Harman Baweja Interview
Harman Baweja son of Harry
Baweja (director of Qayamat) is all set to make his debut on the silver
screen with his super-hyped debut movie Love Story 2050. His co-star is
the gorgeous Priyanka Chopra, with whom he is rumored to be romantically
involved.
With less than a month
to go before the release of Love Story 2050, Harman Baweja talks about
his debut movie, his resemblance to superstar Hrithik Roshan, his upcoming
movie with Jodha Akbar director Ashutosh Gowariker and a lot more.
1.Tell us about Love Story
2050.
Love Story 2050 is like
the title says. It’s a love story in 2050. This was the first title we
thought about, three years ago. But it was not a conventional Hindi film
title like Yeh Dil Ne Kuch… It’s very abrupt. But dad felt that the entire
film was spelt out in the title - it’s a love story set in the future.
And that’s what it is. It’s a love story spread across two time zones.
It’s a time travel film.
2.What’s your look in
the film like?
I haven’t done anything
flamboyant. Priyanka went red-haired, and that worked wonders for her character.
For me, there’s nothing like that. It’s my first film so I didn’t want
to experiment. I just wanted to be myself.
3.How tough is it shooting
in front of a green screen?
It’s a killer! First
of all, it’s my first film. So as a father, he should have been nice to
me and helped me. Instead, he puts me in a green room and tells me to pretend
that there’s a flying car there, suddenly pan left and there’s Ayesha’s
car… and I’m like where is all this happening?
I was shooting a scene
with Cutie, the robot. She has to say, ‘Karan (my character’s name), where
are you?’ Instead, she goes, ‘Kkkkarr…’ and gets stuck. And you get really
upset because that’s your best shot. But you can’t even get upset because
Cutie is a robot!
So we went through all
that. I’ve trained so much in my first film — you know, with green screens
and robots — that it’s probably going to be easy acting with humans now!
4.How difficult is it
to do a romantic scene with Priyanka, with your dad watching?
Very! The first two days
of shooting, I went up to dad and said that if you’re going to be on the
sets, I’m not going to be able to act! So he looked at me and said, ‘I’m
the director of the film!’
So he sat in another
room in front of the video assist, and talked to me through the mike. I
didn’t want to see my father when I was shooting because that would freak
me out! It’s natural; he’s my dad at the end of the day.
But by the end of the
third day, you learn how to cut off.
But the cut off was not
definite either. Like, I never called my father ’sir;’ I called him ‘papa’
only. But I’d be professional on set, and he becomes a father again in
the car.
5.Tell us about your first
brush with stardom — the first time a stranger recognised you on the streets.
It hasn’t happened to
me, honestly. Nobody recognises me yet. The other day I went to the chemist.
I walked the streets aram se, and no one recognised me. I’m hoping that
people start recognising me.
6.You’ve been compared
to Hrithik Roshan. How do you take that?
I always say the same
thing. It’s what my parents did, yaar!
But it’s a matter of
time. For those who have seen my film — like Ashutosh Gowariker, Anees
Bazme and Manmohan Singh — obviously see me and that’s why they’ve taken
me in their films.
What the world has seen
are two trailers. When you see someone for the first time, you tend to
relate him to someone you know. That’s natural. So you say Shahid Kapoor
is like Shah Rukh, Abhishek is like his father, Shah Rukh is like Dilip
Kumar, Ajay Devgan is like Sunil Dutt…
So after you see my first
and maybe second film, people will say this is Harman, and he has his own
identity.
7.But people may compare
you to Hrithik when they see you on screen for the first time.
But then, it’s unfair
to me. At the end of the day, I’m a newcomer and he’s been there for eight
years and has done 20 films. He has matured and improved as he’s gotten
older. But this is my first film.
Like you can’t compare
my dance with his. He’s got eight years of experience, so he knows how
to dance for the camera. I’m still learning.
8.How much has your daily
schedule changed?
It’s become very hectic.
The only thing I want is sleep (it’s 10:30 pm at the time of the interview
but the day is far from over for Harman. After the interview, he has to
rush to his office to rehearse his performance for the IIFA awards until
3 am. He hasn’t had any dinner, and he has to suffice on cashew nuts for
now. The next day will begin at 8:30 am with the dubbing for Love Story
2050).
But at the same time,
I can’t complain. I’ve been working towards this, and now that it’s happening,
I need to be happy about it. And I am.
9.What next?
Interview with Harman
Baweja
Harman Baweja son of
Harry Baweja (director of Qayamat) is all set to make his debut on the
silver screen with his super-hyped debut movie Love Story 2050. His co-star
is the gorgeous Priyanka Chopra, with whom he is rumored to be romantically
involved.
With less than a month
to go before the release of Love Story 2050, Harman Baweja talks about
his debut movie, his resemblance to superstar Hrithik Roshan, his upcoming
movie with Jodha Akbar director Ashutosh Gowariker and a lot more.
1.Tell us about Love Story
2050.
Love Story 2050 is like
the title says. It’s a love story in 2050. This was the first title we
thought about, three years ago. But it was not a conventional Hindi film
title like Yeh Dil Ne Kuch… It’s very abrupt. But dad felt that the entire
film was spelt out in the title - it’s a love story set in the future.
