Subhash K Jha

Mumbai:

The actor, who first made a mark in ‘Maachis’, plays an Indian Air Force pilot in ‘Agnipankh’ while ‘Charas’ is a commercial film, “though a lot of people think it’s an arty film”.

But, he laments, his films haven’t been marketed, as they should have been, because of which he is not as big a star as he should have been.

Are things going well for you?

I’d like to believe so. My cameo in ‘Munnabhai MBBS’ has rejuvenated my career. I was not in Mumbai when it was released but I kept getting the feedback. And now I get to play a childhood fantasy. In my new film ‘Agnipankh’ I play an air force pilot. Not bad, huh?

When I signed ‘Munnabhai...’ I knew my role was small. But I also knew it’d make an impact because Raj Kumar Hirani knew what he was doing. No way was I going to lose out on the role because of its length. This is what a special appearance should be. ‘Munnabhai...’ will always be special.

Why haven’t things taken off in a big way for you?

They will, now that I’m playing a pilot I’ll take off, ha, ha. I feel I haven’t done a mass-oriented film which is marketed to reach the people in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Now I feel ‘Agnipankh’ will finally do the trick. People overseas talk to me about ‘Kehta Hai Dil Baar Baar’, where I played a carry-home restaurateur in New York and ‘Dil Hai Tumhara’, ‘Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi’ and ‘Mohabbatein’. But one does crave for that one hit at home. I feel my films suffer due to inadequate marketing. When I did ‘Agnipankh’ I felt I finally had a film that would reach into the heart of India. That’s why I did such a hardcore mass-oriented film. But I feel the film’s promotion is again inadequate. Merely putting the songs on air you can’t give the audience zan idea of the film’s content. They were supposed to show the film to people from the air force, hold grand charity premieres for the air force... yeh sab kuch nahin kiya in logon ne (none of this was done).

Are you looking to do more mass-oriented films?

Absolutely. Even my next release Tigmanshu Dhulia’s ‘Charas’ is a commercial film, though a lot of people think it’s an arty film. And let me tell you. My co-star Namrata Shirodkar is very good in ‘Charas’. I feel a good co-star and a capable director can work wonders.. ‘Charas’ is very different from Tigmanshu Dhulia’s first film ‘Haasil’, where I played a sweet small-town boy. Irfan Khan who’s very hot after ‘Maqbool’ is simply outstanding in ‘Haasil’. And my male co-star is again Uday Chopra with whom I’ve done ‘Mohabbatein’ and ‘Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai’. You know Uday and me individually don’t amount to anything spectacular. But whenever we’re together we make a difference.

I believe you’ve a great role in ‘Aman’?

That’s the one I’m holding my breath for. It’s directed by an ad maker, Sujit Sarkar. He’s a brilliant director. It’s a truly intense role and look for me. The film will almost be a reinvention of Jimmy Shergill. It takes me back to my roots as an actor in “Maachis”. I guess I’m still searching for that one film which will be pitched properly to the audience. ‘Haasil’ was a good film. If it had been promoted well it would’ve done well. I need to reach out to an audience beyond the metros. I feel ‘Agnipankh’ fits the bill. The air force backdrop and the human relationships are so beautifully balanced. That’s the kind of balance I’m looking for in my career.