‘Everyone Hated Me And I Loved It’

‘Mrs
shows
a
dark
side
to
the
son
and
the
father.
I
had
to
do
things
that
I
wouldn’t
dare
to
do
in
real
life.’

Kanwaljit
Singh,
73,
had
as
many
as
three
releases
in
February:

Mrs,

Bada
Naam
Karenge
and

Mere
Biwi
Ki
Husband.

Mrs
got
a
lot
of
appreciation
for
the
film
and
Sanya
Malhotra’s
performance
and
lots
of
hate
for
Kanwaljit
Singh.

After
watching
the
movie,
the
senior
actor
apologised
to
Sanya.

He
tells

Patcy
N/Rediff.com,
“At
its
premiere,
I
told
Sanya
when
I
was
shooting
I
had
no
idea
I
was
so
mean.
I
thought
I
was
just
eating
at
the
table.
But
when
I
saw
the
film,
I
said,
‘Oh
my
God!'”

On
February
7,
you
had
two
releases,

Mrs
and

Bada
Naam
Karenge.
In
the
first,
you
play
a tough
father-in-law
while
in
the
second,
a
loving
father.

Mrs
is
a
patriarchal
film.
These
guys
expect
women
to
do
everything,
cook
the
food,
clean
the
house
and
everything.

I
have
never
lived
in
a
society
like
that,
so
it
was
difficult
for
me
to
comprehend
that.

Bada
Naam
Karenge
is
also
patriarchal
but
he
is
gentle.
He
loves
the
family
and
respects
people’s
individuality
and
freedom.

Mrs
shows
a
dark
side
to
the
son
and
the
father.
I
had
to
do
things
that
I
wouldn’t
dare
to
do
in
real
life.

At
its
premiere,
I
told
Sanya
when
I
was
shooting
I
had
no
idea
I
was
so
mean.
I
thought
I
was
just
eating
at
the
table.
But
when
I
saw
the
film,
I
said,
‘Oh
my
God!’

I
said
sorry
to
her,
and
meant
it
genuinely.

Bada
Naam
Karenge
was
fun
and
laughter.

We
were
shooting
for
45
days
in
Indore,
and
it
was
very
important
for
everybody
to
be
friendly
and
become
a
family.

If
you’re
doing
your
own
thing,
that
love
doesn’t
come
across
in
the
show.

Mere
Biwi
Ki
Husband
also
released
in
February.

Like
in

Mrs,
I
was
a
patriarch.
Everyone
hated
me
and
I
loved
it.

In

Bada
Naam
Karenge,
he
is
a
good
man.
At
the
end
of
the
series,
he
is
quite
emotional
and
loving
towards
his
nephew.

In

Mere
Biwi
Ka
Husband,
I
play
Rakul’s
father.

The
first
two
are
kurta-pajama-and-sherwani-wearing
characters
but
here,
it
is
an
anti-thesis
image.
He’s
wearing
suits
and
has
cigars;
he’s
a
very
well
turned-out
man.

He
lives
in
London
and
his
wife
is
played
by
Anita
Raj.

The
film
was
shot
in
Glasgow
and
we
had
a
great
time.

Mukesh
Rishi,
Shakti
Kapoor,
Anita
Raj
and
I
would
go
out,
watch
plays
and
go
to
museums.

You
posted
an
Instagram
reel
called

Mister,
where
the
roles
were
reversed
for
you
in

Mrs.

People
loved
it;
I
got
6
million
views
on
that.

I
had
to
do
something
which
was
right.

The
lady
is
played
by
the
granddaughter
of
the
great
Kathak
dancer,
Sitara
Devi.
She
is
my
son’s
friend.

I
asked
her
to
do
the
opposite
of
what
I’ve
been
doing
in

Mrs
and
she
agreed.

In
real
life,
what
kind
of
a
husband
are
you?

I
come
from
a
family
which
was
not
patriarchal
nor
a
joint
family.

