 Wouldn't it be nice if any audition you ever did, they always gave notes after, or a response? Even if it wasn't no, just be like, no, it wasn't right. Michael Donovan is the only one that does that, you know, that I've encountered. Do they often, do they ever do that in India? You probably don't audition anymore. I've never auditioned. Yeah, I figured. I figured you just get offered projects, yes? Yeah. What about in your early days for like plays and stuff, do you ever do that audition for? No, no, no. One of the reasons was that we never had that kind of what you call system. Now we have casting directors and auditions and all that. Yeah. So earlier, there was no system, no casting directors, nothing. So it was, you know, one work gave the other, right, that kind of thing. Right. So and the usual, you know, kind of way, two films was to start with theater and television was almost not there that time when I entered. I mean, we had these weekly shows and all that, Durdarshan. But but we never had these daily soaps and all that. So it was left to probably chance and your luck. Right. Yeah. Who sees you, who picks you up and then which film you get. And then if it does well and if you are noticed. Yeah, stuff. Wow. So it was it was all left to chance. And then otherwise we would get our portfolios done, photographs done and go to the production houses and directors. And yeah, yeah, just just. What is the movie where the light flickers when is it? Pulture guys, isn't life flickers? Oh, it's right behind you. The lights. Can you I think you might be touching it or screw the bulb in. Maybe it's careful. It might be hot, but tighten it to the right. There you go. Boot, Boot is in here. I haven't introduced everybody. No, welcome, everybody. A tool. How are you? I'm good, how are you? Good, doing wonderful. I'm so glad we finally got to do this. You're actually not the first person we've ever had in person. Well, in this in this layer, though, you are the first person we've ever had in person in person. We've had others. Obviously, we went to a Ramon's house. Mohini Day went to our last place, but it wasn't in the layer. It was in my living room, a little different. But thank you so much for coming on. It's a wonderful. It's a pleasure because I have been listening to you people and have communicated it to you. And especially I was so happy when you spoke about Natarang. And how could we not? That's a pretty easy one to speak about. I didn't know. And maybe after a few months, someone suggested me to watch the video or recommended and it sent the link and all that. And that's when I noticed. And so I'm happy that I finally get to personally thank you guys because I have remember. I remember other, you know, reviews as well of my films where you mentioned back to Natarang and other other films. So thanks. Thanks. Oh, well, thank you. Thank you. We've been an admirer of yours since I think the first time we really took notice of you, I believe was Hiram, like most of the world. Correct. I think that's the first time the world got to know who you were. Obviously, we heard a lot about Hiram for Kamal. And Jorakhan has a cameo in that one. But then we were very struck by this supporting actor in this role. And it was it was yourself. And then we really started to delve into it. And I think we even said because you can tell I would say nine times out of ten, we're right when we're watching somebody and we'll look at each other and go, that's a thespian, that person has to return. Oh, that that that person's that's a theater actor right there. It was it was very clear from the get go. And you really are that's one of the things anybody knows about us is that we love the art form so much. We're not just going to say something to say it, but you're you are the kind of actor that I mean, we have a lot more of your stuff to see. But you're the kind of actor that always is going to do good work. We were always going to say you may not feel that way. But what we've seen so far, it's just if you're in something, it's, you know, you're going to have good work from you. Yeah. Yeah. But that one in particular. Well, I have some questions we're going to ask you about. Yeah, I have a couple of questions about that one because that for me is one of my favorites. Oh, yeah. All time. And I'm biased because if you're doing a play about theater, it's why Tamash is one of my favorites. I just if it's it's about the craft, it has an extra special place in my heart. So absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. The when we when we saw you in Hey, Rama, we immediately said that that guy must be has been another one that we've done that with. It's somebody you who you've worked with. We saw what is the name of Deborah? Oh, yeah. Zendagi. Yeah, I called it the Deborah movie because I can't pronounce it. Right now, the first time we saw it, it was very early on in the channel. We've seen four hundred films now. But we saw this 2019 acting with his father in the movie. And we said that guy seems like a really good actor. And so this guy, I promise you, calling him the Deborah dad. It's Nassir Dinshaw, which is now he's going to go far. He's going to have a great career. I don't know if you guys know about this guy. Nassir Dinshaw, he's going to be a good actor one day. But yeah, he's another one. But I'll tell him so he's going to be a good actor. Had you worked with we should know this if we've seen more of your things. But you're currently working with him. Have you worked with him before the show that you guys have been doing together? Yes. Yes. Yes. OK. We have worked together quite a lot, in fact. We did a film called Chalice Chaurasi. It was a comedy. And then we did a film. With Casey Bocadia that we did together. And then, of course, Bandish Bandits. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we have worked together, ever done stage together, not together. But we have done a same play. So I did a play that was my first commercial assignment when I came to Mumbai. It was called Gandhi, Virudh Gandhi, Gandhi versus Gandhi. So it was about Mahatma Gandhi and his eldest son. OK. A film was made on that by Feroz Khan. Anil G produced it. Anil Kapoor. OK. I'm forgetting the name. But anyway, it was based on the same play that I did. So I did it in Marathi, Hindi and Gujarati. And Nasir Bhai did the same play in English. Same role. So I played Mahatma Gandhi in that. And Nasir Bhai played Mahatma Gandhi in the same play in the English version of it. OK. Yeah. Yeah. And of course, I did my three versions first and then came the English version. So he had seen all three versions of mine. And incidentally, he was my teacher in National School of Drama in New Delhi. Oh, wow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we go long back. Yeah. And he, I mean, the dad from Debra was your teacher. It's amazing. And he, I'm sure he doesn't know that he's going to be a great actor. Please let him know. I will let him know. I mean, coming from gentlemen from coming from us. Two white guys said you're going to be good. He will finally feel like, oh, now I know I'm as good as I always hope. Doing the play in different languages. Yeah. Did you ever find yourself either slipping or being tempted to go into the other language or never? That just didn't happen. No, no, no, never. You speak how many languages? You speak three? I speak Marathi, Hindi, English. So other languages that I've worked in. Yeah, yeah, which you've worked in at least eight or nine. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So Canada is I'm I'm born in Karnataka. So in my household, Canada is was spoken fluently and all that. But I was brought up in Maharashtra. So my exposure to Canada is not was not constant, but I can absolutely understand Canada. And when I'm there for eight, ten days, then I can speak it. I dub for because as in India, you know, in India, we dub most of the films. So I dub myself in Telugu, in Canada and of course in Marathi, Hindi, English. But no, no languages. I know three languages. OK, OK. That you're fluent. