‘Akaash Vani’: I want to cater to the audience, says Kartik Tiwari

‘Akaash Vani’: I want to cater to the audience, says Kartik Tiwari Best known for his four-minute long anti-women harangue in by-now the cult classic ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, Kartik Tiwari is a boy you’d want to not take your eyes off. He is charming – too much so – and many eons away from the Rajat in his debut film. However, now the actor is finally on the threshold of shedding his Rajat-skin off – with ‘Akaash Vani’. Director Luv Ranjan’s romantic flick is to hit theatres January 25, and the cute male lead – Kartik – is more than enthusiastic to see his viewers watching him in his second film. Ananya Bhattacharya of Zeenews.com, in a candid tete-a-tete, speaks to the actor about his role in ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, director Luv Ranjan and a lot more. Excerpts from the conversation:

What made you take up ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’?

I didn’t have an option but to do ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’. That was the only film I was being offered, and I didn’t have any choice. During that time, I kept searching for auditions through Facebook and the like. That’s when I got to know that a guy was required for a film called ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’. I didn’t have a portfolio or anything of the sort – I cropped and edited a photo of mine, clicked using a cell phone – and sent that to them. The auditions took place and subsequently, I was selected. That’s how ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’ happened for me.

You’ve received a lot of acclaim for your role in ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’. Is that the reason you’ve taken up another film of a similar genre?

In ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, we showed the flipside of love. Basically, in most films, you show how a guy falls in love with a girl – in ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, it wasn’t about ‘how’; it was about what happens after the guy and the girl fall in love. ‘Akaash Vani’, on the other hand, is more of a romantic love story; it’s a romantic saga. It’s the story of two characters – Akaash and Vani. In ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, my role wasn’t like that – my persona there was a different one.

How do you find Luv Ranjan as a director – given that both the films that you’ve acted in have been directed by him?

He’s a very cool guy! He’s pampered me and Nushrat (Bharucha) a lot… he’s one hell of a director! I really am glad that I started off in the industry with someone like him. I’d never expected that I’d get someone as nice as Luv sir as a director. I didn’t really know anything because I didn’t belong to the industry then; I’m a complete outsider. Ever since I’ve been with him, I’m really glad about it all. I consider him my elder brother, a mentor. I consult him for his advice on every single thing. He’s the one who launched me in the industry – and I can vouch for the fact that if he requires me in the future, I’d always stand by him.

Out of the entire cast of ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, who was the most fun to be with?

Fun… I think Nushrat. I had a lot of crazy times with her. During the shooting of ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’, most of my interaction was with her. We’ve spent a lot of time together and maybe our bond, too, is visible in the films. Apart from that, I guess that’s the reason we ended up having such chemistry. And I really enjoyed being with her, talking to her. She has a brilliant sense of humour – she can understand things without me having to speak it out.

Kartik – the person – can relate more to…

Akaash! (pat comes the reply!) More to Akaash… When I was playing Rajat, I was like him. Maybe that’s why ‘Pyar Ka Punchnama’ also happened the way it did. About 70 to 80 per cent of me was like Rajat back then – I did end up getting dominated and manipulated by people. Now – it’s been a year playing Akaash – I think I’ve turned into more of Akaash now! I guess if you too play Vani for a year, you’d come to resemble her in certain ways… (laughs) That’s what the matter is – if you do something or follow a way of life for a long time, you tend to become like that.

What sort of films can your viewers expect from you in the near future?

Viewers can expect an action film – soon. I will definitely do an action film sometime soon. Apart from that, if people like me in this ‘chocolate boy’ image, then I’ll definitely perform that too. I’d want to cater more to what people expect from me: why would I want to spoil my career by doing something the audience won’t accept me as! But as an actor, I do want to explore. I want to work in other genres too.

Source: http://zeenews.india.com/exclusive/akaash-vani-i-want-to-cater-to-the-audience-says-kartik-tiwari_6004.html