There
were
just
five
of
us:
Dad,
mom
and
three
brothers.
We
lived
in
Saharanpur.

My
dad
had
a
government
job
and
would
get
transferred
all
over
Uttar
Pradesh.

He
was
such
a
wonderful
man,
so
caring.
He
would
make
morning
tea
for
my
mother.

He
would
take
my
mom
on
his
bike
and
go
for
movie
shows.

I
have
only
seen
that
side
of
dad,
so
I
am
that
kind
of
a
dad
to
my
children
and
that
kind
of
a
husband
to
my
wife.

Do
you
think
your
roles,
these
days,
are
only
restricted
to
fathers
and
fathers-in-law?

Everybody
is
asking
me
this.

But
there
are
different
kinds
of
fathers.

The
idea
is
to
play
different
characters.
They
may
be
fathers
or
uncles
or

taus
but
they
are
different
guys.

You’re
not
playing
a
stereotype
father
like
the
olden
days.

There
is
a
patriarchal
father,
a
loving
father
and
a
golf-playing
father
like
in

Mere
Husband
Ki
Biwi.

Tell
us
about
yourself.

I
was
born
in
Kanpur
and
later
settled
in
Saharanpur.

I
studied
at
a
boarding
school
in
Mussoorie.

Most
of
my
schoolmates
went
into
the
armed
forces
and
I
was
preparing
for
that
as
well.

I
applied
for
the
air
force.

I
was
sent
for
medicals
but
I
was
hard
of
hearing
in
my
right
ear,
which
continues
till
date.

So
I
got
rejected.
I
was
very
disappointed.

I
applied
for
the
Merchant
Navy
but
didn’t
get
through.

Then
I
saw
a
form
for
the
FTII
(Film
and
Television
Institute
of
India)
in

Filmfare
magazine
at
a
friend’s
house.
I
filled
it
up.

I
had
a
friend
whose
dad
had
a
photography
shop,
so
I
went
there
and
he
clicked
three
profile
pictures.

I
didn’t
know
what
acting
was
and
why
I
wanted
to
apply
for
it.
I
just
wanted
to
get
out
of
Saharanpur.

By
the
time
I
applied
for
FTII,
Shatrubhai
(Shatrughan
Sinha),
Jayadi
(Jaya
Bachchan),
Navin
Nischolji
had
become
very
popular.

I
told
my
dad
about
FTII
and
that
I
wanted
to
learn
acting.
He
said,
all
right.

I
sent
the
form
and
they
called
me
for
an
audition.
I
used
to
be
a
fan
of
Dev
Anand,
so
I
practiced
in
his
style.

This
audition
was
to
take
place
in
Delhi.
My
uncle,
who
was
into
theatre,
suggested
that
I
meet
Habib
Tanvir,
a
big
name
in
theatre.

When
he
saw
my
audition
in
Dev
Anand
style,
he
got
very
upset.

He
said
I
must
cut
Dev
Anand
from
my
system.

I
did
as
he
said
and
I
got
selected.

What
happened
next?

When
I
was
selected,
I
came
to
Bombay.

I
came
all
alone,
I
was
just
19
then.
I
was
a
very
protected
child.

I
got
off
at
Bombay
Central
station
and
took
a
cab
to
VT.
I
had
to
go
to
catch
a
train
to
Pune
to
join
FTII.

I
saw
these
girls,
behind
bars,
waving
out
to
people
across
the
street,
beckoning
them.

I
said,
‘yeh
kya
hai,
bhai?‘

The
taxi
driver
told
me
this
was
Foras
Road
(a
red
light
area
in
Bombay
at
the
time)
and
that
they
are
prostitutes.

I
was
shocked.
For
a
child
from
a
small
town,
I
had
never
imagined
that
this
was
also
a
part
of
the
universe.

The
two
years
in
Pune
were
absolutely
mind-boggling.

