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| Edited By: Dhaval Roy |Source: DNA |Updated: Jul 24, 2019, 03:05 PM IST
The first thing Gulshan Grover tells about his authorised biography, Bad Man, is that it has an arc. It’s about an average person who gave up academics in Delhi and came to Bollywood to try his luck but graduated to working in international films. The actor says, “A regular Bollywood actor’s biography is about making it in the industry and becoming bigger and bigger and then that’s it. But mine is about a guy who went to Hollywood at a time when there was no internet and no way for them to know who and what kind of an actor I was.” He adds, “I’m proud that I created a mud-path between Bollywood and Hollywood, which is being followed by wonderful colleagues like Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan and various others.” Excerpts from an interview with the original bad man of Bollywood!
Mostly those who have read it say that the refreshing part is reading about the draining experience of entering the international industry, succeeding in the transition and the sense of national pride. It’s more interesting to read than a Bollywood actor saying I met Akshay Kumar on this set or Shah Rukh Khan on that one. Mahesh Bhatt saab said that this will be especially inspiring for the youngsters.
Yes! Being in Los Angeles and introducing myself to filmmakers from morning to evening — I’m Gulshan Grover and I’m a famous actor in India. As soon as I would land in Mumbai, everyone would recognise me, producers would be waiting at the airport requesting me to go to the set without even going home. This contrast was the most difficult part. I used to often wonder why I was struggling there when here, I had projects, money, popularity, and I was enjoying my work.
Because I didn’t see myself sitting amidst 30-40 silver jubilee awards or photographs from the past, with a paunch and money, talking about the glorious days. I don’t have a single old picture or a trophy at home. All that is over. I’m done talking about Ram Lakhan. Past is just something to get nostalgic about. It’s an illusion. I wanted to make it an inspiring story for youngsters to dream and work hard. It’s not a story of yesterday that lost to today.
I’m not the first Indian actor to work in films outside but my predecessors settled there. I was there to make a transition and not look for work. That was a lot more difficult than just getting an acting job as filmmakers there thought you couldn’t be relied on because of the distance and time difference, etc. Also, I was a product of commercial cinema that was looked down upon. Even today, it will not be conceded that we should be approached first for world cinema. Actors of parallel cinema will be called first because the perception is ki woh international level ki acting kar sakte hain. People, neither there nor here, believed I could do it. All they knew was, he’s from a film industry where stars break into a dance every five minutes.
But today, I’m the first Indian who did a Polish, Iranian and Malaysian film each. I also have French, Australian, German and Italian movies. The onslaught of what others are doing has been a lot in the media but my work has not been in focus.
I somehow didn’t feel the need to earlier. In fact, Hollywood films destroyed my career here. Producers thought now I would find the bathrooms dirty, I will ask for more money and more importantly, ask about the motivation of the role (laughs). So, I would hide the photographs and tell filmmakers that I was shooting in Bangalore instead of revealing that I was in LA.
My life is very work-driven but I have talked about everything. My upbringing has taught me to respect others’ privacy. It’s disrespectful of men who write about love affairs without realising the repercussions it could have. These things should not be revealed unless you have that equation with the lady in question. I’ve been very cautious about that.
