Vicky Kaushal’s upcoming Bad Newz directed by Anand Tiwari is a quirky tale about hetero-paternal superfecundation – the rare instance of a woman giving birth to twins with different biological fathers.
Excerpts from a tet-e-tete:
What’s your role in Bad Newz? Any similarities between real life character and on-screen persona?
My character’s name is Akhil Chadha. He is a happy-go-lucky guy from Delhi. The similarities between me and Akhil are that we both love Punjabi songs, and we’re both strong on commitment. He is into the ‘mandap mode’ from the start — mere sath bhi real mein aisa hi huva. On the other hand, I feel I am slightly more mature than Akhil.
Have you ever had any bad news in real life?
There’s nothing funny about bad news in real life. Your family helps you face that. My family has always stood by me, sharing my joys and sorrows.
You’ve done serious films like Sardar Udham and Sam Bahadur earlier. What other genres are you looking to work in?
I still have a lot of genres on my bucket list, including the type of films I watched while growing up. Intense films like, Sam Bahadur and Sardar Udham Singh come with huge responsibilities. Having said that, if I get an intense story, I will not let it go.
What was Katrina’s reaction to the Bad Newz dance number ‘Tauba Tauba’?
I haven’t had any formal training in dance. I am like a baraati (marriage crowd) dancer. I dance for my happiness. But while performing a dance number for the camera you have to dance according to the camera movements. This time, my free dancing style matched the camera movement. So, I got full marks for it from Katrina. She has tagged me as a ‘Cool dancer’ for ‘Tauba Tauba.’
You and Katrina have totally different personalities. How has that affected your relationship? Who is more romantic?
I am very practical while she is sensitive and intelligent. So we complement each other well. Since she entered my life, I have started seeing things from an emotional point of view. And she has started seeing things in a practical way. I am possessive and romantic but don’t always express it. She is more romantic.
Would you like to say something about the ‘pre-parenting’ process? (A reference to rumours of Katrina’s pregnancy)
Kaun sa process? This is all speculation. Humne thodi na bola aapko… I am clarifying — It’s all speculation. Iss mein koi sachchayi nahi hai. Whenever it happens, we will inform you ourselves. I will be the most excited person on Earth at that time.
On Katrina
I am very practical while she is sensitive and intelligent. So we complement each other well. We don’t have a 9-5 Monday-Friday work pattern. We sometimes have to work through weekends. Sometimes we work continuously, at other times there are gaps. We value whatever time we get to spend together. If we get a week at a stretch to be together, we spend it sitting at home, watching TV and sipping coffee. It brings a sense of contentment and a feeling of togetherness.