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And rest, of course, I can. I buy hard the dialogues and I can speak like you did one thing. Did you it was Odisha, right? That you did one film in Odia. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mine game. I just released a couple of months ago. Yeah, yeah. So that was my first Odia film. Yeah. So that makes it now how many nine languages? Nine languages. Yeah. Yeah, if you include English and I could barely speak English. That's one of the things that just amazes us about Indian cinema is how many actors will work in multiple languages, including ones that they're not even fluent in. You just learn the lines in that language. That's true. Yeah. I think that is possible because of dubbing. Because if it would have been sing sound that might not have been possible. Having said that, in Hiram, it was sing sound. Because Kamal wanted to do sing sound. Yeah. So my Tamil there is what I spoke on set. But that character was from Tanjavur, which is a part in Tamil Nadu where the Maratha kings came in and settled. So he was supposed to be a Maharashtrian who was staying in Tamil Nadu. So that kind of Tamil was OK. It worked. That character, yeah. But however, that was a Tamil version of it because we shot it in two languages, Tamil and Hindi. So that Tamil is the sing sound on set voice. When you were filming Hiram, obviously, you know, it's going to be a big film because it's Kamal Hassan. Shahrukh Khan. Yeah, and Shahrukh Khan. But did you know when you were filming? Did you have a hope or a sense that it was going to do what it did, not just as a film, but for you as an actor? I mean, your first major role got you a national film award. Yeah. Yeah. Did you sense that on the day while you were filming? No, not at all. Not at all. See, I was a theatre person. Right. That was my first film. I knew nothing about films. I mean, technique, right? Yeah. So I didn't know it. And Kamal Ji taught me cinema, actually. And he knew that this person is new to films. He is from theatre. And I just jumped. And I mean, this anecdote is very interesting. I had refused Hiram for a reason, because as I just told you about Gandhi, I was doing Mahatma Gandhi in that. And that was a hugely popular play, all the three versions of it. So I constantly got offers to play Gandhi in different films in different theatre productions. I was once called to Ahmedabad, I remember, to play as a show stopper in a fashion show as Gandhi. So I kept on refusing because I didn't want to do Gandhi again and again. And when I was called for Hiram, I first thought that it's Hiram. And so I must be, you know, getting the call to play Gandhi again. Yeah. Little did you know. Yeah. So initially, I said, no, no, no, I don't have day. And then I inquired and I got to know, no, no, no, it was not for that role. It is for Shri Ramabhyankar. I call back. I said that all my. Yes, yes, yes. I'm available now. All of my conflicts just opened up. It's crazy. Yeah, it's absolutely crazy. Did you know it was Kamal's film? Of course, of course, I knew everything because they were shooting that time. Right. Yeah. And I got to know that Naseerbhai is playing Gandhi in that film. Yeah. And so it definitely can't be for Gandhi. And so, of course, I then went to Chennai, which was Madras then and I met Kamal Ji and all that. But to answer a question, no, I did not know. And I was happy that I'm getting to learn film making. You know, what a place to learn. Yeah. Yeah. And I was I was fully into that. But as you mentioned, the National Award. Back then, we had answering machines, you know, we didn't have cell phones. Right. Yeah. Yeah. So one day in Mumbai, I came, Hiram had released and all that. And I came back home and on my answering machine, there was a message. Atul Saab, Kamal, Kamal, Kamal Hassan speaking, you have got National Award. So and I did not know what National Award meant. How big was that? I didn't know that. And he said, I said, yeah, must be some award. So I, you know, called him up. Thank you. There's that. And later on, I told some friends that, you know what? I Kamalji called and he said that I got National Award. And from that reaction, I got to know that, oh, this must be something. So I was that what, naive or whatever, but yeah, I never had never thought about it. When you you said you've worked in many different industries, different parts, played characters from different parts of India. Which accent do you find the most difficult for you as an actor to because obviously India has so many different dialects, not just languages, but is there one that you find more difficult than I think Mallaram is the most difficult language and see, it is sounds difficult. Yeah, the thing is that there are certain alphabets which you just can't produce like like in Tamil, the that they produce that they pronounce. We can't produce pronounced that that that is different from what the law that we don't know. Yeah, yeah, I don't even try that. The reason that's so mind boggling for me is because I know having just tried to learn a little Bengali in Hindi, right, how foreign there's sounds that are made in Hindi and in Bengali that we don't have anywhere in English. Exactly. But yeah, but even more so, you're telling me something that there's even Indian languages that Indians have a hard time pronouncing all the time. I mean, especially if you're from northern part of India, and if you are trying to speak the southern languages, it is almost impossible. But even within the South Indian States, it's very difficult for people to understand each other's languages. Right. So I always say this, that we are like Europe in India. We are that varied, you know, culturally, linguistically, food wise, right and all that. So we are, we are, you know, multiple countries in one country. And that's the beauty of of of India. So different in the United States. Then another question I wanted to ask you, and that is why when I'm so sorry, you know, but but but when people say Bollywood, yeah, no. And I need the whole thing. Yeah, I mean, it is it's it's so different than here because we just have Hollywood that comes out of Hollywood. Yeah. But in India, Bollywood is just Hindi from exactly Mumbai. And I'm sure Bollywood comes from Bombay. Yeah. And most of them don't even like that word, right? Yeah. Right. So so and it is not fair. No, you know, to address Indian films as Bollywood films. It is not fair. No. And we try to say Indian films all the time and a specific language or the specific language is like saying European films. Yeah. Yeah. European film. No, I mean, it has French, Italian, Hindi, Marathi. Yeah. Yeah. On you were talking about dubbing earlier, which is something that when we first we're pretty used to it now. But when we first started, it was such a shock coming from Hollywood. Yeah, we're dubbing and it's like still dubbed. How do you as an actor feel about sync sound versus the dubbing? OK, so of course I have worked in both formats, but I think both of them have their own advantages. In the sense there are certain scenes or certain quality of sound which is fantastic in sync sound because it is there right there when you are actually performing and in that atmosphere with, you know, everything. However, when you dub, you can improve upon your performance in not not not all the scenes and all the shots. But there are certain things which later on you think that, oh, if I can say it this way, it might enhance the emotion or the feeling of it. Sure. And that is possible in dubbing. So I would say that, of course, the principle photography should be sync sound, but there has to be a scope for dubbing is what I feel. Because that's a technique which should be used. And after all, cinema is mixing all these things, you know, all these technicalities. So why leave that? Yeah, we should use it according to me. And once all the actors should listen to the sync sound, and if they feel that, oh, this particular line or this particular scene can be done, can be enhanced, then I think. And of course, the director can can can sanction that. But I think dubbing should be used. It should not be