Sanjay Suri is excited about his forthcoming venture ‘Bas Ek Pal’ (directed by Onir of ‘My Brother Nikhil’ fame). Read on for his chat with TWF correspondent Vickey Lalwani.

Q: Are you disappointed at missing out on Rituparno Ghosh’s ‘Sunglass’?

A: I was finalised after Arshad Warsi quoted an astronomical amount for the film (as I read), but at the last moment decided to step out of it too.

Q: Why? You had a problem with Ritu in ‘Sunglass’.?

A: Ritu and I never had a problem. I had some apprehensions about the character and wasn’t excited about it. They decided to sign Madhavan for the role instead. In fact, Madhavan had called me to ask if I did not mind him doing the film.

Q: What were the reservations on the character?

A: I realised that the role offered to me wouldn’t take me ahead as an actor, I decided to part amicably with Rituparno and producer Arindam Choudhury. There was nothing in the character which perked me up.

Q: You worked with Onir in My Brother Nikhil earlier. Tell us something about him?

A: Onir has a very bad memory and can’t remember names, so if you notice carefully he has repeated the names of the character from “My Brother Nikhil” in “Bas Ek Pal” (laughs). Jokes apart, I feel Onir has matured as a director.

Q: This will be your third venture with Juhi Chawla and second with Urmila Matondkar?

A: Right (pauses). We have gone through a range of relationships on screen. In Jhankar Beats she played my wife, in ‘My Brother Nikhil’ she played my sister and now in ‘Bas Ek Pal’ she plays my friend. Juhi is an extremely secure person and has no issues about what others are doing.

Q: And with Urmila?

A: With Urmila, in “Pinjar” we hardly share any screen space. But working with her, I have known that she is extremely professional. And when I say professional, I don’t mean just reporting on the sets on time. She has her own level of involvement in the project. How she gets into the skin of the character, is worth watching. I learnt a lot from her. She is so involved with the story.

Q: The music is not too hot on the shelves?

A: Music of the film is the integral part of the film but at the same time, it’s not used like in most of the Hindi films, which is lip-sync song and dance. It will pick up. I am not worried.

Q: Each character in Bas Ek Pal has a color code. What’s the concept behind that?

A: Onir thought that all of us have our favorite color- like my favorite color is black. And I think it has something to do with what one is as a person and that’s why I thought let me try and experiment with it. That’s why Onir thought giving each character a color code which has something to do with their personality. Fair enough.

Q: Buzz is, the film is inspired by Jessica Lal case?

A: Rubbish. Bas Ek Pal is not inspired by Jessica Lal case. I myself wrote this story and it’s been registered. That’s the best proof.

Q: What is the film about, then?

A: It is about an incident that happens at a night club but similarities begin and end there.

Credits: santabanta.com