What ticks Farhan-Vidya off, after Shaadi

Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan get candid.

Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan come together for the first time to play husband and wife in this week's release Shaadi Ke Side Effects.

They've probably gotten so used to bickering in the film, that when we interviewed them, they were still at it!

Over to Farhan and Vidya:

After doing some complex films in your careers, does it get irritating when people ask why a rom-com like Shaadi Ke Side Effects?

Farhan Akhtar: It would be boring for an actor to do one kind of film.

I feel my responsibility is to do films that excite, irrespective of the genre. The minute you start listening to what people say, your decisions will get influenced. I want to entertain the audience by giving an honest performance.

Vidya Balan: No one has asked me ‘why a rom-com.’ But I think if I was doing a Kahaani and similar films back-to-back, then people would have asked ‘Don’t you feel like doing something light?’

The script of this film excited me. This was the only script where I did not have an author backed role. It is more exciting to carve out a person.

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How do your partners handle the appreciation that comes your way from the opposite sex?

Vidya Balan: I think Siddharth enjoys the fact that I enjoy attention as long as nobody else is enjoying my attention! (laughs). That’s crucial.

Main chahti hoon ki tum chaho ki tum na chaho! We are actually like this.

Farhan Akhtar: I saw her rehearsing this line in the vanity van.

(they laugh)

Farhan Akhtar: As long as your behaviour and respect for the person you are with is not affected in any way, I think they realise that this is part of what we do. Your work is for people and when people appreciate you, there will be some kind of fan following.

Tell us one thing about you that annoys your partner in real life.

Vidya Balan: There’s little that annoys me about Siddharth (Roy Kapur, husband) but there are times he is so particular about things that I feel guilty about not being like that. For example, he is very prompt with his replies on text while I am not a very phone friendly person.

He is also very punctual. So am I, but I do get 5-10 minutes late. If we are to go together, I feel like I am two hours late (laughs).

Farhan Akhtar: I completely agree with the feeling that Siddharth would be going through.

Vidya Balan: But what do you all have to do? A t-shirt, pair of jeans and you are all done. You all have the same black or grey suit and it all looks the same.

Farhan Akhtar: Aisa kuch nahi hai, the fact is that you know what time you are supposed to reach and you work your plan according to that time. You can take as long as you want, you can start in the morning.

Vidya Balan: It’s not like we have nothing else to do. We have so many options we have to explore -- jewellery, clothes, hair, make-up etc.

Farhan Akhtar: Are you saying you are indecisive in life?

Vidya Balan: All I am saying is that we have options and you don’t. Whatever you all wear, you all will end up looking the same!

What do you have to say about your personal life coming into the open?

Vidya Balan: I stopped reading newspapers and watching entertainment news four-five years ago.

Sometimes it’s very disturbing the way things are portrayed in the news. I have been through a lot of that. These things start influencing your decisions. You begin to look at yourself in another perspective.

I decided that I am going to stop looking at myself the way others look at me. It’s a way to protect one’s identity.

Farhan Akhtar: There are things said that are completely unnecessary because there’s no truth in them. But regardless, I feel there’s a certain privacy that should be allowed to actors. If I have to constantly be on my guard then what’s the point of that interaction?

I think the responsibility of people who write about you should be to let you be comfortable and yourself because the more you read things that are not true, the more you don’t want to meet those people and you don’t want to share anything with them.

Farhan, you have been getting many best actor awards for your performance in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag last year. How do you feel about that? Some actors question the credibility of awards.

Farhan Akhtar: I feel very happy with the recognition my films receive whether it is from the audience or the film fraternity and the awards. It feels good when your work gets recognised. 

Everybody has their own take on what awards mean to them. I don’t want to comment on what others think. 

Since the last 14 years, whenever possible, I have attended awards functions, whether to present awards or applaud other people’s achievements.

When someone like Naseeruddin Shah questions the credibility of your performance, does it upset you?

Farhan Akhtar: It is his point of view; everyone have their own point of view. I want to focus on the positive. For me, what is important is what the majority of the audience feels, what the director feels and what Milkhaji (Milkha Singh, the Olympic runner that Farhan portrayed in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag) and his family feel.

As long as they are happy, I am happy. Many people will find fault with you... one must take it in one’s stride.

Many think that your acting career is overriding the director in you.

Farhan Akhtar: I will be inspired to do another film as a director. I have an idea what to make, I just need to decide and it will happen.

But right now, acting is what I want to do so why should I deny myself this expression?

Vidya, there were a lot of expectations from your last film Ghanchakkar but it did not do well. What did you expect?

Vidya Balan: I had expectations from the film like with any other film. When we work on a film we hope people will like the film. I felt sad that people did not like the film.

I think you must look at the larger perspective -- that we tried doing something new but people did not like it and that is fine.

I can’t be objective and say what people did not like. May be after a year or so I will be able to say why people did not like the film.

Do you think now that you should not have done that film?

Vidya Balan: I don’t regret doing the film at all. As an actor, it was something different that I tried doing. I had never played a character that is obnoxiously loud. The film presented a new opportunity. It was a comedy but of a different kind.

This may sound bad, but I am too selfish to listen to what others think or expect from me.