It’s 10.40pm on Tuesday and Jeet has just landed in Chennai. “I’m on my way to Tirupati. I’ll reach there by 2am, check into a hotel, wake up around 4.30am, and then leave for the darshan at the Tirupati Balaji temple. I go there whenever I feel like it,” Jeet tells t2 over phone. His new film Badshah — The Don releases the next day (July 6) in Bengal and Bangladesh, in 158 theatres. As he vrooms off to Tirupati, the star talks it up with t2. 

What comes to your mind when we say Don and Badshah? Is this like a combination of Amitabh Bachchan and SRK?!
Of course Mr Bachchan comes to mind for ‘Don’. And Badshah is the ruler. The film tells the story of a guy from a lower-middle-class background. And he aspires to be a don. As a child he watched Don (Amitabh’s), and wants to be one. 

The titles of your last couple of films — Boss, Power, Badshah... — are catchy and also kind of loaded. What goes into getting the ‘title’ that suits your image? 
Yeah, there have been these heavy titles riding on me, or I on them. And I would like to thank my promoters or investors for believing that I can pull off these heavy titles. All these names establish an easy connect with the audience, and have a recall value. But yes, the titles come as a responsibility too. I like to have titles that go with the content. Now I am shooting for a film called Abhimaan, and the name goes with the storyline. It is also heavy in its own way. 

In the trailer of Badshah we see you running on top of a moving train! Why take the risk?! 
Baba Yadav (director) came up with this idea (laughs). We were shooting in Bangladesh and he saw people sitting on the roofs of trains. That’s how he came up with my ‘introduction scene’. Initially I felt a little scared, but then I prayed to god and ran! It didn’t take too long to shoot. We were on top of the train for around three hours. It was difficult to stand, but I had to run! It was quite risky, but I’ll try riskier ones later (laughs). 

Did you tell your family members that you were doing such a scene?
(Laughs out loud) My family is very supportive. Of course I am careful when doing such scenes. We love this profession and do things very passionately. And you have to do something extra for the people, the audience, because they also shower us with extra love and support when our films release. 

You shot in London for the first time for this film. How was the experience? We believe you saw a girl sporting a Sridevi tattoo?!
Yes, she was called Nisha, who sported a tattoo which had an image of Sridevi in the Chandni pose on her leg! The tattoo was from her knee to the ankle.

My London experience was good. I loved the city as well as the countryside. Lots of cultural activities were happening across the city. I like the spirit of the city, it’s very vibrant.

On the last day we were shooting on Regent Street, and I managed to buy some shoes. Otherwise I didn’t get time to shop. During my stay there I had mostly fish, grilled fish... salmon. One day we went to a restaurant in Trafalgar Square during the lunch break. 

The train stunt apart, the film also has you doing a whole lot of action scenes…
Yeah, and I had scenes with a five-time kick-boxing world champion! He was huge and heavy and his attacks were really powerful. He was tough. With the first kick itself he surprised me. 

Did you go on the offensive after that?
(Laughs) No no. Why will I take panga with him?! 

Tell us about your two heroines in the film… 
Nusrat Faria is from Bangladesh and Shraddha Das  from Bombay. Both are confident, disciplined and committed.  

What are your thoughts as Bigg Boss Bangla comes to a close?
I was just being myself and I understand the format. The format comes from Big Brother and the brief from the production house was that ‘they (the contestants) should find a brother in you’ (as show host). They shared their feelings with me, they confided in me. The show is a mind game. Equations changed between contestants with time, which we get to see in life too. After being disconnected from the world, the contestants would look forward to speaking with me on weekends. 
It has been very challenging for me also, since every weekend for 13-14 weeks I had to fly to Bombay, then go to Lonavala, for the Bigg Boss Bangla shoot. Simultaneously, during the week, I was shooting for films. 

Badshah — The Don is an Indo-Bangladesh venture. What are your expectations from the simultaneous release? 
It’ll be an interesting watch. This is also a first for me. Bangladesh has a huge fan base. They love me there. We’ll soon get to know the figures. Some of my earlier films like Saathi, Sangi, were widely watched in Bangladesh. The connect was established then, and the bond has stayed strong. Some also like Dui Prithibi while others like Awaara. Another interesting thing which I haven’t experienced anywhere else was that almost all immigration officers came and took pictures with me in Dhaka! 

With Praktan being the flavour of the season, is there still space for Bengali commercial films?
You will have ups and downs… hits and flops are a part of this business.  The commercial films are the drivers, and the entertainment business will always be on a roll. 

What’s the last film you liked?
The last three months have been so hectic, I didn’t get time to watch movies.

So what do you do when taking a break?
I go out for dinner. I prefer going to Novotel… I like their Salmon Teriyaki, in their Pan-Asian section called Studio. 

Finally, what prompted you to buy the Calcutta football team in the Premier Futsal League?
It’s a five-a-side football tournament, and it’ll be a lot of fun. It has an interesting and entertaining format, and I decided to go ahead because I belong to the entertainment industry. And Bengal lives on football. Virat Kohli is the national ambassador of the league... this is the first year.  

Arindam Chatterjee
What one word describes Jeet the best? Tell t2@abp.in