looked down upon. Yeah, we've grown in that regard. We when we first were introduced to it, we just didn't like it. We saw it solely as it's a cost thing. It's just an easier way to go about doing it. But we've really not only grown to accept it and it not. But big thing for me was my suspension of disbelief would go away because I knew the sound wasn't on on the day. But it's really we I think we've really evolved in appreciating it far more now than we did when we first started. The issue is when it's bad dubbing. Yeah, like you can tell their mouth. Yeah, yeah. Is not moving the way the audio that you hear is apart from that. I mean, now our ears are used to, you know, differentiate between a dubbing artist and an actor. Yeah. So you can make out that. Right. Yeah, but but having said that, I think that dubbing should be used as a device to enhance the performance. Yeah. And if if in your head you are adjusted to that, I think you will be able to use it as an actor. All right, I have several questions about not wrong. Yeah. First question, never seen that film. My first question, how did that? How did you become a part of that film? Well, as I said earlier before we started recording, that I've never auditioned right back in India. So I was I didn't audition for it. So it was offered offered to me. And I still remember the meeting between the director, the producer, myself. And my manager in my manager's office. And they narrated me the whole thing. And they gave me kind of one liner. So I said, I want to read it right now. And so they sat in a restaurant nearby and I read it. And then they went back to the restaurant. And I said that I want to do this film. But the only thing my only condition would be that we will shoot the first half where he I'm beefed up. You know, he's a wrestler. Oh, yeah. And then we will have to take some gap and then I'll reduce my weight and then we will shoot the second half. Now the entire credit goes to my producers, the Z cinema, which produced that film. So I still remember Nikhil Sane was a producer and he kept looking because Marathi cinema then it was very small. It was no big budgets and all that. And to spread a film were, you know, eight months or nine months was unheard of for a Marathi film budget. So he kept on looking at me and I explained him why. And I said, that is necessary for this film because that transformation is extremely essential. And he thought about it. And before he got up from there, he said, yes, we do it. He just right there decided. Yes, I will do that. Yes, I would do that. And the entire credit goes to him and the director, Ravi Zadha, to have because imagine the whole unit is sitting right for two months. They commit to other work. Yeah. And and because Marathi industry, as I said, then was not what you see right today. Right. It was the beginning of what you call the renaissance period of Marathi films. So that is how, you know, I was on board for that film. And on the transformation, I think I heard somewhere and then you talked about kilos and my American brain couldn't understand. So exactly how much one did you put on and then in how long of time did you have to we said about two months, how much did you lose and what was the kind of diet slash prep for all that process? Can we quickly find out? Kilograms to pound. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I could do it right now. I do this all the time. Kilos. Like gold. All right. I don't know. All right. Here we go. Ready. Whenever you are. Kilograms to pounds. So it can work about 17 kilograms to pound. OK, 17. That's yeah, that's 37 pounds. Yeah. So almost 38 put on 38 pounds of muscle. Yeah. I must have lost around 40 pounds again to go again. The other way in about 45, 46 days. Oh my God. Yes. 45 days. Yes. Yes. You and Christian Bale. In the same film, by the way, not in different films. And my my trainer and my very dear friend, Shailesh Parolekar, he did all the efforts. I just did what he asked me to do. What did he ask you to do? Not sure diet was diet was number one, right? Of course, there was diet, but there were exercises, of course, because it is not just about that. Because when I put on the weight, it was it was not just a fat. Not at all. Man. No, there was muscle. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You got big. Yes. Yes. Yes. I got big and I looked like a wrestler. It was not someone who was eating just eating, you know, fat or oil. No, you were doing weights. Yes. Yeah. Yes. And then carbohydrates, of course. Of course. But it is not as simple. I must tell the viewers it is not as simple as the editing. No, you know, you can do it too. Yeah. Yeah. And and then we shot the first half in 15, 20 days. And then I took a break of two and a half months. And then I reduced about 40 pounds. And then we shot the second half. And that period, of course, and I was, you know, bulky that time. So the cardio was not easy because it would have taken a toll on my knees if I started, you know, jogging that right. So it was initially a very steady process. And then in the evening, I was used to have, you know, circuit training, but the entire credit goes to Shailesh Parvekar, because after I had done this, after many months, he told me that I must tell you that you were like you were in an ICU, an intensive care unit, because every day he used to ask me, how much have you slept? What have you eaten? And then he would design the next day. Wow. And I had done that. And I had stopped working naturally because you can't do that. And do so. No, not at all. Yeah. And probably here, you might not find it very unusual. But in India, doing just one film, that too, in a regional language, that long for that long, right, means that you know, you can't run your house. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is this normal to be doing a couple of things at one time? Yeah, a couple is very normal, very normal. Yeah, three, four films, right? And that is how I have done about 125 films so far. So, but that is how we work in India. But to do that and take out, you know, that much time. And when I finished shooting for the second half, I still remember I was travelling back from the location and Madhur Bhandarkar called me, the director of Chandni Barr and Satta and all that. And he was doing a film then. And he said, I want you to do a certain role of a police officer in a film. And I said, Madhur, I'm so sorry. But I I don't think I'll be able to do a police officer right now because my physique is and he was like, come on, come and meet me in the office and all that. So. So you did? Oh, his eyes went, oh, you want to play this homeless man? You can. So the point being that even after filming, I had to wait another one and a half, two months to get back to my normal self. Right. So it was a long process. And from acting point of view, I must tell you this, that usually the training is to prepare from inside, from inside out. Right. You know, you prepare the who the person is exactly. The psychology of the person you write is the history of the character. There's that and all that. While filming for Nataranga, I realized that outside in is another process to prepare for a character because when I was putting on that weight and when I when I couldn't walk normally because my thighs were this big and they wouldn't, you know, kind of rub against each other. Naturally, my walk changed. Right. My my arms were so big that I couldn't normally, you know, I had to spread my arms, right? Because otherwise they would brush with my back muscles. And from that, and, you know, again, when I lost the weight, the kind of body that I had, I had grown my hair and all that. But I used to look into the mirror. Even my wife used to say during that time that I feel as if some other person is in my house, it's it's not you. Because naturally, I mean, I remember I had played Mahatma Gandhi, right? Yes, a little very different. He was a bodybuilder, right? Yeah. And and so that was as an actor. Fantastic revelation for me that, oh, this also can be a process that you don't think anything about the character internally, but