"Mallika is a Diva" - Ranvir Shorey

By Satish Sundaresan, Bollywood Hungama News Network

The name's Shorey…Ranvir Shorey, who started off as a VJ only to succumb to the magical calling of the silver screen (not his fault though!). One observes the fact that whatever role Ranvir does, he does it in style! Be it that of a writer in Freaky Chakra, or Asif Merchant in Bheja Fry, or Balwant 'Bunty' Khosla in Khosla Ka Ghosla, Ranvir justifies the role with élan! The news is that Ranvir is back with his latest offering Ugly Aur Pagli, wherein he is all set to make the cine-goers envious of him as he gets to romance none other than Madame M' herself…Mallika Sherawat! But hey! Wait a minute…What on earth is this! The film's tagline says '99 Slaps and 1 Kiss'! For starters, it's the same Mallika Sherawat, who shot to fame with her 17 kisses in Khwahish. How can this be true…99 slaps and just 1 kiss and that too in Mallika's film? Rack your brains no further as we bring you an exclusive interview with Ranvir Shorey and we will surely get it straight from the horse's mouth! Over to you Ranvir…

Ranvir, it's not a clichéd role that you are playing in Ugly Aur Pagli. Despite you looking so rocking in the promos and movie stills, you are still called 'Ugly'. How come?
Dude, 'Ugly' is just a name of the character in the film. But I am not called 'Ugly' throughout the film. It's something like, if I am pissed off with you, then, I will call you Ugly.

Well Ranvir, in that case, don't worry, we'll not ask you any such questions that will make you call us 'Ugly'!
(Laughs)

Knowing that you will be paired opposite 'The' Mallika Sherawat, did you, at any point of time, feel that you would be overshadowed by her presence or persona?
Not at all. The fact is that I normally do not worry about being overshadowed because, as far as I am concerned, if the script has something that my character will be overshadowed by then, so be it. Otherwise, I do not fear about me being overshadowed by anyone!

Talking of Mallika, tell us how 'Pagli' is she is real life.
Not at all man! She is far away from being even the 'P' of 'Pagli'. Mallika is a very intelligent girl who is very, very focused and has great instincts. Overall, she is a DIVA!

You seem to have an affinity for debutante directors. How else can you explain the fact that you are possibly one actor who has worked with the maximum number of debutante directors?
Oh that! Yeah! I simply love to work with debutante directors. I have worked with lots of first time directors and will continue to do so. Many of my films like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Bheja Fry etc…were made by debutante directors. Moreover, I will be shooting with yet another debutante very soon. The list simply goes on you see...

Ugly Aur Pagli looks too cool, vibrant, and energetic. So, what's it that gives Ranvir an all-time high in real life?
The film's not just vibrant and energetic, it's also quirky. I find that as an interesting combination. As far as what drives me, the answer is MOVIES! I am extremely passionate about making movies.

What was it about the role that made you sign the dotted line?
The answer is Rangita Nandy. Like I said, Ugly Aur Pagli is a romantic comedy, but very much unlike what one has seen so far. This one's very different and strange and I think that it is this aspect that will make up as its USP. It's something that Bollywood has never witnessed before!

Now, we feel is the right time to talk about your role in Ugly Aur Pagli.
Well, I play the role of Kabir Achrekar, the only child of a middle class Maharashtrian parents. He's a spoilt child basically, so much so that he's getting complacent and he's studying engineering for three more years than he should be. And the film is about when he meets this girl (Mallika Sherawat) and then what happens!

How was it working in PNC's Ugly Aur Pagli, as a full-fledged hero, as compared to your role in Pyaar Ke Side Effects?
I would like to call it as a 'Promotion' (from being a sidekick in Pyaar Ke Side Effects to a hero in Ugly Aur Pagli). As I said, I really like Rangita a lot, but she can be a nag sometimes. And it is because of her, that I signed the film. As far as Mallika was concerned, she was simply fabulous.

Honestly speaking Ranvir, tell us if you were the first choice for this film?
That's what I told you na! I didn't hear of any other hero being approached for this role. But if you hear anything, please do let me know so that I can take it up with Rangita (laughs).

