ACTING IS NOT MY FIRST LOVE: PARINEETI
In a candid chat with the HT Café team, Parineeti Chopra and Ayushmann Khurrana discuss movies, music and more.
I am not that person who goes to duty-free and suddenly comes back with an accent. PARINEETI CHOPRA, ACTOR
Ayushmann Khurrana (above left) and Parineeti Chopra
(above right) have one thing in common — both have proved their acting prowess and struck a chord with the audience since their debut films. This is the first time the two will be seen on screen together in Meri Pyaari Bindu. Parineeti, who plays an aspiring singer in the film, has sung ‘Maana ke hum’, which also happens to be her maiden attempt at singing. The duo, amidst promotions of their movie, dropped by the Hindustan Times office for an engaging On-record@cafésession.
Parineeti, are you now planning to sing more often?
Parineeti: If the song is perfect for my voice and if the music director or the producer feel so, then maybe. I’m definitely not going to force that I have to sing in a film.
Music plays an integral part in Meri Pyaari Bindu…
Ayushmann: Music is the deadly hook of the film. Every memory [of the characters] is attached to a melody in the film. I think the cast is perfect, as we are passionate about music.
Parineeti, you play a Tamilian in the film, and Ayushmann, you a Bengali. How did you both master the nuances of the language?
Ayushmann: In the film, she’s playing a Tamilian, but the interactions were in Hindi. My interaction with my [on-screen] parents was more in Bengali otherwise there are just nuances in the film. I love the Bengali language, and also their art, literature and culture. I’m in love with Rabindranath Tagore’s works. I feel I’m a Bengali trapped in a Punjabi body.
Parineeti: Honestly, we have not spoken the language [Tamil] in the film. It’s only a smattering here and there. Anyway, my proclivity for languages is more for foreign languages than the Indian ones. I am naturally attracted to accents and languages, which are more foreign than Indian. I know Spanish. I can do a lot of accents but British accent is my favourite because I’ve stayed in London [UK]. But I’m not that person who goes to duty-free and suddenly comes back with an accent. Everything else from Irish, Welsh, American, Australian even south-east Asian… I love to pick up foreign accents.
What are your other interests apart from acting?
Parineeti: I only have other interests. In fact, honestly, acting is my job. I’ve not grown up on Hindi films. This is not my first love, everybody around me knows that. I’m a very academic person. Whether it’s my personal life or all my passions, they are non-filmy. I still don’t watch many films. I act with a lot of passion but also indulge in scuba-diving, reading and travelling as well. I see at least five new countries every year.
Ayushmann: I have played under-19 district level cricket. I have topped my college, and have done debates and declamations, theatre and music, of course.
What attracts you to your profession?pr
Parineeti: I enjoy performing. When I’m acting, I don’t think about any other aspect. Now that I am part of the [film] business, I’m more involved, but it’s still not the centre of my life. Ayushmann: This is a very busy year for me. I have three releases this year — Meri Pyaari Bindu, Shubh Mangal Savdhan and Bareilly Ki Barfi. I’m going mad.
How do you detach yourself from your profession?
Parineeti: Even if I am not shooting or not giving interviews, I am at home doing something else related to work. But in my life I am able to make that bifurcation, and I really fight for my time, at the cost of many things. In 2014, I had gone through a lot in terms of work. I even fainted once as I had done a 72 hour shift, non-stop. That’s why I took the break. That’s the day I thought this is not something that comes naturally to me, so I have to make a conscious effort. I have to take holidays. Even now, in the past three months, I haven’t had a day off.
Ayushmann, how do you maintain your work and family life? How do you strike that balance?
Ayushmann: I have to practise detachment for sure, and I need to have that balance between my personal and professional life. I have no option. I have a family at a young age, and I have to do that. Also, I think you need to be slightly detached from success and failure. You need to not take work back home. Acting is not the only aspect of my life. If you’re leading a life where you don’t have friends in the industry, in a way that also makes you a better actor. It gives you a perspective, and references from real life. I have friends from different walks of life. I don’t have many friends in the film industry.
Parineeti: I have friends who are actors, and they don’t understand when I say I am going scuba diving. They’ll ask whether I’m doing it for a film and I’m like there are other things [apart from films] too. Even Anushka [Sharma], Sushant [Singh Rajput] and Aditya [Roy Kapur] are people who like to have that work-life balance. There are some of us who are very careful about having that distinction.