the external appearance makes you think what the character would be. And in the same film, you're doing these two different things because for those who have not seen the film, if I'm a wrestler in the first half, in the second half, I'm a pansy character in Tamasha in the in the folk form that we have. So it's a completely different. So the film, according to me, is a comment on gender politics. It is, of course, a story of an artist, but it is a comment on gender politics. Yes. And because what the difference of what what actually happened to Guna, the character, was that he lost weight. He took off his moustaches and he started acting like a nacha, a pansy character. That's all. But then the entire society started doubting his manhood. Right. His very identity was questioned as a man. Yeah. Yeah. Right. And they there are scenes where people actually from the village start saying that probably this is not your son then. So it is someone else's. So the film is about that. However, as an actor, I think this physical transformation was not just a gimmick or not just, you know, a physical transformation. It affected me, you know, as a person, as far as the character is concerned to know the character. Yeah. And that was, I think, as an actor, how many films do you get where you get to, you know, say that, oh, this is this is one. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Very rare, really special gift that you were given to do that. Yeah. You've talked about the process just then. Do you subscribe to any of the classical acting methods, teachers, all of them out there? And we know India actually has some of their own. We've talked to a few Indian actors as well. Do you have one specifically? Or do you kind of like a way you go about creating characters? Or does it blend kind of? Yeah. Very well, I have always believed that there are as many acting methods as many actors in this world. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You can categorize roughly, but still I don't think there is one method that can be. And it shouldn't be so. It should not be so. We are the fiddler and we are the fiddler. So we are the instrument. Right. And when we say we as actors, what are we? We are we are people. We are a person and we are not going to be similar to each other. It completely depends on our genetics, our background, how we have grown over the years. We change. We change. Right. We keep on changing. Who we were 10 years ago is different than who we are now. So how can your acting be same? Right. How can your belief in a method be same? Right. It cannot be. And so there cannot be a there can be a broad, you know, kind of generalization. But it is generalization. You cannot just apply it, you know, as it is. Right. And so I have kind of avoided falling in the trap of. Say, naming. Yeah. The method or kind of following a method because there is another aspect to it. What dictates you as an actor is the script. It tells you the script, the role it tells you it dictates you how you should prepare for that particular role. Right. And there cannot be, you know, a whiteboard where I've written for my entire life in my school that number one, you do this number two. No, it cannot be. If I start doing it, of course, I'm not saying that that that is not the way of because for some people that might work. I'm not saying that it cannot work. Yeah. But I have a feeling that if, as you rightly said, if I'm changing as a person, my characters would change. Yeah. And there is a fantastic. If you have time, I'll tell you a small. Absolutely. Yeah, all the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Gulzar Sahib, I used to do this play called Kharash. It was, you know, Colage of Gulzar Sahib's poems and stories and all that. And we did that play for almost 10 years. And I used to perform, I used to tell a story. It was a solo performance of 20, 25 minutes of a story of his. And Gulzar Sahib had seen almost all the shows that we did. You know, he used to be invited for the shows and all that. And he used to love to see that show all the time. And one day after, maybe on the in the eighth year or ninth year of the show, we were traveling from, I think, New Delhi to Mumbai and we were sitting next to each other in the flight. And he said, Atula, I've been watching this story. You know, you performing this story. The story is the same. You are doing it, but it is not the same story story. So what he basically meant was that I was saying the same lines. I was saying exactly the same words. And it was me who was saying it. But still the story, what was there eight years back is not the story that I'm telling now. Right. And I, you know, kept on thinking what he meant and all that. I still remember that moment when both of us were silent for some time. And then I said, Gulzar Sahib, I'm not the same. They are the same words, but I am not the same. Because in the last eight years, I have read things. I have gone through my experience of my life. You know, I have gone through many things. So the understanding of the words or what you have written or what is in between the lines, it cannot be the same. It better would not be the same. It better not be the same. It better not be the same. Because if I'm telling the same thing, then I've not grown as a person or as an actor. And that, I think, was again a moment where because you see you are going through your career, your life and all that, but there are certain moments when you get a chance to reflect and look at your craft from a third perspective. And that was one of those moments. And I mentioned that to a web show director of mine, this incident. And I told him that time that I'm interested in exploring shows, web show, format. Yes, because when I do films, you know, when my director says, OK, for the shot, I'm done. I cannot do anything about it, right? Even if I see the film probably the next year and if I feel that I could have done it differently, I cannot do it. In theatre, like the example that I gave in Kharashe, I can keep on experimenting and I can do that. Web show format is something in between, right? Where, you know, as per the seasons, I, you know, I really hope I get a chance to do a web show which goes for 10 seasons or 11 seasons, like Game of Thrones or something. I really envy those actors that you're working on the same character for 10 years. And it is getting recorded, unlike theatre, because in theatre, it cannot get recorded. But in a web series, it can, it gets recorded. And for 10, 11, 12 years, the same character is growing. And the actors, what a fantastic experience it would be. The differences from first season to the second. And I love the way you described it, because it is the in between. Because the film is done on the day and then you not only don't get to do it again, but it's completely, it's just goodbye forever gone. You do the same show for 10 years. You're getting to experience and evolve and grow with the same text and the same character in the same place, even though you're changing. It's not changing versus in between. The same character could be part of the Do-Hum series. But yeah, that's right. But you keep, you keep growing. Growing, yeah. And with new script. And not only you that is growing, the writers and the writers are growing. And the audiences involved, because you have the influence of how the audiences as react, so they are kind of co-makers, right, of a show, right, of a web show. And that is a fantastic, you know, thing about this format. Oh, yeah. One of the fun things is to go in a show that's been on for a long time, go back to the first season after you've seen the whole thing and see how much it feels like they didn't know their character. Yeah, yeah. Obviously, how much they got to grow with the character, like the office. I'm a big fan of the office. If you go back to watch the first season, everybody's completely different. Right. It feels like they don't know their characters. And the same is true with certain shows where you go back and you realize some shows, it's amazing how much they did know. If you go back, for example, and you watch the first season of the Sopranos, everybody's pretty much locked into those characters the same way they were in the last season, which is a testament to the writing as well. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It is all about writing. The writing, yeah. Well, speaking of writing. Yeah. I'm one of the few, I guess, who was a huge fan. As you know, I mean, I personally, I don't understand why there wasn't more appreciation for Los Encada, particularly when it is a adaptation of Forrest Gump. Yeah. And I understand the writing on that for you was two weeks. It was very quick. Now, had you written before? I mean, this is the first thing you've really been credited for with a writing credit, but had you written things before, even for theater? Yeah. Yeah. So my writing has been very sporadic and very what you call unofficial, right, right. So some poems, some songs, you know, some some articles and all that. So, yes, I have kind of, I've been writing, but not definitely not a screenplay, a full-fledged screenplay, or as we call it in India, story screenplay and dialogue. And dialogue. Right. Yeah, separate. Separate. So, so, so that I had never done before. And even when I started writing, I did not know whether I was going to complete the script or whether I was actually writing a script or not. It was just an attempt to do that. And as I have said in several interviews, you know, it me and Amir, we were talking in a party about the films that we like. And then Forrest Gump came up and we both said, ah, we love that film and all that. And I came back home. Then there was some schedule, which I was going to go for my shoot as an actor and it got cancelled as it often happens back home. And I had 12, 13, 15 free days. And there was this DVD lying there of Forrest Gump. And I had that, you know, conversation fresh in my mind. And I said, oh, I have not watched this film in a long time. Let us watch it. And I started watching it. And after about 10, 15, 20 minutes, how to put it, there were some flashes in my head, which were, which could have been parallels in Indian politics, in Indian social, you know, incidences that had happened. And I kind of thought that, oh, can this be an Indian film? And I, as a person, have been always interested in, in politics, in, you know, social happenings in, in India, all over the world. But, but I have been absorbing it right from when I was a child. Sure. So I paused the DVD and whatever flashes that I had, I started jotting them down. And then after some time, and again, started the film after 15, 20 minutes, again, I had some, then again, I started more jotting down. So I watched the film almost for about 75% of the film I watched. I again went back and I started writing the script for Hindi. And, and because as I said, it is very abstract. It is not that easy to put, I mean, what was in my head, but it was all the interest that I had in the history of my country. It is what was what I was watching. It is the character that I had my had in my mind. And there were certain basic major decisions as a writer that I had already taken in my head as to, for example, this character has to be a Sardar, a Punjabi Sardar. Correct. And what would happen? What, you know, those kind of very important turning points of the script were already in my, in my head. And then I started working on it, writing, and then started, you know, jotting down the years and what happened and all that. So, all that. So everything went simultaneously. And when I, as I said, I didn't know whether I was going to go till the end, you know, I didn't know that, but I started writing, writing, writing, and I went till the last scene. And then I realized, oh, I've written a film. Yeah. And I think that is also because I didn't have any pressure because I was not a professional writer. And no one had come to you and said, we want you to write the Indian Forest Gump. Exactly. Nothing. Right. So I had no pressure. But then when did you think I'm going to show this to Amir? Immediately. Immediately. Immediately. The next day I called him up and I said, I have written a script. And from the time that we had discussed about Forest Gump and the time when I called him up, it was 15 days in between. Wow. And here is a person who is saying that I have written a script. Who's not written a script. Amir was like. Exactly. Amir was like, I've never heard that before. This response was probably, that's nice. And he actually passed it. That's a surprise. He said, oh, yeah. Part of time. Yeah, we'll read it. Very nice. We'll read it. For two years. Not a bad Amir impression. For two years, he did not hear the script. And it's not that we were not meeting. We used to meet. We used to discuss. And whenever I used to ask him, you need to listen to this. We'll do it. We'll do it. It'll be fine. It'll be fine. So ultimately, after about a couple of years, I called him and he was at his farm. Like, look. Which is far away from Mumbai. And I said, Amir, I have now especially called you to ask you, are you, you know, even interested in reading the script? I'm not right. You can say no. That is so probably he felt guilty. And he said, Arjan, he's come. And he said, I said, where are you? He said, I at my farm. So I, here's it. I cast, yes. And I read the script out to him. I finished reading the script. The next, I mean, within two, he sat like that. He looked at me, his the then manager who later on directed the film. Advaith, he was there as well. And he said, Atul, I'm going to act in this film. I'm going to produce this film. He called up his office. He, we have to register the title. He gave instructions in the middle of the night. He said, he booked these titles tomorrow. Lal, Lal Singh, Lal Singh Chadda. I want all three titles, you know, register them. And then the long journey of getting the rights. Right. Right. Oh, I bet that was that must have been an adventure. Another eight years. Oh, that eight years just to finally acquire the rights. Acquire the rights. Yeah, yeah. Eight years, riding, getting a mirror. So actually, yeah, yeah. So after about eight to ten years, we got to find, you know, finally make the film and then COVID happened. And that is Lal Singh Chadda for you. Wow. But you must have known being so being an artist at heart and loving the truth about the art form above all else. You must have really known that even it's, you know, it's that it's that fight you have between I don't want to feel self important or that I feel like I'm that great. But I know I have something here that is of value and has the potential to be really good. You clearly felt strongly enough in what you created that you did not give up. You just knew I have to continue to press. I have to keep asking Amir, because I think if he finally reads this, he's going to see what I see. Yes. Very much. Because I read it to my wife and a couple of other friends because Amir was, you know, kind of postponing the whole thing. And those four or five readings to my friends, that really gave me the confidence. Of course, I kind of, you see, I have been in films, though not as an as a writer, but I have been in film. So you kind of get an idea as to what script is there like with you. Right. So I knew that there is something here and it is, you know, kind of very important. I don't know. I didn't know how good or bad it was, but I knew that it is a very important kind of a document. Let us put it that way. Right. I don't know whether it was going to be a film or not or whatever. It was a very important document is what I felt. And but when a person like Amir gets so convinced that he puts six, seven, eight years in getting the rights, you know, what more conviction do you need? Well, it's for me. I thought it was the most underappreciated film of the year. I really love that film. Obviously, that film did not outside of us and a few others get the reception that I'm sure all of you wanted it to, which was just really shocking. Whether it was COVID or whatever it was, that was quite disappointing. Did that affect you as a writer? Like, did that the fact that it wasn't