Let's talk about the music of the film. Its peppy and groovy tracks simply intoxicate the listeners. In other words, the listeners are going 'Talli' over the music. What's your rave-fave from the album?
I simply love the all the songs of the album. But the three songs that are really close to me are 'Talli' (but obviously), 'Ye Nazar' (which was shot in Goa), and a sad song called 'Yaad Aaye' sung by Mohit.

What all locations were used to shoot this film?
We shot all over Bombay (mostly South Bombay) and Goa. And needless to say shooting in Goa was real fun!

Click above for more stills
Have you sung any songs in the film?
No! I decided to spare the audiences (laughs)

You have worked with Mallika Sherawat so closely, first in Pyaar Ke Side Effects and now in Ugly Aur Pagli. Is there anything about her that the readers don't know but should know?
Yes. What one should know is that Mallika is very, very intelligent and in a business where it's extremely difficult for anyone (especially a woman) to have an identity of her own. She has not only managed to achieve that, but has also done it on her own terms. And people should respect her for that.

Are you aware of the rumors that Mallika is planning to patent her name?
I really don't know that. But she is always up to something or the other.

Any funny incident/s that you cannot forget during the shoot of Ugly Aur Pagli?
Top of mind recall is the incident that had taken place in Goa. It was a sequence where I am riding a scooter, Mallika is sitting behind me, and some guys on bikes zoom past us. That's when Mallika comes in the front and takes charge of the scooter. She zoomed off so nicely at the start but when the shot got over; we realized that she doesn't know how to stop the bike. Mallika was screaming her lungs out. So, as always (tugging his collar), I came to her rescue and took charge of the bike. Then once during shoot we came across a cow (lying on the road) which suddenly got wild and agitated with the zooming and honking sounds of the bikes. To add to the confusion, Mallika thought that the cow was running after her! Eventually, as they say, all's well that ends well. The cow went on its way and we had a hearty laugh.

What does Ranvir do when he is not shooting or reading scripts?
I watch movies, listen to music, and also play music. I like reading a lot (even though I am a lazy reader). I am also into gadgets. So, you will find me spending my time with gadgets.

If you were to rename the film Ugly Aur Pagli then what would you call it?
Nothing! I would not like Ugly Aur Pagli to be renamed. I want it to remain as Ugly Aur Pagli.

The film has a unique tagline '99 Slaps and 1 Kiss'. Is it really true that there are 99 slaps and just 1 kiss?
Dude, that's just a tagline yaar!

Looking back in history, how do you see your transformation from VJ Ranvir to Actor Ranvir?
Honestly speaking, I just do my job, whatever is assigned to me. As somebody has rightly said 'Life is what you make of it when you are busy making other plans'. This holds very true in my case. Irrespective of what job I take, I try to be honest and sincere in every said task. And every time you begin to start getting complacent and start settling down; life presents you with a fresh set of new and exciting challenges!

Any regrets so far?
There maybe a few. But then, as Frank Sinatra said, 'Maybe a few. But I did it my way.'

One just can't help notice that you have put on quite some weight. Huh?
Yup! I have put on 12 kgs for my role in Rajat Kapoor's film A Rectangular Love Story (working title) where I am paired opposite Gul Panag. Newcomer Gunjan, Purab Kohli, Neil Bhoopalan (VJ turned actor) also feature in the film.

If you were offered a role opposite some XYZ as your counterpart and you feel that only Vinay Pathak can do full justice to that role, will you recommend his name to the director?
If the script merits it, then yes. I will surely do that, since I consider that the underlined rule of Bollywood is, 'SCRIPT IS KING'.

Talking about 'King', you have Singh Is Kinng coming up and many more releases.
I have Singh is Kinng coming up in August, wherein I play Katrina's boyfriend, then, there's Good Luck followed by I am 24 with Neha Dhupia and Manjari Phadnis, followed by Chandni Chowk To China, a film where I play a Chinese astrologer. After that, I have Teesri Manzil with Irrfan Khan and Deepal Shaw. That'll be followed up with Pandu PhD (tentative title), David Dhawan's Do Knot Disturb, Tina Ki Chaabi and Minty Tejpal's Tyre Puncture Adventures Of Fanta Cola with Vinay Pathak as my co-star.

• Interviews