Nothing gay about it

RJ Hrishikesh Kannan has been at the receiving end of many barbs because a gay character in ‘Life in a Metro’ seems to be inspired by him.

RJ Hrishikesh Kannan (popularly known as HrishiK) is getting a lot of unwanted attention after the release of Anurag Basu’s ‘Life in a Metro’. The film has a character which strongly resembles the well-known RJ (played by Gautam Kapoor, who has a similar sounding name in the film). The problem seems to be that this character turns out to be gay.

HrishiK says that this has led to a few awkward moments for him. “I got married two weeks ago and my new relatives as well as my listeners are asking me embarrassing questions!” he says.

The irony is that HrishiK knew that Anurag Basu had a character like him in the film even before it was released. “I was thrilled when I met Anurag a year ago and he told me that there was a character in his next film based on me. Six months later, I met the producer of the film, Ram Mirchandani, who just told me that the character has shaped up well,” says the RJ.

The RJ is appalled that people are taking a cue from the film to insinuate that he’s gay. “I have nothing against homosexuals, but the questions that are being asked about my sexuality are pretty embarrassing. I only wish they had told me about this earlier. Probably I would have given them some tips.”

On the other hand, Anurag Basu refuses to accept that the character is based on Hrishi. “The name of my character is Wishy K. I did take inspiration for my character from
HrishiK initially when the script was slightly different. But the plot changed later and that’s why I changed the name of the character so that I don’t tamper with his image,” says Anurag.

Probably the biggest relief for HrishiK is that his wife has sportingly taken the whole misunderstanding in stride.