And that’s what it is. It’s a love story spread across two time zones.
It’s a time travel film.
2.What’s your look in
the film like?
I haven’t done anything
flamboyant. Priyanka went red-haired, and that worked wonders for her character.
For me, there’s nothing like that. It’s my first film so I didn’t want
to experiment. I just wanted to be myself.
3.How tough is it shooting
in front of a green screen?
It’s a killer! First
of all, it’s my first film. So as a father, he should have been nice to
me and helped me. Instead, he puts me in a green room and tells me to pretend
that there’s a flying car there, suddenly pan left and there’s Ayesha’s
car… and I’m like where is all this happening?
I was shooting a scene
with Cutie, the robot. She has to say, ‘Karan (my character’s name), where
are you?’ Instead, she goes, ‘Kkkkarr…’ and gets stuck. And you get really
upset because that’s your best shot. But you can’t even get upset because
Cutie is a robot!
So we went through all
that. I’ve trained so much in my first film — you know, with green screens
and robots — that it’s probably going to be easy acting with humans now!
4.How difficult is it
to do a romantic scene with Priyanka, with your dad watching?
Very! The first two days
of shooting, I went up to dad and said that if you’re going to be on the
sets, I’m not going to be able to act! So he looked at me and said, ‘I’m
the director of the film!’
So he sat in another
room in front of the video assist, and talked to me through the mike. I
didn’t want to see my father when I was shooting because that would freak
me out! It’s natural; he’s my dad at the end of the day.
But by the end of the
third day, you learn how to cut off.
But the cut off was not
definite either. Like, I never called my father ’sir;’ I called him ‘papa’
only. But I’d be professional on set, and he becomes a father again in
the car.
5.Tell us about your first
brush with stardom — the first time a stranger recognised you on the streets.
It hasn’t happened to
me, honestly. Nobody recognises me yet. The other day I went to the chemist.
I walked the streets aram se, and no one recognised me. I’m hoping that
people start recognising me.
6.You’ve been compared
to Hrithik Roshan. How do you take that?
I always say the same
thing. It’s what my parents did, yaar!
But it’s a matter of
time. For those who have seen my film — like Ashutosh Gowariker, Anees
Bazme and Manmohan Singh — obviously see me and that’s why they’ve taken
me in their films.
What the world has seen
are two trailers. When you see someone for the first time, you tend to
relate him to someone you know. That’s natural. So you say Shahid Kapoor
is like Shah Rukh, Abhishek is like his father, Shah Rukh is like Dilip
Kumar, Ajay Devgan is like Sunil Dutt…
So after you see my first
and maybe second film, people will say this is Harman, and he has his own
identity.
7.But people may compare
you to Hrithik when they see you on screen for the first time.
But then, it’s unfair
to me. At the end of the day, I’m a newcomer and he’s been there for eight
years and has done 20 films. He has matured and improved as he’s gotten
older. But this is my first film.
Like you can’t compare
my dance with his. He’s got eight years of experience, so he knows how
to dance for the camera. I’m still learning.
8.How much has your daily
schedule changed?
It’s become very hectic.
The only thing I want is sleep (it’s 10:30 pm at the time of the interview
but the day is far from over for Harman. After the interview, he has to
rush to his office to rehearse his performance for the IIFA awards until
3 am. He hasn’t had any dinner, and he has to suffice on cashew nuts for
now. The next day will begin at 8:30 am with the dubbing for Love Story
2050).
But at the same time,
I can’t complain. I’ve been working towards this, and now that it’s happening,
I need to be happy about it. And I am.
9.What next?
I don’t want to do films
where I play a character that’s typically me. I want roles which will give
me scope to perform. I get that in Love Story. It’s followed by Victory,
where I play a small-town boy from Jaisalmer, and how he becomes a big
cricket star. And then his search for himself again. It’s a very complex
film. It’s very commercial as well. It has cricket players like Brett Lee,
Dinesh Karthik, RP Singh and Yusuf Pathan.
Anees Bazme’s It’s My
Life contrasts completely with this. It’s a romantic comedy. It’s a remake
of a Telugu hit, Bommarillu. The Tamil version, Santhosh Subramaniam, was
also a hit. So we’re hoping we’re third time lucky now.
Then, there’s What’s
Your Rashi with Ashutosh Gowariker. I cannot talk about that.
It’s followed by Victory,
where I play a small-town boy from Jaisalmer, and how he becomes a big
cricket star. And then his search for himself again. It’s a very complex
film. It’s very commercial as well. It has cricket players like Brett Lee,
Dinesh Karthik, RP Singh and Yusuf Pathan.
Anees Bazme’s It’s My
Life contrasts completely with this. It’s a romantic comedy. It’s a remake
of a Telugu hit, Bommarillu. The Tamil version, Santhosh Subramaniam, was
also a hit. So we’re hoping we’re third time lucky now.
Then, there’s What’s
Your Rashi with Ashutosh Gowariker. I cannot talk about that.
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