Vinay Pathak with Lara Dutta in Chalo Dilli

What is Chalo Dilli about?

Chalo Dilli is about two people coming together under circumstances that are not under their control, spending a few days of their lives together and finally completing a journey together. They are from different worlds with different ideologies and different ways of life and thinking. Their universes constantly collide and then finally, become one somewhere along the way.

I play a middle-class boorish Delhi businessman called Manu Gupta. He comes to Mumbai for work and on his way back to Delhi, he meets Lara’s (Dutta) character. And then of course the journey begins.

The first thing about the film that really got me was the story. Every film that I have done or have tried to do has had an exciting story to tell. A good story is half the battle won. This film has a very peculiar and at the same time very interesting story to tell about two completely different characters getting stuck in various situations. There is a blame game, lots of misunderstandings, frustration… but at the end, they just become one, totally in sync with one another.

The promos suggest that it is a road film...

Most of the action in the film happens on the road, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call it a road movie. The journey that these two people undertake is the core of the film, but more than that, Chalo Dilli is about the unique bond that is created between them. It’s about the society that we live in and how diverse it is. It’s about how we see people through stereotypes and a projected image and how one single interaction with them can actually shatter these preconceived notions. The film actually poses a lot of interesting questions to all of us. You can find a bit of you in each of these two characters and that’s where the beauty of Chalo Dilli lies.

How was it working with Lara?

I have always thought Lara to be a good actor. Now working with her, I have realised that she has wonderful comic timing. Along with it, she has a great understanding of cinema.

How was Lara, the first-time producer?

She’s not alien to the business of cinema. She has been in the industry for so long. Both Lara and Mahesh (Bhupathi) are extremely hands-on producers, very co-operative and understanding. The fact that both of them are major Hindi film buffs contributes to their passion as first-time producers. Mahesh, coming from a completely different background, really impressed me with his interest in cinema and his knowledge of what good storytelling should be all about. They have worked very hard on the film and it will show when it releases on April 29.

In fact, all of us have put our hearts and souls into the film, working round the clock and completing it much before time (the shoot wrapped up in 26 days). It happened because Lara and Mahesh, as producers, gave us that level of comfort; it’s a process that we completely enjoyed. In fact, the whole unit was going on that journey from ignorance to realisation together, not just mine and Lara’s characters. There was a process of evolution and after Chalo Dilli, I can safely say that all of us are better people and professionals.

Any memorable instances from the shoot?

There are so many. We shot in Mumbai for about five days. The rest of the film was shot in various parts of Rajasthan — Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Shekhawati…. There were places where we were shooting in the middle of the night in sub-zero temperatures. We saw such beautiful sunrises there. It was so much of toil and hard work, but that was compensated by the fact that every day we would discover something new. Lara and I were the only vegetarians on set. So everyday, along with deciding everything that she had to as a producer, Lara and I would discuss the all-important menu for the day too!

Did it help that your friend Shashant Shah, who had directed Dasvidaniya, was directing Chalo Dilli?

Shashant and I have been friends for many years and have done a lot of work together. He directed me in The Great Indian Comedy Show and Ranvir (Shorey) and me in Ranvir, Vinay Aur Kaun? We produced Dasvidaniya together. Chalo Dilli is just an extension of Dasvidaniya for me and Shashant because we have more or less the same team working on both films. It helps when you have friends working together, but I feel that there’s also a greater responsibility of coming up with a good product.

You apparently gained 12kg for the film...

Yes! I didn’t exercise for about eight months and ate everything that I could lay my hands on. The fact that I am a foodie helped. I just binged and binged and binged. And now, I am in trouble because I just can’t seem to be able to get rid of it!

... And The ‘smash’ing producer

Mahesh Bhupathi at Axis Mall on Tuesday. Picture by Aranya Sen

Will Mahesh Bhupathi the ace tennis player change into Mahesh Bhupathi the ace Bollywood producer? The champ — whose Big Daddy Productions has joined forces with wife-of-two-months Lara Dutta’s Bheegi Basanti Productions to produce Chalo Dilli — was in Calcutta on Tuesday to interact with budding tennis players at the Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academy in Rajarhat’s Axis Mall. While Hesh was more than willing to talk tennis — Sania to Somdev, Leander to Rohan Bopanna — he chose to speak little about Chalo Dilli, that releases on April 29.

“I think Chalo Dilli has a very interesting and unexplored storyline. The fact that it is about people that you and I would meet every day is what makes the film potentially exciting. It’s just about 10 days to the release and everyone associated with the film is making sure that we leave no stone unturned to ensure that people like the film.”

When asked who calls the shots as producer — he or Lara — Mahesh quipped: “She runs her company, I run mine!”

Point taken.