After the recent film triumph of Namastey London, which was the highest grossing Bollywood film at the UK Box Office this year, Indian cinema's highly in demand superstar, Akshay Kumar, makes a welcomed return to the silver screen in his latest offering, Heyy Babyy. Releasing on 24 August 2007 by Eros International, Heyy Babyy combines all the ingredients of another runaway success for Hindi cinema's hottest star. Following on from his recent Box Office success of Namastey London and his stage performance alongside UK based Bhangra troupe, RDB, at the IIFA Awards in Yorkshire, Akshay has won the praise of audiences and critics alike. He once again proves his infinite talents as a Bollywood all-rounder. Here, he talks about his new film, Heyy Babyy in a rare interview with BBC Shrophire's Bollywood correspondent, Manish Gajjar. What was it about the script of Heyy Babyy that attracted you most to the project? "It was such an endearing and well written script, and I was drawn to the father and son relationship that it deals with. There was not a doubt in my mind that I was going to sign the film, after reading the script. It held a lot of resonance with my own experiences of fatherhood and it was great to be able to bring that to the film. It was such a great film premise. Maybe it was just my paternal instincts coming out." How did you feel working for Sajid Khan as a director especially when you have known him for years as a friend? "Sajid is very easy to get along with and is always open to suggestions and willing to hear people's thoughts, which I think is an extremely important necessity for a director to have. It was really good working with Sajid Khan - he has very fresh ideas and definitely a director to watch out for in the near future." Can you tell us more about your role in Heyy Babyy? "He's a Sydney-based nightclub worker called Aroush, who loves the party lifestyle - totally commitment phobic and shirks any kind of responsibility. Nothing like my real self, of course! Aroush's life and priorities are totally thrown out of sync when a baby lands on our doorstep. It's about the progression of three bachelors and how their lives turn upside down when their comfort zone is displaced." How was it working on the sets with your co-stars, Fardeen Khan and Ritesh Deshmukh who already have a lot of experience with the comedy genre? "We had such a laugh making the film. In fact, I think the producers were losing patience with us, as we kept joking about and playing pranks on each other, throughout filming. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun on a film set. I think the pleasure that went into making this film will certainly come across on screen. It all came so naturally." It must have been tough shooting on the sets with a baby. Did you or your co-stars lose patience at any time with the little toddler? "No, she was just too adorable, although I think I had rather more experience in the area of baby-handling than Fardeen and Riteish, being a father myself. But I have to say all of us did a great job in making her feel happy on set, and we all became extremely attached to her. She's definitely one to watch out for in Bollywood." |