‘Being yourself is very tough’, says Prabhu Deva

Prabhu Deva, the busiest Bollywood filmmaker, is a committed dad as well. A family-oriented man who never misses spending quality time with his two sons whenever he gets a brief stint of leisure, was in Chennai recently. His recent Hindi film, R…..Rajkumar got negative responses from critics, but the choreographer/actor/director is least perturbed. He strongly believes that the man who is putting money (producer) into the project is more important for him than the critics’ word. “The film was a big hit and made my producers happy, it got the cash registers ringing,” he asserts. In an exclusive interview with DC, Prabhu Deva speaks about his closeness to Sonakshi Sinha, how dance, which is his only indulgence, keeps him fit, multi-starrers being no more a fad in B’town, a sequel to the dance movie, ABCD, how he remains a favourite director to all heroes, and his future projects.

Reason for repeating Sonakshi in his flicks 
Sonakshi has typical Indian looks and when I was looking out for a rural face for my film, she fit the role to a T. Moreover, she is a performing actress and dances well too. She also comes across as a normal, down-to-earth person despite coming from a big family.

Bonding over food 
Both of us relish homemade food. Sonakshi’s mom is a great cook and she makes lovely Sindhi cuisine. Whenever we are shooting in Mumbai, Sonakshi brings homemade food for everybody in the unit. The entire unit looks forward to its arrival on the sets.

A house for Sridevi-Boney when fire gutted her own
What I offered her was her own house in Mumbai where I was living as a tenant. I gave her back the place which actually belonged to her. I was upset on hearing about the mishap and how the Kapoors had to get separated. Boney Kapoor and Sridevi took a room in a hotel, Boney’s mother was sent to Sanjay Kapoor’s house while the kids stayed at a friend’s place. On coming to know about this, I called Srideviji with whom I share a great rapport with and asked her to move into the house where I was staying. Is there anything big about that?

Reunion with school friends at his plush city bungalow 
I had just moved into my new pad which is situated on ECR, Chennai. It’s a stylish bungalow which is yet to be completed, though a formal housewarming ceremony was done recently. When I landed here on the first day, I invited 30 of my school friends over and we had a great time. It was a reunion of sorts after many years which rekindled all our old memories and also gave me lot of positive vibes.

Why always remakes?
I didn’t plan it that way. It just happened. If you look at my future projects, Action Jackson, with Ajay Devgn, and one with Akki, they are all original scripts.  What I look for mainly in a script is that it should have entertainment value, the heroes should suit the lead protagonists and there should be some emotional connect. I am particular that the character the hero plays should be a lovable one.

Happy with the ‘Commercial Director’ tag 
Absolutely! I have to be loyal to the producer who approaches me for a movie. He is the one who invests a huge chunk of money, having faith in me. Critics come only later. I do want to do serious and experimental films and also the horror genre. But when I am ready with my own money, I will start making such movies.

Long pending acting venture Kalavadiya Pozhdhugal
It’s a beautiful love story with plenty of emotion. I wish that the movie hits the marquee soon.

Sequel to dance movie Any Body Can Dance (ABCD)?
Yes, I am part of the sequel to ABCD with Remo D’Souza once again wielding the megaphone.  This time around the dance musical is set in Las Vegas. It is based on a true story. I have shed nine kilos for the movie.

Dance keeps me fit 
The first question anyone who meets me after a gap is “Why have you become thin.” I wake up at 6.30  in the morning and work till 1.30 at night. I have to remain fit for this. The only thing which does the magic is my dance. Despite my hectic schedules, I see that I do a bit of dance for myself.

I learnt Bharatanatyam from Udupi Lakshmi Narayanan and Dharamaraj Master. They always say impart your art to others. That’s always lingering on my mind. The Prabhu Deva Academy was also started for this purpose. 

Heroes’ favorite director
It’s God’s grace! Perhaps that’s due to the fact that I won’t give them any tension. I follow systematic timing — starting the shoot at 9 am and a lunch break at 1 pm. I pack up by 5.55 pm. I am also cool and very friendly. I also act and show all the characters, be it hero, heroine, villain or comedian.

Multi-starrers not in vogue in B’town 
A few, like Race and Happy New Year are there in?B’town. Now, every actor has an individual market, and hence, the concept of multi-starrers is diminishing in Hindi.

Family Oriented
My kids are my world. Each time I get a break, I come to Chennai to spend time with them. This New Year I took them to my native village, Dura, in Mysore. We have our farm house, an ancestral property where my grandma and other relatives live. We had a whale of time. I took them to Mysore Zoo and the poultry farm etc.

Prized Possessions
The Bvlgari watch presented to me by Akki and yet another watch gifted by SRK.

About Aam Aadmi party
I don’t know politics. I am not aware of the details and intricacies. In films itself, critics don’t appreciate me... ‘There’s nothing creative in this, you be yourself’, we prod, to which he replies, “Being yourself is tough.  For anybody to be themselves is tough. And not just in the glitz world...even in the real world.”

Credits:

Photographer: Karthik Srinivasan
Wardrobe and Styling: Gatsby: Special thanks to Kaushik?Velendra
Hair: Toni&Guy: Special thanks to Rajesh
Makeup: Preethi Menon and Sabina, Naturals Bridal Studio, Nungambakkam
Shoes: Language