After entertaining audiences for years with memorable performances in films ranging from Iqbal and Om Shanti Om to the Golmaal franchise, Shreyas Talpade is stepping into a thought-provoking space with The India Story. In this candid conversation with Bharati K Dubey for IWMBuzz, the actor talks about what drew him to the film, the shocking research that changed his perspective on food safety, the return of comedy through multistarrers, working with Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav in Welcome to the Jungle, and why he believes ensemble entertainers are here to stay.

What prompted you to do The India Story?

While the subject is definitely something that we need to pay attention to, every issue, we have to tell through a particular story. And it was interesting story and a challenging role. I felt that we need to be at least aware of certain things, start conversations and ask questions. The role was also quite powerful. That’s what prompted me to do this film.

What kind of preparation did you do for the film?

I had heard a few things here and there. But when I saw the research the makers had done it was shocking and scary. To be very honest, when you hear such things you cannot unhear them. They stay in your mind. Today, I think twice before eating what I’m eating. It’s all in front of your eyes. When you see certain brands you were so confident about, compromising on quality, you feel not only sad but also angry. Where are we heading? Then you think our bodies have been harmed by chemicals but at least we should safe guard the next generations.

What’s that one lesson this film has taught you?

One lesson… That we have to be responsible towards our future generations.

Tell us about working with Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav in Welcome to the Jungle…

It was fun to be honest. Everyone knows that we shot the film over two years. So, there were a lot of challenges and obstacles. So, when it released and got superb response all of us were very happy. Working with someone as legendary as Paresh Rawal is always a treat. Rajpal Yadav has his own style of comedy and timing. Not only them, but the entire cast with Akshay Kumar leading from the front. It was quite a joy ride, all thanks to Ahmed Khan (director). All of us followed Ahmed’s conviction and vision. He was that single factor that kept everyone together. It is entirely his hard work that’s paid off. I’m very happy for him.

Suniel Shetty had said that multistarrers are going to save the industry. Your thoughts?

I agree with him. Hopefully, the era of comedies is coming back at the right time. As it is, there’s so much stress around. And people have seen different kinds of content. With the advent of thrillers and dark content. Now people, including myself as an audience, kept searching for comedies. I wanted to see comedies in theatres, on TV and OTT. In multistarrers, the give and take and banter they have with each other, and everyone has a fan following, so people come to the theatres to watch them. I think good and happy comedies will always survive. A multistarrers are more the merrier. Growing up, we also watched so many multistarrers. From Sholay, Shaan, Trishul to Ram Lakhan and Karma. We have enjoyed those films. And that’s what today’s generation is looking forward to. Hollywood movies like The Avengers and all are multistarrers, right? I think multistarrers are pretty much here to stay.

You’ve been part of comedy franchises, especially Golmaal, which now Akshay Kumar has also joined. How do you describe the wavelength with Ajay Devgn and the gang?

Golmaal is altogether a completely different experience. It’s our captain Rohit Shetty whose vision and conviction we follow. Golmaal is a family outing where we have been working together since 2006. It’s like a family reunion that keeps happening every few years. And everyone is very happy and focused. Also, the responsibility increases with every new installment of the franchise. We’re in the business of making people laugh but we do it extremely seriously. We have fun on the sets but when it comes to work we’re not complacent. We’re sincere in our efforts to make the family audiences thoroughly enjoy.
Today, we were shooting a funny, nostalgic sequence. But that cuteness is not borrowed cuteness. We were not pretending to be cute. That’s just the Golmaal vibe. Since the earlier parts were so successful, the responsibility is much bigger.

How do you view Akshay Kumar’s participation in Welcome to the Jungle, where he didn’t charge his fees and coming on board as sort of an investor?

It’s very important when the lead actor has his skin in the game. It’s not only him or the team but also the audience somewhere feels it with him. They feel that he believes in what he’s doing, that he feels that it’s important that this film gets made. The audience has been smart and sensitive to understand these things. Having said that, if the film wasn’t good, the audience would have criticised it too.

For the film’s business per se, to afford an actor of his stature, could be a difficult thing. So, when an actor comes on board as a part producer and takes a percentage from the film’s business, then the director and producer are also relieved that they could invest more in the production cost and make the film the way they want. Sometimes, because of budget constraints, the film gets affected.

You started off with intense roles in Iqbal and Dor before finding mainstream success with Om Shanti Om. Did you ever feel like picking up intense roles?

That’s why I picked up The India Story. I hope people appreciate that too and it gets its due.

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