‘Papa Was Willing To Cast Me But…’

‘He
has
always
let
us
do
our
own
thing
but
if
we
ever
need
anything,
he
is
there
with
the
best
advice.’

Junaid
Khan
is
all
set
for
his
first
big
screen
release,
the
romcom

Loveyapa,
opposite
Khushi
Kapoor.
It
will
release
on
February
7.

Interestingly,
it
is
not
produced
by
his
daddy,
Aamir
Khan.

Junaid
tells

Subhash
K
Jha,
“Papa
was
and
remains
more
than
willing
to
cast
me
in
films
that
he
feels
I’m
correct
for.
But
beyond
that,
he
won’t
go
out
of
his
way
for
it
and
that’s
how
it
should
be.”

Your
sophomore
venture
is
up
for
release.
Were
you
more
anxious
during
your
debut
in

Maharaj?

I’m
very
excited.
I
like
the
film
and
music
very
much.
How
people
will
respond
to
it,
time
will
tell.

So
far,
I
have
found
the
experience
of
having
an
upcoming
release
more
surreal
than
anxious,
whether
it
was

Maharaj
or

Loveyapa.

Loveyapa
is
worlds
apart
from

Maharaj.

Yes.
Even
how
they
were
made.

I
found
the
experience
of
shooting

Loveyapa
more
intense.

We
had
a
very
young
crew
with
a
first-time
DOP
(Director
Of
Photography),
first-time
Production
Designer
and
Phantom
Films
making
a
film
after
a
very
long
time.

That
brought
a
lot
of
energy
and
enthusiasm
on
set.

Maharaj
had
a
very
senior
and
experienced
crew,
which
made
the
filming
experience
more
relaxed
and
controlled.

Both
films
and
characters
are
very
different.

My
character
in

Maharaj
was
closer
to
my
personality
than

Loveyapa.

Your
father
Aamir
Khan
was
willing
to
launch
you,
yet
you
chose
the
independent
path.
Was
that
a
conscious
decision?

That’s
just
how
things
happened.

Papa
was
and
remains
more
than
willing
to
cast
me
in
films
that
he
feels
I’m
correct
for.
But
beyond
that,
he
won’t
go
out
of
his
way
for
it
and
that’s
how
it
should
be.

The
first
project
where
everything
aligned
came
from
Yash
Raj
Films
and
the
second
from
Phantom
Films.

But
my
next
film
is
with
Aamir
Khan
Productions.
We
have
already
finished
filming.

 

What
was
it
like
shooting
this
romcom
in
Delhi?

It
was
a
lot
of
fun.
We
shot
in
Mumbai
and
Delhi
from
the
summer
going
into
the
monsoon.

There
were
a
lot
of
praying
to
the
rain
gods
and
hair-makeup-wardrobe
complaining
about
the
sweaty
actors.

But
personally,
I
got
to
work
with
some
fantastic
senior
actors
like
Ashutosh
Ranaji,
who
I’m
a
huge
fan
of
and
who
brings
this
fantastic
energy
on
set.

He
gives
so
much
to
the
scenes
and
elevates
everyone’s
performances.

Kiku
Sharda
sir
is
probably
the
biggest
star
in
our
film.

In
this
film,
he’s
doing
drama
instead
of
comedy
and
he’s
just
fabulous.

Grusha
Kapoor
ma’am
plays
my
mother.
I
feel
that
relationship
has
the
best
chemistry
in
the
film.

Are
you
taking
tips
from
your
dad
regarding
your
career?

I
mostly
do
my
own
thing
and
Papa
encourages
that.

He
has
always
let
us
do
our
own
thing
but
if
we
ever
need
anything,
he
is
there
with
the
best
advice.

I
normally
go
to
him
when
I
need
some
specific
advice
and
he
is
very
helpful.

Whom
did
you
grow
up
idolising?

Our
country
has
such
fantastic
actors
that
the
list
is
very
long.

Irrfan
(Khan)

saab,
Naseer
(Naseeruddin
Shah)
saab,
Srideviji,
(Amitabh)
Bachchan

saab,
Rani
(Mukerji),
Kareena
(Kapoor),
the
list
is
very
long.

Aamir
was
very
keen
on
working
with
Srideviji,
now
you
are
working
with
her
daughter.
Surreal?

Definitely.
Papa
and
I
are
both
huge
fans
of
Srideviji.

Mr
India
was
one
of
my
favourite
films
growing
up.

For
years,
Papa
had
wanted
to
work
with
her.
But
I
will
also
say
that
Srideviji‘s
daughter
Khushi
is
going
to
be
a
big
star
in
her
own
right.

She
is
absolutely
dynamite
in
our
film.

What
after

Loveyapa?

I
have
a
Aamir
Khan
Productions
Film
with
Sai
Pallavi
called

Ek
Din.

We
have
finished
filming.
It
will
be
out
soon,
hopefully.

I’m
also
on
stage
in
March
at
Mumbai’s
NCPA
theatre.