The
rest
of
the
group
was
mostly
from
big
towns
like
Madras,
Bombay
and
Delhi
but
me
and
a
few
guys
were
from
small
towns.

Everything
surprised
me.
It
was
a
great
learning
for
me.

I
got
my
first
role
when
I
was
still
in
FTII
but
I
turned
it
down
because
I
wanted
to
complete
my
course.

After
two
years,
I
was
signed
for
three
films
by
H
S
Rawail.

But
he
announced

Laila
Majnu
and
did
not
take
me.
Instead,
he
took
Rishi
Kapoor.
I
was
very
disappointed.

Then
a
Gujarati
director
came
with

Dastan-E-Laila
Majnu
in
Hindi,
and
I
decided
to
do
it.
But
the
actress
(Anamika)
looked
much
older
than
me.

H
S
Rawailsaab
was
very
upset
but
I
told
him
I
can’t
sit
at
home.
I
am
not
from
a
rich
family,
I
have
to
earn.

I
was
living
in
a
PG
accommodation
at
Carter
Road
(in
Bandra,
north
west
Mumbai)
but
my
landlady
was
a
bully.

A
classmate
asked
me
to
stay
with
him
at
his
uncle’s
empty
flat
in
Shivaji
Park
(north
central
Mumbai).

You
have
worked
with
Kamal
Amrohi.

Kamal
Amrohi’s
daughter
Rukhsar
had
a
friend
in
the
institute.
She
came
to
know
that
Kamalsaab
was
making
a
film
called

Shankar
Hussain.

He
called
me
and
said

Shankar
Hussain
had
a
beautiful
story
with
lovely
songs.

The
first
day
he
came
for
the
shoot,
he
didn’t
like
the
sets.
He
said,
‘Wahiyaad,
todh
do
isse,
wapas
banao.’

I
was
ready
with
make-up
on
but
was
asked
to
go
home.

I
went
into
depression.

Finally,
the
film
was
made
but
it
didn’t
do
well.

How
did
you
cope?

I
used
to
do
ads
and
small
films.

It
was
a
struggle
to
get
work.

Tell
us
about
working
in
your
big
hit,

Satte
Pe
Satta.

Satte
Pe
Satta
was
a
big
film
with
Amitabh
Bachchan
and
Shatrughan
Sinha,
written
by
Salim-Javed,
directed
by
Raj
N
Sippy.

Rajsaab
asked
me
if
I
would
do
the
film.
Mithun
was
doing
the
role
but
he
got
a
solo
film,
and
so
left.

I
grabbed
the
opportunity.

Amitabh
stayed
in
a
different
hotel
and
we
were
put
up
together
in
another
one.

Amitji
and
us
were
like
real
brothers.
We
became
one
huge
family.

After
pack-up,
he
would
come
to
our
hotel
and
chat,
we
would
have
drinks.

Amitji
was
not
drinking
at
that
time.
Whenever
Jayadidi
would
come,
he
would
leave
earlier
and
go
to
his
hotel
room.

Many
a
times,
we
brothers
would
get
a
scolding
for
being
late
on
the
sets.
We
would
always
say,
tomorrow
we
will
be
on
time
but
could
never
do
it.

Amitji
would
always
be
on
the
sets
already.

I
asked
him
one
day,
‘Bhai,
aap
ko
neend
nahi
aati
kya?‘

He
was
fond
of
me.

When
my
son,
who
is
a
painter,
had
his
first
solo
exhibition
at
Jehangir
Art
Gallery,
I
had
requested
Amitji
to
open
the
exhibition.

Did
the
film’s
success
open
more
doors
for
you?

Yes.
I
did

Shart
with
Naseeruddin
Shah
and
Shabana
Azmi,

Ashanti
and

Pyaas
with
Zeenat
Aman,

Jeevan
Dhara
with
Rekha,

Farishta
with
Smita
Patil,

Partner
with
Deepti
Naval…