commercially successful? Regardless of artistically, you probably were very satisfied with it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we all were. We all knew that. Yeah, you should have worked. It's a very hard. It's a lovely film. Yeah, it is. We really enjoyed it. We like the film. Yeah, absolutely. It is it's one of those things for me that I would point to people and say it for an American to see it. It would help if they had some understanding of India, just some because I know there's stuff that even we missed, even though we are so inundated. But it is, it's to me, such a great and that's a really difficult film. Yeah, it's a very American film. It's a very American film. So to take it and do what you did with it, I mean, we really did and always will. I will always sing the praises of love in China. I'm glad you guys are happy. Yeah, yeah, you should be. I hope someday, you know, that's picked up and looked at neutrally and with a different perspective and all that. And I don't know. We love our child. Yeah, very dearly, all of us at the entire unit. And yeah, if it would have been appreciated a little more, we would have been happy. Yeah, of course, of course. I wanted to talk to you about the Marathi industry. Right. We've seen quite including one we just saw, which we loved from last year. I'm going to put a pamphlet on a pamphlet. Yeah, I loved that film. And we saw a Tom. Was that Marathi? No, that was that was Malialum. Sorry. But we've often said Marathi makes such really good content driven films. A lot about obviously theater, very acting driven, story driven, very similar to the Malialum industry, which is a high compliment taking off. Obviously, I think that they've always kind of been content driven. But right now, people are really noticing that the Malialum industry really cares about acting, story and all that. Why don't you think people have kind of done the same thing with the Marathi industry? Because I think, yeah, yeah. Because they make very similar quality films in terms of very content driven acting is great, stories great. Why don't you think that's happened for Marathi like it has for the Malialum industry yet? So according to me, the reasons do not lie in. In the art, there are social, political reasons for it has to be it. In the sense that you see, it is all about how the audience receives an art form. Right. Right. So for example, theater, Marathi theater is so strong still if you open a Marathi newspaper, you will find two full pages of advertisements of Marathi plays. Here, two full pages. I'll show you on my phone. That makes me happy. Today's newspaper, Marathi newspaper. In the South or in the rest of the part of all the states in India, you will not find this kind of phenomena of commercial theater in any other languages. Right. Similarly, as far as cinema is concerned, that culture is, you know, well, well embedded in many of the southern states for cinema. Right. The second thing is that of language. Marathi is very close to Hindi. So when I am a Marathi speaking person, Hindi, I'm not very alien to. I can easily understand Hindi. I speak Hindi in my day to day life. So the kind of entertainment that I'm looking for, I easily get in Hindi cinema. That makes sense. In the South, the languages come. And there are, of course, political reasons as well. Why, you know, there is a certain opposition to Hindi and all that you can read it through, you know. So and those are Dravidian languages. There are completely different. The script is different. Everything is completely different there. Right. So this is about the audience. Because see, when do films become big? When your native audience accepts it in a big way, they first have to become big in their own state or country. You know, and then, of course, then other people because film is the most expensive art. It is the most expensive art. There was a great filmmaker in Marathi who used to say that films are 80 percent business and 20 percent art. Because unless and until you make the business successful, you cannot make art successful because it is it's expensive. You can't start making. It is not like a painting or a writing a poem. You can't do it on a piece of paper. You know, you have to. So that is why the number of audience or the audience becomes very important. The patron becomes very important because you need to have that kind of backing, right? Audience-wise. And as I said, it gets divided if you are doing a film in Marathi or Gujarati or Bhojpuri because all these languages are very close to Hindi. This is my reading, I could be wrong. But as I said, initially, to begin with, it is there are cultural things. It is like asking question to going in the South and asking them that why your theater is not like Marathi theater. Right. There'll be a lot of reasons. Exactly. So why your newspapers don't have, you know, advertisements, two pages full of, you know, theater performances. Yeah. It is like that. So it has got to do with a lot of history, which is, of course, cultural and artistic history, but also political and social history. Yeah. And I think it is that's why it is complex. And I always say that let us compare only Marathi films with Marathi films, which Marathi films came last year or three years back, four years back. And have we moved forward as far as the content is concerned and as far as the number of audience that that comes in, the theater also is concerned. So as far as business is concerned, as far as let us compare only Marathi film with Marathi. Right. It is not right to compare a Marathi film with any of the Southern films and say why, right, because it is a very complex and it is beyond an artist's, you know, purview. Right. It is it is not I can't control the culture. I can't control the history. Yeah. I can't control the politics. Right. So it's it's we can, of course, learn from, say, a Malayalam film as a Marathi filmmaker, we can, of course, learn. But it is completely different when it comes to business and when it comes to spreading it out because it requires money. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. What should we know about what you're doing that we can be aware of, whether it's something new you're doing that we're going to be able to watch as an actor or you're also involved in a lot of things that are not of an acting background. You've worked with you have an organization that you've been president of where you worked with underprivileged children. Other things you've done that involve the the planet and green space. So what are some things that you'd like all over the stupid family as we were loving to call them to know about that we can be aware of that would be important for you to say, hey, this is what I'd love you to know. Yeah. So just a couple of days back, Amazon India has announced Bandish Bandits season two. Right. So we have in one. We need to see season one. So we have finished filming for it and it will be out soon. And it's really a very special show because it's based on Indian classical music, based on music. And there are not many shows in India which are based on classical music or music per se. So that is one thing that that even I am looking forward to. I've just finished a film. It was an old film called a Rukahua Fesla. There was a film which is based on 12 Angry Men. Oh, right. So it was done, I think, maybe 25, 30 years ago. So it's a remake kind of thing of the film. So the same concept, but of course we are doing it in 2023. So 24. So of course, the script is changed. And the but is it the same setting? It's the jurors in the room having the arguments with each other. Yeah. So we don't have jurors in India anymore. So we have done a slight change. And it's a commission kind of a thing and all that. But it's definitely a case and everything is the same. And so great actors like Divya Datta and Devendu and all that, they are there, Neeraj Kabhi. So that is a film which I've worked on recently. And I will be, you know, filming for a very, very big film. But right now I'm not. Got to be quiet. Let's speculate. But it's Shaktimaan. I know what it