By Hindustan Times
Mumbai, April 30 -- Ever since he started shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj's Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola in Jaipur, Imran Khan was almost inaccessible. On the town for just one day to take part within the MTV Power of 1 Youth Forum, Imran has had long shooting hours and continuous outdoor shoots for greater than a month. But he doesn't mind the labor. In fact, he's thrilled to be working with a director of the calibre of Vishal Bhardwaj.
"Working with him has given me immense creative satisfaction," says Imran. "THAT IS the primary time in my career that i am working with a seasoned director. Ever since Jane Tu... Ya Jane Na (2008), I've only worked with first time directors and up to I've loved working with Shakun (Batra), Punit (Malhotra) and others, they were still figuring things out. Whereas with Vishal, he already knows what he wants and the way he wants it."
In Matru..., Imran plays a tricky guy from rural India and needed to create his look in a distinctly nonurban way. "I COULDN'T have gone to the gym and worked out," he explains. "Had I done that, I'D have gotten the everyday muscular gym-made body and that actually should not have suited my character. So I sat with my trainer and worked out a plan, or actually, he did. We did 'akhada' workouts. That's simply functional training. And it gave me what I USED TO BE searching for".
He also worked on acquiring the proper accent for the Haryanvi dialect his character uses. But ask him if he gave his co-star Anushka Sharma the best way to speak the language and Imran says, "Who gives tips? I DO NOT know where you get this from! You'll give recommendations on stock broking, not acting, because what works for one person won't essentially work for the opposite".
After Matru..., Imran will start work on Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2, an action film. But is action really his more or less movie? "I DON'T BELIEVE anyone has a specific genre," he says. "IT'S USUALLY good to experiment and play different roles. But it is not an action film per se. It's more at the lines of a drama and thriller. I've still got about 10-12 days of outside shooting for Matru... to finish, so I'll start preparing for Once Upon... only after that."
