in an exclusive interview with indiaFM, the talented Ayesha Takia talks about Nikhil Advani’s much awaited multi-starrer Salaam-e-ishq, her upcoming projects, and the significance of ishq in her personal life!
After a critically acclaimed movie Dor, what made you sign Salaam-e-ishq, which is out-and-out a commercial saga?
i like to do all sorts of movies. it is important to be balanced as an actor. You can’t be doing just one sort of movie. So i was very lucky to get Dor, because i needed a role that showed people i can play different kinds of characters as well and not just the young, bubbly (as people call me) and glamorous roles. That’s fun as well but it’s nice to maintain a balance. Besides who wouldn’t want to be a part of Salaam-e-ishq? i needed a role that showed people i can play different kinds of characters as well.
What is Salaam-e-ishq all about?
Salaam-e-ishq, as the title says, is a tribute to love. All the stories are about different people from different strata of our society, different age groups. it talks about what they are going through in their respective relationships and what problems love poses for them or in what ways it is really good for them. So it is all about love and i think it is always a lot of fun to watch love stories, romantic stories, which is something i enjoy personally. And i also feel that people would really love it because it is the perfect blend of commercial glossy, glamorous cinema and so much intensity, sensitivity and emotions. i think people will love the movie.
There are six tracks in the movie what is your track about?
Obviously it is something to do with love; i play a girl called Gia, who is like a socialite- always well-dressed, always wearing branded glasses and shoes. But at the same time she is very simple, sweet and very much in love with her boyfriend Shiven (played by Akshaye Khanna). He plays a really cool guy but someone who is commitment-phobic and scared of not being a bachelor anymore. He loves Gia a lot but he does not want to get married. So my track is about the problems they go through because of Shiven’s phobia of commitment.
According to the tagline, every love story has a problem. What is the problem in your story?
That is the problem – Shiven does not want to get married and i want to get married to him because i think that i love him and it is about time we get married. So how we are just trying to convince each other, what we go through, the ups and downs, good times and bad times, and just love. That is the problem.
This is your second movie with Akshaye Khanna. How was it working with him this time around?
Akshaye is really great. He is so immensely talented and i think everyone knows that anything that he does is definitely something that you will remember as ‘Oh, Akshaye acted really well, no matter how anything else was in the film’. i don’t think anyone else could have played the role of Shiven the way Akshaye did. He just totally blends into the character. i think the more films you do with an actor, the more comfortable you get with them. Your rapport becomes so much better. Akshaye is just great and i would love to do lots of movies with him.
This is Nikhil Advani’s second movie. How is he as a director?
Nikhil is also immensely talented and as i said earlier about the film, he knows how to blend perfectly a glossy commercial film, with a film that is so real! There are times in Salaam-e-ishq when you will cry, there are times when you will laugh. So it maintains all the reality amidst all the glamour. That is Nikhil’s plus point and that is why he will make the most amazing film whenever he does. i am just lucky to be part of a film like Salaam-e-ishq, i think all of us as actors feel that way.
Do these stories run parallel or do you interact with other characters from the other stories?
They are six different stories but somewhere, at some point all the stories meet especially in the climax. So i didn’t get a chance to act with too many people but Juhi Chawla plays my sister and Anil plays her husband, so then somewhere we meet, and Akshaye plays my boyfriend so he meets them. So in that sense, through relations, we do meet but it is so grandly made that it is not just about six stories. Salaam-e-ishq is six movies put into one story; i think that is the important part! Every story is made with different colours, different sets, it is so huge that every story is made as one separate film. So i think it is the most rocking film that is going to release this year!
How was your entire experience doing this film?
The experience was awesome because Nikhil is so chilled-out and patient. He is very clear and confident of what he is doing. He doesn’t think twice before saying in one take that this is perfect and no, i don’t need a retake. i love his confidence and it just inspires people around him to be better and to work harder. Working with someone like him you learn a lot of things because technically he is so strong and he has worked for so long in the industry. Handling so many artists together is a huge deal and Nikhil has done it so well.
As everyone knows the music is already doing so well and is so good. When we heard the title song for the first time, when it was ready and Nikhil called us to listen to it, we all knew that this is going to be the most rocking song that releases. The visuals to match are just as good. One of my personal favourites though is Ya Rabba. if you listen to the CD, that is the last song on it. The CD is always playing in my car, each song, according to which mood i feel. Everybody at some point has been in love, is in love or will be in love. So the music is something that everyone can relate to, so i think they will love the music.
What is the USP of the film, why should people go and watch it?
What isn’t the USP of Salaam-e-ishq? i think, just the fact that it is Salaam-e-ishq, with all the actors that it has, with Nikhil Advani, and it is about love, makes it such a big film. The music rocks and the visuals rock, also, the story is strong. it is not just a good-looking film. And i think that the fact that there are so many talented actors in the film makes it interesting enough.
Do you believe in ishq?
Like i keep saying, my life is all about love. Not just Farhan, i am also talking about my mom and my sister. i just really love everybody who is in my life. Everyone knows my personality traits match with the character i play in the film. Everyone knows that i believe so much in love and loving is very important to me. So i say salaam to ishq!
How will you describe love?
i think that love is a selfish thing; it is not selfless, contrary to what most people say. Because i think you can only love someone if they love you back. Sometimes you madly in love someone who doesn’t love you back but then that just falls on its face. But i think love is a selfish emotion which makes you feel good. it makes you feel high – it is like a drug!
Any plans of marriage in the near future?
i think marriage is great. i think for people who are getting married, it must be the most exciting time of their lives. Every girl and every guy dreams of it at some point of time and i wish everyone the best things in their life if they are getting married and i really feel happy for them. And i look forward to mine someday. Everybody wants to get married someday, but not today. i am only 21 and Farhan is 24. Farhan and i are totally not ready for marriage right now. We are just enjoying life and everything that comes with it.
What are your future projects?
Right now i am shooting for a film i’m really excited about, called No Smoking by Anurag Kashyap. That is a film i am doing with John Abraham. i have a double role in that film – i play his wife as well as secretary, Annie and Anjali. it is hilarious because the two characters are so different from each other so i get a chance to do stuff that is completely different in the same film. i am also doing two more films with Nagesh Kukunoor. Then i am doing a film with Tusshar Kapoor called Kya Love Story Hai. it is a love story again. Love, as i said, is something that i love. Then i am doing another story with Ritesh Deshmukh and Rimi Sen which is just a comedy story about friends. it is called De Taali. i have to do stuff that makes me happy otherwise i can’t do good work. Post Dor, i have been getting films that are much more performance-oriented, and different from the films that i was offered earlier. So i am doing a lot of different films in the future.