is. Brahmastra, too. It's one of those two. I know what it is. Wouldn't be funny if I was right, though. I was trying to read. It's not giving it away. No, but it's a project that I'm really looking forward to. It's a great project. Good. Fantastic. I wanted to ask you before we go here and before I get to the last part, who is on a tool? I mispronounce everything. I'm pronouncing your name correctly, right? Yeah. Atul. Atul. Okay. But you don't have the in English. So atul is fine. Apologize. Yeah. I mispronounce everything. I asked Rahul Bose if I was pronouncing his last name correctly. And he was like, yeah, yeah, white boy, it's Bose. Who is on your acting Indian actor, Mount Rushmore? Like, if you had to put, like the actors that you've looked up to that you would consider the greats from any industry. Who would they be for you? I have always felt that there are characters which I would put there rather than actors. Okay. Again, it is not nothing against actors or something, but I have always felt even for myself I cannot be good in all my films. Yeah. I disagree with you. We've only seen you be good. No, but there's times you know, yeah, I did something and that was special. Exactly. That one was special. Like Heath Ledger did a lot of great work, but he knew the Joker was special. Exactly. Exactly. So that's how I look at it, because what happens is that this question is often asked and what we tend to do is take a name or two and then it's a different thing because then probably you are saying that all the characters that they have done. Okay. Got you. So even if you ask any actor, I think he or she would say the same thing about themselves. About themselves. Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, no, that is fine, but this one. Right. So I would, for example, we were talking about Naseer Bhai, but his character in the film Mandi, it is called Tungru's, a Shyam Benegal film. I don't think we've seen that. Yeah. So it's a very old film. Is it Hindi? Very old film, must be in the 80s when I was in college. So it was probably 83, 84, 1984 kind of film, 1985 kind of film. I mean, it is not a lead character or something like that. But I love that role that Naseer Bhai has played. I love Omji, Om Puri in a film called Sparsh. Naseer Bhai has actually the lead. But what Omji has done, of course Naseer Bhai has done, again, one is not saying that this guy likes the Debra. No, of course, yeah, it's not like, yeah, yeah. But what one and it is very personal. Let me tell you that that it again depends, like we said, as to what stage I was in, how I was looking at the art, you know, all those things matter. But there are certain things which get embedded in your mind and in your imagination that you keep on, you know, going back to those roles, like Omji. I loved him in Pa. Yeah, we haven't even seen that one. No, that's none of the three that you've talked about. Yeah, Pa was one that we just, yeah, we haven't seen that one yet. Yeah. So and see, again, there are, there are a lot many things that Mr. Amitabh Bachchan doing Pa, you know, there are a lot many things that go behind it. And I think there is nothing like good or bad acting. I don't think it is so relative, so relative. Because, like, especially in a country like India, if we take a cross section of the entire audience, you have so many layers depending on the educational, cultural, you know, backgrounds, economical backgrounds. How is your cultural choice going to be the same in a country like India? It cannot. It cannot be. It is going to depend on your educational, your economical background of generations. So, so my definition of acting is going to be completely of good acting. It's going to be completely different from any other person, depending on the region, depending on the social strata, depending on the economical strata. So educational, you know, things. So my cultural choice and you cannot say that this cultural choice is better than the other cultural choice. You cannot say that because the conditions were not the same. And that's why I think that it becomes so, so, so very personal and subjective that answering these questions, they mislead. And that is why I avoid sure answering this question. Sure. So sorry about that. No, no, you understand. You articulated it very well. Naseer, Amitabh and Om Puri are the roles. Yeah, they're roles, not necessarily true. Well, example, a tool thinks they're all bad actors. I will, you know, people know how I feel about Daniel DeLewis. I, for me, I adore Daniel DeLewis. The guy for my left foot. Yeah. But I will be the first one to tell you he's not always done good work, yeah, even though he does spectacular work. Yeah, there's certain roles that are for me. And it's I agree with you in that extent, because for many actors or actresses, I may love their work, but there are very particular roles that mean more to me. And same thing with films. Like I said, about Natchron, that film will already mean more to me because it's about theater. Yeah. Then a movie about race car driving. Got it. It immediately has a gravitation for me in my heart because it's about theater. And I'm not naturally going to be more inclined to like that and then add to it. Maybe I'm at a place in my life right now where I'm more desperate to be in the world of acting. So it resonates even more. True, true. It's extreme subjective. Very subjective. And that's why I don't really like to simplify because they're more complex. And especially if you are an actor yourself, I think one should avoid. When you know that it is so complex. Sure. If someone asks me, I know how difficult it will be for me to name it. Is there an actor or actress you've yet to work with that you would just love to do a scene with? All of them. All of them. Because everyone has peculiarity. And it is so lovely. We are in such a blessed field. You know, what else do you need? You get to interact with people. You get to interact with characters. You get to tell stories. It's such a great thing. And how can I not work with anyone who is willing? And I'm not only talking about actors. That is another point. There are non-actors who give you so much suddenly. Because once you're in the profession and once you kind of trained officially or unofficially, there is a certain, you know how it is. Certain things come. As a given. But when you are a non-actor, you have no boundaries. And suddenly they give you certain reactions and certain lines which may be a very professional actor working for 40 years cannot give you. So that's why I say that experience, let us put it that way. That any kind of experience which gives me that high or that learning which has almost everyone in this world, right from a dog. You've not worked with a lot of really good actors before. Taboo, Nasir, KK Menon. You've not worked with a lot of good ones. You reminded me of something. Orson Wells said that when he was asked about how he did Citizen Kane. And how did he think of those things? And this was later in his career. Because he said, I didn't know better. I didn't know I couldn't do those things. Got it. So I just, he should have done it more interesting. That movie is so boring. I do not get the hype. I get the hype of the other classics going with the way in The Godfather. In the context of the time. Citizen Kane. In the context of the time. Is a way better movie than Citizen Kane. No, in the context of the time. Now you know why there's a name people are movies. That's right. This is. That's right. That's right. Yeah, but. Everybody justified. Yes. Right. Yeah. Everyone is justified. So I want to end this off even though I know you hate it with some rapid fire. I saw that you said an interview that you hate it so I'm going to do it anyway. Did that really happen? Yes. Okay, great. Here we go. You're stuck. Luckily they're all stupid questions. So it's nothing important. No, they won't. First off, coffee or chai. What do you like? Ah, coffee. Coffee. Thoughts on Hajmola? Hajmola? Oh, I never had to take one. Really? We've got some. Yeah, I very famously tried Hajmola and said it tasted like Satan's asshole. That's