In a room full of people, the one who preaches about the goodness of individuals is Aditi Rao Hydari.
In the same room, spot the one who has a diplomatic response for every question, and you’ve laid eyes on Ali Zafar. The duo is looking forward to visiting the city next week to promote their upcoming flick London, Paris, New York.
Aditi has been to namma ooru often but this trip will be a first for Ali. Aditi says, “I love Bengaluru. It has always been a summer capital for my family.”
The two share a special on screen chemistry. About Ali, Aditi says, “Sufi badmaash. He is not a saint.” Ali adds, “Aditi, in one word, is serene.” Two great friends offscreen, the duo have some great memories from their shoots for this film.
Aditi says, “While shooting in Paris, there was chaos on the streets for some reason. Ali and I got stuck in our car. We jumped out of the car and ran into a tube despite being very sleepy. It was a fun experience with him.”
Ali and Aditi play lovers in the film. Aditi plays the role of Lalitha, who she jokingly hopes is very different from her. “Lalitha overthinks things and I don’t. She has a scientific explanation for everything.” Ali plays the role of Nikhil. He says, “Nikhil is an extrovert and I am quite the introvert.”
Ali had refused to kiss Aditi onscreen for this film. “It is not like it is about Aditi. I just do not feel comfortable doing such scenes,” says Ali. They worked the script around this and made sure that there is no need for the two to be physically intimate to this extent in the film.
Ali has tried his hand as a music composer and actor. But his preferred choice is music. He says, “My soul is of a musician, but my job is that of an actor. If I commit myself to a role, I give it my heart and soul.”
An actor who Ali dreams of working with is Amitabh Bachchan, but Aditi says, “It has to be Aamir Khan or Ranbir Kapoor.” She just about missed the opportunity of working with Ranbir for Rockstar as she was replaced by Nargis. Does she think she would have played the role better?
She says, “I would have loved to, as it is a beautiful role. But I don’t want to be mean by saying I would have done it better. In all fairness to Nargis, she worked really hard on the role.”
Aditi is currently busy reading scripts. But Ali is focusing on Chashme Baddoor. He says, “I play the role essayed by Farooq Sheikh in the original. I have done it my way and can never imagine aping his character. If I did, I would have fallen flat on my face.”