Boxing champ Vijender Singh — an Olympic medal winner at the 2008 Beijing Games — is making his acting debut with Fugly, produced by Akshay Kumar. t2 caught up with Vijender when he was in Calcutta recently to promote the film.

You have been getting a lot of film offers over the last few years. Why choose Fugly as your debut?

People have seen my boxing, so they know how good I am as a boxer. Now, people will see me as an actor. I felt my character Gaurav in the film suited me well and that’s why I agreed to do the role. Rab jo karta hain changaa hi karta hai! (Smiles)

How much of Vijender is in Gaurav and vice versa?

Yes, Gaurav is a lot like Vijender. Gaurav takes panga for his friends and so do I. But I am a boxer, so koi pange leta nahin mujhse! (Laughs)

What was the predominant emotion — nervousness or excitement — when you faced the camera for the first time?

While we were shooting in Ladakh, Kabir sir (Sadanand, the director) helped me a lot. In boxing, I remain aggressive. Mera kaam hai ki maaro, todo, khatam karo, nikal jao bas! But acting is different. One has to be patient. Sometimes it takes a long time at the sets. I learnt to be patient with time.

What is more difficult: prepping for a bout or prepping for a film?

Both are different and difficult. One has to be hard-working and disciplined in both the fields.

Was Akshay Kumar like a mentor on set too?

I know Akshay sir for the past five years. He is a good guy. He helped us a lot. I have trained with him a lot of times.

How was it sharing screen space with Akshay and Salman Khan in the Fugly title track?

I have worked with Salman Khan in (the TV show) 10 Ka Dum. We did a lot of masti. On the day of the shoot, we thought Bhai would come in a big car, but he drove up in a scooty! (Smiles)

Despite being married, you attract a lot of female attention. How do you handle it?

Really? I get a lot of love from Calcutta. My wife (Archana) wants to see the video of the making of the film. Kabhi kabhi maar padti hai! Kya karein? Maar khaana padta hai.

Are films something that you will concentrate on more now or will boxing always be priority?

Dono! I am going to Scotland on July 28 to participate in a boxing match. There are many people from the sports fraternity in the Narendra Modi government. I want them to come forward and help sportspeople. The Haryana government has given me three acres of land to set up a boxing academy. I need two years time to assemble funds.

Who is that one actress you want to work with?

Main hero hoon toh heroine koi bhi chalegi!

POW WOW!

The last film you watched and loved: Queen
The last thing you ate and loved: Fish here in Calcutta!
The last song you heard and loved: Yeh fugly fugly kya hai?
Your last holiday: Kerala
The last book you read: Asura by Anand Neelakantan

 

The other Fugly folk

Mohit Marwah

Sonam Kapoor’s cousin makes his debut in Fugly

Arjun Kapoor is my brother

We are all in the same age group so we don’t give style tips or acting advice to each other. I party with Arjun. He is my brother. Hum ek saath khaate, peetey, uthte, baithte hain!

I served tea to Akshay Kumar

I remember working with him in a film where I was an assistant director. I served him tea! While working with him in the Fugly song, after the first five minutes, I felt I was working with another professional and our concentration was on getting the dance steps right.

Hrithik Roshan looks so young

Hrithik Roshan looks young compared to most of us. Varun (Dhawan) is doing so well. Then Arjun has his own thing. Ranbir Kapoor is also doing so well.

D for deepika padukone

I want to work with Deepika Padukone. She is gorgeous!

 

Kiara Advani

Ashok Kumar’s granddaughter is already grabbing eyeballs with her bikini bod in the Fugly promos

Salman Khan has seen me growing up

For me it was like a dream come true. He has seen me growing up. He was very excited and happy to see me on the sets. For the first time, he saw me doing my bit.

Fugly Fugly kya hai?

We were taught eight steps for the song. After rehearsing a lot, when we reached the set, we were told that the song had only one step! We were pranked!

I have heard about Flurys

My naani is a Bengali. This is my first time in Calcutta. I have heard a lot about Flurys from her.