Packing A Punch!

Team Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 — producer Abhishek Pathak, director Luv Ranjan and lead actors Kartik Aaryan, Nushrat Bharucha, Omkar Kapoor, Sonalli <g data-gr-id="199">Sehgall</g>, Sunny Singh Nijjar and Ishita Sharma– in conversation with Team Box Office India.

Luv Ranjan (LR): On the contrary, before PKP released, our producer Abhishek (Pathak) had already predicted the numbers. And the first part almost lived up to that figure, which we missed only by a couple of lakhs. But, yes, expectations from this film are higher than they were for the first part, as our first film only started growing at the end of the first week.

LR: When PKP released, we realised that people loved the film, especially the young male actor (Kartik Aaryan). So the demand for a sequel came from the audience. They wanted to see more of these characters. But I wasn’t prepared for a sequel at the time. You can’t work on a sequel unless you come up with a far better idea. So I started working on Akaash Vani and other ideas and, developed the idea of PKP 2 after Akaash Vani. But I was not sure whether I should go ahead with it or not as it didn’t seem exactly what I wanted. I locked the idea after a few brainstorming sessions. Commercially, it made great sense. Today, whether in the West or in India, franchise films make sense because we have a set audience for them. It’s one of those formulas that can be considered safe today because you can predict how much the film will earn, give or take a little. So they are less risky compared to the first instalment.

Abhishek Pathak (AP): Also, when the trailer of PKP 2 released, we received a humongous response. It was much better than we expected, and the college-going crowd was very excited. There was a demand in the market for PKP 2, which made us think about the sequel.

LR: Yes, people still remember the characters by name. But there was a time when I wondered whether to continue with the same characters or create new ones. I was leaning towards continuing with the same characters till I finally figured out why people liked the first part. It was because the actors were new and you met them for the first time. They surprised you. It is very rare that the characters in a sequel are able to surprise you as much as they did in the first part. You invariably feel shortchanged when it comes to sequels. So I took a call to change the characters. After that, there was casting. I have a standard answer to why I didn’t change the girl – there is a saying that the devil never changes! (Laughs) I would have honestly not changed anyone. But the girls in the first part didn’t have a very strong image in terms of characters, so there was no question of surpassing them. But that fear arose in the case of the boys, so there was a desire to change the male characters. I would have changed all three but it’s his (Kartik Aaryan) third film with me and he looks very different from how he looked in part one. I also wanted recall value. He does the monologue quite well and I needed someone to pull that off as well.

LR: (Laughs)

Nushrat Bharucha (NB): This is my third film with Luv and I didn’t have to audition. But we did script tests, where we did readings so that he got an idea about whether I suited the role or not. Then there were look tests.

LR: I just wanted to see how they looked. Acting <g data-gr-id="201">toh</g> <g data-gr-id="202">mujhe</g> <g data-gr-id="203">pata</g> <g data-gr-id="204">tha</g> <g data-gr-id="205">kisi</g> ko <g data-gr-id="206">aati</g> <g data-gr-id="207">nahin</g>. (Laughs)

Kartik Aaryan (KA): Mujhe <g data-gr-id="208">toh</g> <g data-gr-id="215">bas</g> office <g data-gr-id="209">bulaya</g> <g data-gr-id="210">gaya</g> <g data-gr-id="211">aur</g> <g data-gr-id="212">kaha</g> ki <g data-gr-id="213">yehpicture</g> <g data-gr-id="214">karni</g> hai.

LR: (Cuts in) Full stop <g data-gr-id="178">tha</g> ya question mark <g data-gr-id="179">tha</g>?

KA: (Laughs) Luv, you told me I had to do it and I said ‘yes’. This is my third film with Luv. It’s always fantastic working with the team.

Omkar Kapoor (OK): Our casting director Vicky Sidana called me to meet Luv sir. At the time, I had no idea what the film in question was. The script was explained to me and we did a few look tests. He wanted to see if I suited the character Thakur or not. But even after all those meetings, I didn’t know whether I was actually doing the film or not because I had not signed on the dotted line. I even attended his birthday party. One day, I called Vicky and asked what was happening with PKP 2 and he said that I would be doing it. I was shocked because no one had actually told me. Vicky said, ‘Party <g data-gr-id="216">mein</g> <g data-gr-id="217">bulaya</g> <g data-gr-id="218">tha</g> <g data-gr-id="219">na</g>, <g data-gr-id="220">wahi</g> confirmation call <g data-gr-id="221">tha</g>.’

