Adil Hussain is an
Indian stage, television and film actor from the state of Assam, who works in
mainstream Bollywood as well as art house cinema. He has worked in
International Film like The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Life of Pi (both
2012).He has acted in English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi,
Malayalam and French films. Excerpts from our conversation with him:
Was your sex scene
with Radhika Apte a part of the script in Parched? Or, was it decided
impromptu?
It was always a part
of the script. It was rehearsed as well.
Its' reported that you
were angry that people were calling it as Radhika's scene and not your's?
I was definitely not
angry. I just wanted to know if it is being said like that simply because
Radhika is more famous than me? Or, is it because it matters only when women do it and not when men
do it? Nobody gives a damn to
the women market. Is it the patriarchal mindset at work? Is the man not equally
involved in the scene?
Was it easy for you to
shoot the scene in question?
It's never going to be
easy for most Indians to shoot sex scenes like this one. Most of us grew up not
talking about sex and sexuality. I was no exception. But as an actor, it is
important to break those boundaries. If I can exhibit tenderness, violence and
anger aspects of human behaviour, why shouldn't I be equally free about
sexuality when I'm doing it for art? (pauses).
Go on...
I had to work hard to
not let my deep conditioning about sexuality come in the way.
Was Radhika
comfortable?
This question should
be addressed to her.
Did you and Radhika
have a chat before shooting the intimate sequence so that you'll get
comfortable with each other?
Yes, of course.
Did you'll speak with
each other after the scene got leaked on the Internet?
We did speak, but we
are not worried. Trust me, we are absolutely okay. And it shouldn't be termed
as a 'leak' because the film has run in cinema halls in the US and Germany. It
is just that I am against sensationalism that comes with all this; it tends to do a lot of disservice.
The interview will be
incomplete without asking you if the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification)
here would allow a film like Parched to see the light of day...
Lately, I read that
our government has agreed to bring in Certification and do away with
Censorship- and it will come up in the winter session of the Parliament, so I
think that's a healthy sign. Besides, how can we forget Anurag Kashyap's Udta
Punjab victory over the CBFC? That's a big feather in the industry's cap, isn't
it? People should have the choice to choose and not be deprived of
what they want to see.The change should have happened 15 years ago, but good
that it is happening at least now.
Even if we do away
with Censorship, do you think that our actors would readily take up the bold
stuff Radhika and you did?
No idea because every
human needs to be aware of the obstacles he/she faces, his/her final decision
will depend upon his/her personality. It depends on what kind of an actor you want to be. Some actors are even shy to turn tender and
violent. So you see, it's very personal and
subjective. Besides, different actors have different goals. Some actors want to
do films which people watch and forget about. Some actors want to do films
which mirror society. Some actors want to do films which deal with complicated issues.
All said and done, consciously or subconsciously, actors brand themselves.
Where did you shoot
the scene?
Diu.
How long did it take
to complete it?
One night.
Image Source: PalmSpringsFilmFest & facebook/adilhussain1800721