karan Johar. I was super excited about it and I prepared day and night — only to be told by the casting director that Karan wanted to only meet the girls who were auditioning. I was in the dumps then. But I did not give up —acting was in my head, my blood," says Shah.
Luv Ka The End is a part of Yash Raj Film's initiative to make films that appeal to a younger audience, under the banner Y-Films.Directed by newcomer Vivek Bhushan, even the set was dominated by a 20something crew.
"It was like one big party. Everybody on the set had this young vibe about them. There's was no rivalry among us — our wavelengths were similar and even after pack-up we hung out for dinner etc. You will realise the fun we had when you see the film," says Shah.
Audiences, he says, are far more open now to fresh blood. Band Baaja Baaraat, one of the biggest hits last year, featured newcomer Ranveer Singh in the leading role.
"I was signed onto the project long before Band Baaja Baarat's success. But it proved one thing — that people are appreciating new talent and are open to seeing new faces. That's a good sign," says Shah.
Did you know?
Taaha Shah is a Wushu (Chinese martial arts) expert.Luv Ka The End is the first of the three youth-centric films to hit Bollywood this year. The line-up includes Mujse Fraaandship Karoge, a cheesy take off on YRF's previous release Mujhse Dosti Karogi and Virus Diwaan — a tale about India's youngest computer hacker.
Quote unquote: "Unless you taste the floor you will never know the difference between the floor and the sky." - Taaha Shah about his struggle to get an entry into Bollywood.
Luv Ka The End is currently showing in cinemas.
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