Ishita Sharma (IS): I guess casting was the most challenging part of the film because the first part had become a cult and everyone remembers the actors. I got this role by luck as someone else had been chosen for the part. So I joined them in the midst of a workshop. To be honest, I had to convince Luv sir that I could play Kusum. I am the kind of person who can make 50 different expressions in one single minute but, for this role, he wanted someone serious. So I kept showing him my work. Through the workshops and reading sessions before we went on the floors, he was finally convinced that I could play Kusum.

LR: As I mentioned earlier, the first part didn’t have much for the girls to do, so I <g data-gr-id="240">thought</g> let’s keep the devils! (Laughs)

Sonalli <g data-gr-id="195">Sehgall</g> (SS): I was brought on board to play Kusum because in PKP, I played the glamorous and modern Rhea. In this film, Kusum’s character is close to Rhea’s but then Luv asked me to do a few more look tests and auditions. Then he thought I was a better fit as Supriya in PKP 2. She is family oriented and for her, parents are everything. 

Sunny Singh Nijjar (SSN): I play a character very close to who I am in real life. In fact, when Luv sir saw me, he said that my character was exactly like me and that’s how I bagged the film.

SS: But, to be honest, we did a year-long workshop and script readings. It’s just not the couples’ chemistry but also the friends’ chemistry which needs to be seen on screen and I believe it all came out well because of that one year.

LR: Very true. We were working on the script, so in the meantime, we did workshops with these 

actors so that each one understood what their characters were all about. In those days, they had their names saved in their mobile phones as their respective characters’ names. They used to also address each other by their <g data-gr-id="194">reel</g> names. The film  is about love relationships but it is also about how your male friends stand by you. It was thus very important to show male bonding.

KA: During that one year, we started living as those characters. This was very important to be able to play the characters. Also, the role I play in PKP 2 is very different from the one I played in the first part. Luv sir wanted to make sure that the actors he was repeating don’t look stale. The sequel has a new story, new characters, and, yes, the devil remains the same but in a new way. From 2011 to 2015, the youth <g data-gr-id="235">have</g> changed, relationships have changed and girls have started behaving differently.

AP: Luv is not all that old; he just looks old. (Laughs)

LR: My writers Rahul and Varun and are 25 years old. So, through them, I stay connected to the current generation. Girls don’t change and neither do relationship problems; it’s the situations that change. For instance, they didn’t have phones earlier; then phones came in; followed by mobile <g data-gr-id="226">phones; and</g> now we have social networking sites. As a director, I kept everything in mind when I wrote the script. Also, when I wrote PKP, I was 27 but now I am 30-plus but my writers are 25 years old. So I have kept in touch with the trends through them. Besides, the feel of the film is Delhi and I hail from Ghaziabad.

AP: We have grown together. The day PKP released, we knew would work onPKP 2. Luv is very clear about what he wants to make. I have seen so many writers and directors who don’t know what they are writing as they are not knowledgeable enough to work on the material they are attempting to write. But Luv is clear that he only attempts scripts he is familiar with. For instance, he talks about the youth as he is connected to them. And to be convincing enough, he had a young <g data-gr-id="241">script writer</g> in his team, to make sure the language he was using in the script was accurate. So he looks at the details. 

Also, he takes his time to work on a script and it will not go on the floors till he is confident about it. Many directors start rolling, whether ready or not, only because they have the actors’ dates and producers are prepared to invest. Luv is not like that and he doesn’t mind waiting. As for these actors, they have also grown over the years. Now they understand camerawork and how important it is to be prepared.

KA: Very close, we know how to handle a girl but at one point we all lose our temper.

OK: I am very silent in real life and even the character I play is like that.

LR: Yes, he has grown and evolved as a human being too. PKP was our first film and we were both finding our way and learning new things. But he produced a few more films and learnt the tricks of the trade. Because PKPwas a new start, with newcomers, the budget was low but with PKP 2, we went bigger. The budget is bigger because Abhishek was confident of the film from the very first day. He knows the returns will be higher as we set a benchmark with the first film. Even during the promotions, he made sure the film reached out to a wider audience. That’s why the star cast is going all out to promote the sequel.

AP: All I am waiting for now is support from the audience. I hope we live up to their expectations.

LR: I hope the audience connects with the characters this time too.

KA: I hope I get more films after this one releases! (Laughs)

NB: Same here.

SS: I hope the audience loves our film and that it has recall value.