No Holds Barred

Vineet Kumar Singh (VKS): It was very good.

Zoya Hussain (ZH): It was fun. We were like horses wearing blinders for such a long time. The film was doing the festival circuit and being praised by all. People really liked it. We have never heard anyone say anything negative about it. We were not very sure what to expect but the blinkers have come off now and a whole other world has opened up for us. It's exciting.

VKS: Before the theatrical release, before even the trailer and the songs came out, we watched the movie with the audience at various festivals. The reaction was amazing. There was a second screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, and after it ended, there was an elderly, foreign couple waiting to talk to us about it. We were in a hurry to leave because we had a flight to catch but we did manage to speak to them and the things they told us about the film, about how they felt after watching it, were just amazing. It was very new for me because I did not expect the film would be loved by this age group as well. I was aware that it would resonate with youngsters and kids but ye reaction kamaal ka tha. And then it was shown here at MAMI. The appreciation we received here, in Mumbai, the way people were cheering and hooting at the screen, made me incredibly happy.

BOI: Do these positive reviews affect your headspace before the movie releases in cinemas across the country?

VKS: Absolutely. It is like when you are doing something big, experimenting with something huge, you take a sample audience and show it to them to gauge how they will react to it. Even at the festivals, people who were watching the film could leave whenever they chose to, if they didn't like the movie. When we screened Mukkabaaz at MAMI, there were so many people complaining that they had not got a seat in the theatre. And not one person who had a seat, left the cinema hall mid-way.

ZH: I think Anurag's films have a specific audience but it is so good that the reviews are all positive. This might help people realise that this is quite a universal film and not a typical Anurag Kashyap film. But, yes, it does reflect his attitude and the flavour he gives his films.

VKS: People think that all Anurag sir's films are ridden with expletives etc. But this film doesn't have even one bad word. It doesn't contain alcohol or cigarettes. You can go with your entire family to watch it. The important thing is that this film inspires people.

BOI: Vineet, what made you give up a career in medicine to become an actor?

VKS: I have always wanted to do this. My father is a mathematician and everyone else in my family is also in the academic field. So what I was doing was completely out of the box. When I expressed my desire, the response was a big 'NO'. In medical college, I got some freedom to participate in cultural functions, and I figured that medicine has its own charm but the art of performing attracted me more. Hence, ever since I was a student, I had been trying to find a path for myself, ke kahin se toh koi raasta pade iss field mein aane ka. One of those ways was the talent hunt competition that brought me to Mumbai. The rest is history.

BOI: You have co-written the film, which was actually your idea from the very beginning. Tell us more about how you conceived it.

VKS: (Laughs) It is actually a very long story with a lot of twists and turns. So it kind of started in 2013, when the shooting of Ugly wrapped. After that, I landed small parts in films like Gangs Of Wasseypur and Bombay Talkies. I was offered only roles I was familiar with. In fact, there was a time when I had asked myself whether I had given up a career in medicine for this. At one time, I was plagued by this question. I was trying my best to do something, and there were good movies being made but I wasn't a part of them. So I thought I should change tack and write a story for myself. So the path Sylvester Stallone took worked out for me too.

BOI: And what made you choose this particular theme for your story?

VKS: I have been a national-level basketball player and I have participated in six Nationals. I am familiar with the world of sports. I knew many senior sportspersons for whom things didn't go the way they should have only because they didn't have the right connections. Also, when a sportsman's career shapes up, people start to manipulate him. And when they fail to win the hearts of the officials, their careers stagnate.

I have known a lot of international and national-level players and have seen so many players in the newspapers, posing with medals. And then, one fine day, I see them carrying a box on their heads at the railway station. This shook me up. Also, at one point, I wasn't getting any work and so I decided to write a script for myself. So, along with my sister, who has co-written the film with me, we thought we should approach Anurag sir, but we didn't. He had told me at the premiere of Ugly, that since he had already worked with me in three films, he did not want to make any other film with me.

I met people for more than two years but they either wanted to cast someone else in the lead or they wanted me on board only as a writer. But I had written this film so that I could act in it; I couldn't have someone else playing the lead role. Finally, I went to Anurag sir, to pitch the film to his company. A short while later, I got a call from him, where he said he wanted to direct the film himself and that he wanted me to be a part of it.

But Anurag sir had two conditions – he didn't want to make the film if I didn't become a boxer; and he wanted the liberty to change the script if he felt he needed to. I was happy but the challenge was how much I would have to unlearn because Anurag sir improvises a lot.

BOI: Zoya, how did you become Sunaina Mishra in Mukkabaaz?

ZH: I have known Anurag for a while. I have a background in theatre and had done this experimental movie called Three And A Half Takes, which went to the Kerala Film Festival. Incidentally, Anurag had produced that film. That's how we connected. He had praised my acting skills and said he wanted to work with me. I didn't take him seriously but he sent me this story and I absolutely loved it, even at the script level. It is such a cool part. But I wasn't sure whether he just wanted my opinion on the script or whether he wanted me to act in it. I kind of didn't get back to him on it, so he scolded me for not taking it seriously. That's how I realised that he wanted me to act in it. And that's how I got to be a part of this amazing film.

BOI: You play a character who cannot speak. What were the challenges you faced while playing this role?

ZH: To start with, sign language, of course. I really did want to learn it from scratch. It was a difficult part to play. Sunaina, as a character, is so strong, so self-assured that there was no way I could have done it with the kind of authenticity that I wanted to do it with, without learning sign language.

BOI: Can you tell us about your upcoming projects?

VKS: I have acted in GOLD with Akshay sir (Kumar). It will be releasing on August 15. I also have a few things that are in process.

ZH: The films I have done prior to this movie, especially the independent films, will keep doing the rounds at festivals and will release on Netflix soon. One of these is The Color Of Loss by Akash Bhatia.