Tanushree Dutta in Dhol

Comedy king Priyadarshan is back with yet another fun ride this Friday, Dhol, just weeks before he tries to hit the jackpot with his big multistarrer Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Reason enough for t2 to have a fun chat with the seriously funny man from down south.

Dhol looks a very young film compared to your other comic capers...

Yes it was a direct throwback to my college days when I used to chase beautiful girls and get jealous when my friends would get close to those girls. Dhol is a timepass movie... a fun film. My interest in the film now is that everybody is looking for a dhol in the movie.

What is it about this dhol which everybody is talking about?

That I can’t tell you now. The mystery will only be unraveled in the last shot of the film.

Your Dhol cast doesn’t have your familiar set of actors apart from Rajpal Yadav...

That was my challenge. I have always maintained that comedy is not about funny actors. Comedy is about serious actors in a funny situation which becomes comedy for the audience. So, it was fun to guide young, obedient boys like Sharman and Tusshar and Kunal.

Why cast Tanushree Dutta in such an important role?

From the very beginning I was trying to make a small film. So Tanushree is perfect in such a set-up. She fits the role of the girl who is trying to find out why her brother committed suicide.

But with not a single star in sight, will Dhol fetch a good opening?

Even Malamaal Weekly did not have a star. And that’s what encouraged me to make a film like Dhol. It’s the same producers (Percept) who were ready to take the risk. I assured them they will get their money back.

Do you actually plan scripts with actors in mind or do they just happen to fit the roles?

I choose actors according to the plot. I cannot plan with actors in mind. The subject comes first. Now if given a choice I always go for actors with whom I have worked before.

Will you ever stop making comedies?

I am happy that a lot of comedy films are being made these days. I set the trend with Hera Pheri. Because I don’t believe anybody goes to the theatres to watch a serious film and cry. There is already a lot of misery in everybody’s life, why add to it in a cinema hall?

So you will never again make a Sazaa-e-Kalapaani?

No, I just made a film in the south called Kanjeevaram. It is a period film set in the 1930s based on the lives of the workers who make Kanjeevaram saris. That was in fact the first communist movement in India. I made that film for my job satisfaction.

Why don’t you make such films in Hindi?

Because the scenario here is completely different. No one wants to see such films here. Even in the south Kanjeevaram was released with just 10 prints. It’s mainly made for the festivals and is just 90 minutes. It’s very clear what I am trying to do. Name with these films and fame with the comedies. I want to show that I am capable of making both kinds of films.

So now you are doing a horror comedy in Bhool Bhulaiyaa?

It’s a psychological thriller where I am trying to prove scientifically that ghosts exist. Yes, it has a lot of comedy too.

And your favourite actor Akshay Kumar...

Yes, so far our combination has worked.

Is he the best comic actor we have today?

A comic actor is a buffoon in a circus. Charlie Chaplin was a great actor, not a comedian. No one can be a comic on screen. It is always the plot which is more important than the actor.