Playing in cinemas now, Gali Gali Chor Hai charts the rise of Bharat (Akshaye Khanna) as he faces the pervasive corruption that dogs society’s public institutions in his town of Bhopal after purportedly witnessing a crime. With little to no hope of escaping the endless legal drudgery, the protagonist must bribe his way out of the situation whilst maintaining the peace at home after glamorous paying guest Amita (Mugdha Godse) comes to stay, much to the dismay of Bharat’s wife Nisha (Shriya Saran).
A family comedy with a provocative underlying message is how director Rumi Jaffery has pitched the tone of the film, a description the cast agree with. The anti-corruption rhetoric even caught the ears of famed social activist Ana Hazare who, along with his home village of 3,000 people, was treated to a sneak preview of the film.
In Dubai for a Dream Advertising event last week, Akshaye, Mugdha and Shriya sat down with City Times to give their views on all things ranging from their roles to politics to making people laugh. SHRIYA SARAN Why the belle of the north became a southern siren…
I’m a north Indian and Hindi is my mother tongue. I started in south Indian films because it is just where I was first offered a film deal. The language is obviously the most difficult aspect to pick up. Thankfully I was exposed to different Indian languages as a child and I was prepared. North/ south divide?
The lines between the various Indian film industries are disappearing. There is a lot of cultural crossover in terms of sharing scripts and expertise. I think if a movie is shot well and it’s a compelling story, then it doesn’t matter which language it is in, which is why I believe the term ‘Indian film industry’ should encompass the whole country, not just Bollywood. Downtime…
I read a lot. I’m a regular person. I like to travel, I like scuba diving, keeping fit and yoga. Dealing with the issues… Everyone is waking up to corruption. People are talking about it, revolutions are happening around the world and people are more aware about their rights. I’m not political, but it’s nice to see countries standing up and making a difference. AKSHAYE KHANNA On Bharat… It’s a very simple character. It’s not a complicated script. It’s a character who could be anyone. Bharat happens to be a cashier at a bank, but he could have been a bus driver or plumber or anyone. He’s the common man in India. Man vs. The Man
When you see the entire film, this common man gets stuck in the system and tries to fight back. But he can actually do very little about it. It’s not a story of the common man standing up and making himself heard too much. It’s more realistic than that. It highlights the fact that not many people have too much recourse when this happens to them, but it’s done in a funny way.
Will the movie get people talking? The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen – it’s an apt description of life in India. We are constantly debating about everything. Having said that, film is a powerful medium. It does inspire introspection and can bring about change. It wasn’t our intention for the movie, but if it happens then that will be good. Our intention was to entertain. On his co-stars…
I’ve worked with most of my co-stars before and they are dear friends. There were no unexpected surprises on set. It’s a cast of extremely talented performers who have given everything to the script, which has turned out to be a great ride. MUGDHA GODSE On Amita…
The girl I play is very glamorous and hot. She works in a call centre so her working hours are completely different. She lives with Bharat and his family as a paying guest. His wife is not too happy about this and that is where a lot of the humour comes from. Any challenges to playing the role?
This is a very easygoing movie, so there was not much of a challenge to prepare for the role. Rumi has made a serious subject very funny. He has taken a dark subject and added so much comedy that at times you forget about that aspect. It’s hilarious, but you should come out of the theatre with a thought-provoking message.
A career in comedy? It’s difficult to make people laugh, but it’s easy to make them cry. I’m used to the comedy genre with films like All The Best. In the future I am definitely open to more comedies, but I consider any role a challenge. At the moment I’m doing three projects: Will You Marry Me? and two more comedies, so it looks like the genre is the flavour of the season and of my current career. Working with off-screen friend Shriya Saran… When we got to know we were doing this film together we planned on exploring Bhopal, working out and watching movies. We did that all the time. It was so much fun.
