Filmmaker Ankhit Sakhiya’s Gujarati movie Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate turned out to be a surprise blockbuster by earning Rs. 100 crores. The film is now released in Hindi. It’s lead actor Karan Joshi got talking about the film and more in an interview with us.
This is your first film, and it has created history. How has Laalo changed your life?
First of all, it’s my first film, and I feel incredibly grateful that I’ve created history with my first film. This is incredibly overwhelming for me and the entire team. When we were making it, we had no idea that the audience would love it so much. But when we were working and shooting, we knew we were doing our job with complete honesty.
How has the film changed your life?
We were making something good. We knew that much. But the audience will accept this film so well that we will take it to the national level, we had never imagined. So, this is a matter of great happiness and it has definitely changed my life because now people have started taking me more seriously as an actor. Earlier, only forty people used to take me seriously. Because when I used to do theatre, now there are four thousand people who are taking me seriously as an actor. So, now I will also have the liberty to choose the scripts I want.
How did this offer come your way and what was your reaction on hearing the subject?
The director Ankit and I are friends. And initially Ankit and I were already working on another project, Ankit was directing it with the same team. We were associated with that project and somehow the budget of that film was high, so we could not find financiers. So we thought that we will make something. So all that was going on. Then Ankit and I attended the MAMI Festival, where Ankit and I and Vicky Poornima, who is the creative director and one of the writers of this film, we were attending the MAMI festival. So, we felt that we should make something. That film festival boosted us up, that with whatever resources are available to us, we will make something good. If it is good then it is good, something or the other. If we make something bad, then we will take the flak with our heads bowed down and ask if we have made a mistake.
One actor was needed, a director, and a cameraman, because that was all that was allowed. As the film was being made, the story was being developed, and it turned out to be a commercial film. All the actors were hired, and not just the actors, but all the team members pushed their limits and worked with honesty. When we were making it, we had no idea it would turn out so well. So, it was nice, because we had been working on it for many years.
Tell me about your origins?
I’ve been doing theatre for nine years, waiting for a chance like this. I was offered small roles in films. But I had a desire in my heart that I want to do this. So, finally after nine years, I got a character in Laalo where I could act freely. So, theatre built my craft a lot. So, all that came in handy in this film. And when I see the result of the film today, it is really overwhelming.
Your character is isolated in a farmhouse unable to escape. Did you prepare for this?
Yes, when the character of Laalo gets shut down at home, during the shoot, when the farm gets shut down, then during that sequence, I used to like to be alone. I used to like to be with myself. Acting is reacting, but from where can I react, there was no one in front of me, so I was reacting alone.
Did you starve yourself like your character?
I could not stop eating completely, but I used to eat less. I used to drink less water, and whatever I tried to do, whether I could portray the emotions of the character on point or not.
How have you taken the success?
We were not aware that this film will be so successful. This film is now a Pan-Indian film. When we were making it, as I said earlier, we knew we were doing something good. We knew that, but the audience would be able to connect with this film to the extent that many people have seen it more than once. We had no idea that this film would have such an impact during the shoot.
Has Gujarati cinema been given a new lease on life after Laalo?
Yes, this is a big thing for Gujarati cinema and the people of Gujarat. The Gujarat industry which was divided into two parts, urban and rural, has completely broken after this film because the entire Gujarat has now seen us. Now, our effort is to take this film to every corner of India and we have just released our film in Hindi. Now, it has become big for the Hindi audience, so now I am very excited about the impact it will leave on the Hindi audience.
What are your plans after Laalo?
As an actor, my plan is to do only what I like. I have been very picky. I am already here, so I should do only that work which touches the heart. So that will be the plan in future. The same perspective will be there and I should be able to do new challenging characters in the same way as Laalo. And I should play all the characters with so much heart and honesty that each character leaves some impact and the plan right now is to do as much good work as possible.
Was acting your chosen vocation from the start?
I wanted to be an actor since I was a child, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what I wanted to become. So, in 2016, I got introduced to theatre. I used to sleep well at night while practising theatre. We didn’t get paid because we did experimental theatre, where we built sets and arranged costumes. The space was very small. It was an intimate space where 100-150 people could sit and watch your play comfortably. So, if there was a profit, the actors would get paid. But the profit was negligible.
And I won’t use the word “vocation” because I didn’t have money then. But I used to sleep really well during play rehearsals and after the performance. Something inside me would say, “I did a great job today, even if I had to spend some tea on a friend’s money.” So, it wasn’t a vocation. But after this film, I’ve started getting a lot of work. So, maybe what will this give me now? I’m just waiting and I’m very excited to see what all I can do with acting. But right now, I have to act because I can sleep well at night. If I want to sleep peacefully for the rest of my life, then I guess that yes, I will do acting for the rest of my life and maybe it is a vocation, I don’t know. But I can say yes to your question that yes, I wanted to become an actor since I was very young, thank you.
Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Laalo actor Karan Joshi says, “After our film, the culture of rooted movies will start in Gujarati cinema”; also shares why he and his team aren’t too surprised by its enormous success
The post Laalo actor Karan Joshi on the film’s historical success, “It has definitely changed my life because now people have started taking me more seriously as an actor” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
