Gerard Butler with Katherine Heigl in The Ugly Truth

What’s your character about?

I’m running this show, which is all about relationships, men, women, sex, what men should do to get more sex, to get the kind of relationships they want, and also what women have to do as well. So he’s the kind of person that guys would love and women would hate.

The film addresses an interesting concept about modern-day TV news. We used to think the medium was for news and information. Abby (Katherine Heigl) is trying to produce a show that gives local flavour but in reality, the people really want sex and titillation, controversy...

I agree. Even though we make light of it, it is sad. It is understandable why people are attracted to what goes on inside the heads of others and can get some interesting viewpoints on that. People do the same with cooking shows and wildlife shows. All those reality self-help shows are everywhere. We play on that but I think it is sad for that to happen to increase ratings. Why are we sitting and watching for hours someone sleeping? That is very sad.

There is a sexual chemistry between the two protagonists (Butler and Heigl). Were you surprised how seductive that salsa dance in the film turns out to be?

I was very surprised how explosive it turned out to be. I took a few lessons before the film. Katie already knew how to dance in a Latin way. I worked with Julianne Hough from Dancing with the Stars and a few other professionals. I took some salsa lessons. I thought I would have a problem remembering the moves but once we started, it just happened. I agree. The movie needed that scene because it evolves their story so much. They go from that antagonism into this moment when it all explodes. Where did that come from?

Does dancing feel sexy to you?

I don’t know if I felt sexy but it was sexy when we were doing that dance. Sometimes I have to train for things and I get really nervous. When I did P.S. I Love You, I had to learn to play the guitar and sing in front of people. When we got on set, I could only do one or the other. If I played the guitar, I couldn’t sing and if I didn’t play, then I could sing. Or I could do those but I couldn’t move. I could never do all three at the same time. So I was afraid when I showed up on set that I wouldn’t be able to salsa. But it all just happened and it was one of those rare moments when people commented on how great that scene was. It was the perfect moment in the movie for that to happen. It needed it to cement the sexiness between the two of them.

Did you know Katherine Heigl before this?

No, we just met right before we did the film. We had a lot of fun together. She is an amazing woman and we had a blast doing it. She is so smart and ballsy and razor sharp sexy. Every woman I have ever worked with is really brilliant. Katie never makes a mistake. Within two rehearsals, she is just there and then goes further. I am a little more scattered than that. I think we’ve had great chemistry together.

She was also your boss, your producer...

That she was, but you would never know. She was an actress in this movie and I never felt the weight of her as a producer. She could have been a bit of a nightmare but she wasn’t at all. I honestly expected her to be this goody two-shoes on set but she is actually a bit crazy.

It’s reported that you were nervous while filming sex scenes with her?

I was so nervous, I kept forgetting my lines. Once, in the middle of a take, I said to Katie: “Did I touch your breast?” It was an accidental brush but I was pretty nervous about it.

The two of you had some very colourful sexual dialogue. Do you ever have any inhibitions when you have to talk like that in front of a woman?

I speak like that. It is actually one of the reasons why I got this role. I was just working with the other producers on a film and I was always brooding. One night we go out for a meal and I am telling my co** jokes and my sexist jokes and these guys are looking at each other and smiling. They might have thought I was this too serious kind of guy. Anyway, I wonder what the meeting is about and they tell me that they have a script they want me to read. When I read it, I knew it made perfect sense and what they were thinking when I was telling those jokes.

So now you have this reputation as a jokester?

I don’t know. It is not the way I think. It is not my view on sex or relationships. Women do find some of this humour funny because it is who men are. At the end of the day, that is what this film is about. This is the way men think about women and this is the way women think about men. I think my humour is a Scottish thing. We love rude jokes. We love jokes that really push the envelope.

What would you change in your attitude towards women?

I wish I could compliment attractive women. If a woman has great breasts, I’d love to tell her so. But in polite society, you can’t do that. Which is a shame. We’ve taken something as simple as sexual attraction, something that’s in our DNA, that’s basic to society, and turned it into something complicated. We’ve made the rules we must abide by that make it difficult to connect with each other.

What challenged you when making the film?

I feel like even in all the roles I’ve played I have never even had a tenth of the dialogue that I have to say in this film. I just never shut up. I have opinions about everything. I have a smart line for everything. I have a curious line about everything. And so it’s a… you know, there’s just days where I’ve just had pages and pages of dialogue and, of course, it’s just like that, spitfire. So it’s been, it’s definitely been an interesting experience for me, but it’s also, to me, I mean some of my favourite movies were those, you know, the Spencer Tracy, the Cary Grant films as well, that — when they’re flying like that and it’s just beautiful to watch.

Is it true that you were an extra in The Bodyguard? Can you see yourself in the final film?

It is true. But you will never find me. I was in this crowd scene and the row behind me had all of these cardboard cut-outs to make the crowd look bigger. I knew right then that I would never be on camera.

How is your restaurant doing?

It is going okay in these tough times. I am very much a silent partner and I don’t have that much to do with it. It is a Korean barbecue restaurant (Shin) and people seem to really like it. It is delicious stuff.

THE UGLY TRUTH RELEASES IN CALCUTTA ON FRIDAY

Do you agree with Butler when he says men should be able to compliment attractive women in public? Tell t2@abpmail.com

Movie melter

Movie merchandising has reached melt-in-the-mouth proportions. After toys and pads, now ice-creams are getting their filmi fill. After its Mango Dolly flavour for Quick Gun Murugan, Baskin Robbins has just launched three new flavours as part of its tie-up with Sujoy Ghosh’s forthcoming film Aladin.

The three Aladin flavours, available at all Baskin Robbins outlets across India this October, are named Choc’Aladin (malt-flavoured ice cream swirled with a chocolate fudge ribbon and chocolate bits) linked to Riteish Deshmukh’s character of Aladin, Princess Delite (creamy vanilla ice cream loaded with chocolate-coated nuts and swirled with a chocolate ribbon), linked to Jacqueline Fernandez’s character of Jasmine and Ringmaster’s Whip (devilicious chocolate ribbon and chocolate chips whipped into a sinful chocolate ice cream), linked to Sanjay Dutt’s character of Ringmaster in the film.
What’s more, anyone who buys a Value Scoop (one-and-a-half scoops) from the new range of Aladin ice creams stands to win exciting prizes like Aladin tattoos and music CDs.

Says Sunil A. Lulla, president of Eros International, co-producers of Aladin: “We are delighted to partner Baskin Robbins, for the film to reach out to its target audience in an innovative and fun-filled manner.”