true. You did say it. That's not good. I already asked you that. A Marathi food that we should try. Yeah. Because we haven't actually had it very much. That is cooked by me. Yeah. Is it a sweet or what is it? No, it just means anything. Is it you? Yes. It's cooked by me. I had asked him about where's it, you know, any places that he knows of in LA and where we could get Marathi food. He said, yeah, me. I'm in. What would you cook us though? Yeah. Well, it's the first Marathi food. No, no, like I don't know anything. I don't know any Marathi food. We had a thali and deli of something from each. Yeah. Is that Marathi? At the restaurant. It was. Yeah. So again, when you say Marathi food, it is like, as I said, we are like Europe. So when we say Maharashtra or Marathi food, there is no single Marathi food because there are so many parts in Maharashtra. So one needs to be very particular about which food, which coastal Maharashtrian food is different. You know, northern Maharashtrian food like Vidarbha or that is a completely different food. In the western Maharashtra food. Then again, there is another layer in India to all these things when it comes to food or culture. Is there a food that it's known for at all? Like Assamese's momos or something like that. Right? Like northeastern Maharashtra. It is about Indian society's caste based. So every caste has different, you know, way of making the same thing. So if someone says that Maharashtra or Marathi food so we call something like Puranpoli. It is generally said that Puranpoli is Maharashtrian food. So it's kind of a roti or kind of a bread, you can say, which is a sweet. Flaky tortilla. Sweet bread. Right. Didn't we have that when we played Holi? Yeah, that was the bread we ate after we played Holi. Yeah, yeah. It is made in the times of Holi. But there are so many ways of making that. Using jaggery, using sugar, using different. So it's just not like naan. No, right. There's garlic naan in regular naan. Right. Yeah, so interesting. It's different just like accents. It's just different with each region. Exactly. So there is dhangari mutton, for example. It came to my mind. Mutton is mutton, the goat meat. So dhangar is a particular Mutton sounds better. Particular profession as well as caste. So they are chef words. So the way they make mutton, it is also Maharashtrian food. Like puranpuri, for example. Pudanpuri. So puranpuri. Yeah, that's fun. But you're going to make us food. I'll make some food. So we have Shreya Gosho making us. She promised that. She would make us Bengali food. Vir Das promised us a beer. Beer. So now you have to make us your food. I can't wait for all the food that we're going to have. I've seen this bengal bharta is very popular. Bengal bharta. Bengal bharta. So it is a brinjal, what you crush, brinjal and... Brinjal? Brinjal. Yeah, egg plant. But I noticed that you don't get the same kind of egg plants. No, large egg plants. You can... There's certain stores you can get those kind of egg plants from, but they're not Ralph's, Vaughn's, the standard grocery stores. Those are big ones. We got big egg plants here, no big deal. Same thing with our onions. Our onions are very different. Yeah. They're not the little small... No. You get them sometimes in Indian stores. We like to put steroids in our food here, no big deal. So this is very interesting because when I decided to come to LA and try my hand at, you know, auditioning and getting all that and all that, this experiment, one of the reasons was that because I had cooked maybe when I had come to Mumbai, that was in 92, you know, 93, 94 kind of stuff. After that, when I started getting work, I have never cooked in India. For almost 20, 25 years, I never cooked. 95. Yeah, I came to Mumbai in 95. So after that, 96, 97, probably I must have cooked. But then in India, we have great cooks who can come home and do that. Our cook is with us for the last 18 years, 19 years. The same for my wife was that she had never cooked though she came to America because there was a cook. There was a cook. Yeah. Still never cooked in America. Yeah. But that was one of my missions to go and get groceries and, you know, cook. So yeah, I'll cook for you. I'm looking forward to it. This was a very rapid fire. This was a slow rapid fire. You did that on purpose. A favorite Shakespeare play? Hamlet. Hamlet, yeah. And who are some of the Hollywood actors that you admire? You don't have to say one, just some of the ones. Or roles from Hollywood films that have impacted your life. The sides force come. Yeah. Because we know that one. But any particular roles from a Hollywood film that you as an actor, just you love those roles? A Scarface. Mr. Yeah, Pacino. Pacino. That role, the film, per se, I think, I have seen Godfather the first part many times. And there is something special about that film. I don't know. I mean, there are certain films that you just should watch and should not talk about them. Right. You know, it's because there is so much being talked. And but all the performances in that. The every performance. Right from the person who is mumbling, sitting outside the bench, the very first scene in the marriage. And I have read about it that how that was not an actor. Yeah, he was not an actor. Not an actor. He was someone who had been sent to, you know, from the underworld. He was part of the mafia who had been sent to set to make sure that Coppola is going to do this the right way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that is what I was talking about, a non-actor. And can you ever imagine that he's not an actor? No, they have used it because he gets that note. And he says, yeah, they're done. Colione, I'm so honored to be at your daughter's wedding. Yeah, yeah. Such a. Yeah, so good. And that is why this medium is amazing because you just cannot, you know. So, yeah, every, every character, every, my new test character from Godfather, for example. Boof. Yeah. Yeah, I agree with you. Yep. Well, thank you for that fiery rapid. Yes, that was our most rapid, rapid. It was lovely talking to you. We've wanted, obviously we've been talking to you via text or Instagram for quite a while now. I'm so glad we finally got to, especially in person. Thank you so much for being the first one to be in the lair. It was absolutely wonderful talk. We always love talking to actors and artists. It's always good to talk craft with somebody as talented as yourself. So thank you so much for coming. Thank you. Thank you so much for my first ever interview in Los Angeles. No. Yeah. No. Yeah. Take that. How are those students? Really, Gern? How is that possible? I'm genuinely shocked by that. But I'm really happy, so thank you so much for that. Wow. Thank you. Well, no, thank you. When we started the channel, we started it because first and foremost, we're actors and we love this art form. And the most amazing thing for us among all the things that happened, because there's so many wonderful things that have happened because of the channel, but the honor we've had to talk to so many artists and our conversations are always about craft. And you get to hear each, like talking with you brings a richness that is very different than, say, talking to Rahul Bose, who brings his own richness to the conversation, who when we spoke to Prabhu Deva, it's his own perspective on artistry. But the main thing is that, thankfully, everybody we talk to and who have come to the channel are people who are like us who adore artistry. And we, like I said, we say the truth. We were impressed with you the moment we first saw you like the rest of the world was, and hey, Rahm, please keep us updated on everything because you're the kind of actor that when we see you're involved in something, it immediately excites us and makes us want to see it because you're in it. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah. Thanks a lot. Even though it's different than Prabhu Deva, you're just as good of a dancer. People don't know that. Prabhu Deva are two... Please don't say that to Prabhu, sir. He'll leave dancing. So much. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.