Trust actors to have interesting anecdotes on the epiphany that led them to acting.
For newcomer Shiv Darshan, son of filmmaker Suneel Darshan, who backed films such as Jaanwar and Andaaz, that spiritual flash was playing a body double. He makes his acting debut this Thursday with romantic comedy Karle Pyaar Karle.
“Acting was never my first choice. But it changed when my father was shooting for a film called Talaash … The Hunt Begins, the old one that starred Akshay Kumar in 2003,” said Darshan. Kumar couldn’t make it for a song shoot with his leading lady Kareena Kapoor and Darshan Jr was asked to step in. In a matter of minutes, his long hair was chopped and he was asked to put on Kumar’s costume.
“Kareena was dancing and she was the focal point, while I had to be just in the foreground. But putting on make-up and facing the camera was such a high for me. I didn’t have to do much but I still loved it.”
However, discovering his passion didn’t translate into movie projects.
“I knew I had to work on my body because traditional Hindi film heroes need to look a certain way. I joined acting classes and pursued gymnastics and kathak for several months,” said Darshan, who at one point weighed 130kg. It may have taken over a decade, but Darshan believes his struggles have paid off. Enter Karle Pyaar Karle, which he dubs as this year’s “wholesome entertainer”.
“It has romance, action, good music, stunts. It will keep you on the edge and is simply fabulous.” Darshan describes his role as that of a “daredevil with a golden heart” with a penchant for taking on bets and challenges. In the process of all that wagering, he falls in love with another wild spirit: Preet, played by former beauty queen Hasleen Kaur.
Isn’t that a familiar story?
“The story might sound the same but the secret of its success lies in the way you perform it, the way you narrate a story and present it. Remember, Romeo And Juliet has been made so many times but its charm is still there,” said Darshan. It may sound like a simplistic analysis, but Darshan is unwilling to let any negativity into his life. Right now, he is drinking in the sight of the billboards that show him shirtless and buffed beyond belief.
“The hoardings of my poster were on the Bandra-Worli sea-link. It was surreal to see myself on a movie poster. I can’t describe the feeling but it gave me a high just to see me … I was really big back then and to see me like this is a feeling that I can’t describe,” said Darshan, who counts the late actor Dev Anand and Amitabh Bachchan as his heroes. His father, a producer on Karle Pyaar Karle, has shepherded him every step of the way, but Darshan Jr feels he shouldn’t be victimised for favours granted to him because of accident of birth.
“Being a producer or a director’s son has its advantage and disadvantages. You get your first break easily and you are educated about cinema from an early age. But somewhere people think you have it way too easy. But it’s the ability that counts. In this business, talent and content rules.”
*Karle Pyaar Karle releases in the UAE this Thursday.
