Shreyas Talpade: It’s Sunny Deol who suggested I direct Poster Boys!

After proving his mettle as one of the most popular comedy stars of Bollywood, actor Shreyas Talpade has wielded the directorial baton for the film Poster Boys. Making a directorial debut with a comedy film is not a cakewalk, but Talpade’s immense experience, which he gained after starring in numerous comic capers over years, came handy. Eastern Eye recently caught up with the actor-turned-director to talk about his film and his thoughts behind taking up an unconventional subject and how could he imagine Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol in their respective roles.

Poshter Boyz was a huge success in Marathi. What kind of major changes did you introduce in its Hindi version, titled Poster Boys?

Nothing major! There were some minor changes in the characters, though, certain things that I felt should have been revamped and changed. Few scenes and sequences that I feel were being dragged; I tried to make them crispier and compact. The Marathi one is based in Maharashtra, the Hindi version is based in North India. In terms of characters, Dilip Prabhavalkar's character was played by Sunny Deol. His character was slightly older and here he is a little younger keeping Sunny Deol's age in mind. He plays a retired army officer. Besides that, the core story remains the same and we have kept that intact. It would have been stupid on my part if I had brought in changes in the story.

Will the audience get to see the same humour in the Hindi version too?

Absolutely! In fact, we have made it more humorous.

Did you narrate the whole story to the actors or you showed them the original film?

The writer Bunty Rathod and I went to narrate the whole story to Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol.

 Did you become the director of the film by choice or was it accidental?

We did not have any director on board. When I narrated the story, Sunny Deol liked the way I put forth the whole story before him. He was the one who suggested that I direct the film as he felt that I was very clear about what I wanted. I wanted to direct a short film and then may be a couple of years later I thought about directing a full-fledged film. He said that he could see the entire film and so he wanted me to give it a try. He said that I would have a technical team besides me. I gave it a thought and even my friends said that when he is confident about it why do I worry about it and there is no point in getting scared about it. So that's how it happened.

How was it to work with the Deols and how did they come on board?

Parag Desai (PR Professional) was the one who was instrumental in getting things done. Coming to the story, I always had Sunny Deol in mind. Someone rightly said that you know James Bond for being him and then you see his picture on a poster promoting vasectomy. He (Sunny Deol) is the eternal he-man and mard of the industry. Suddenly, we come and say "Unki toh humne nasbandi karva di". You have that bewildered look on everyone's faces. So that was one thought and that's the reason I wanted to do it with him. One more reason is that the kind of credibility he gets to a particular subject is immense. People have known him for the last thirty-five years. With Sunny Deol in the film, people expect a nice family entertainer because the subject is sensitive and related to vasectomy. I wanted all those apprehensions to go away. With them, in the film, it will definitely be a nice, clean and family entertainer.

How did you go about with the idea behind the poster where Sunny Deol, known for his "the dhai kilo ka haath" is shown as "pau kilo ka haath"?

The myth around vasectomy is that when one gets operated he loses his power and becomes weak. That is the reason it is considered as an embarrassment for people. Suddenly, the hale and healthy man is considered useless. Considering this, we came up with the idea of the poster.

What kind of workshops did you do for the actors?

I did a lot of workshops with Bobby Deol and I didn't dare to ask Sunny Deol about it. In fact, when I narrated the story, Bobby Deol was the one who suggested we do workshops as he had to speak chaste Hindi in the movie. That made it easier as I was about to suggest the same to him. He took the initiative and said that “I will do it.” We did workshops for about 10-12 days. We would start with Gayatri Mantra so that his tongue becomes a little lighter and he could mouth all his lines properly.

Who came up with the idea of the recreation of the song "Oye Hoye Kudiyaan Sheher Di"?

It's in the beginning of the film which sets the tone and mood of the movie. That is where the actual case happens. It's a fair song where all the three protagonists go and that's where they click these pictures which you see on the vasectomy poster. Sony Networks suggested the idea and said why don't we recreate one of Sunny Deol's hit tracks. Then we came across this number. It was a high voltage kind of a song that set the tempo. After selecting the song, I said to Sunny Paji that he would have to dance. He was like, “Yes, don't worry I will give my best.” But on the day of the shoot, he saw the steps and said: "I will just go to the van and come back." He said, “I am not feeling well and I am not dancing.” I said, “You are not going to run away from dancing. So Ganesh Master showed him the steps. He did it once and everybody clapped it and so he was like "Dekha sab ko pasand aaya.”

There was a cameo of an actor in the Marathi version. Do we see the same in the Hindi version too?

Yes, you do but I can't reveal and as it's a surprise. There is a dear friend who is doing it.

Are you stressed about box office numbers of the Hindi version?

Definitely, I would be lying if I say no. There are certain things you have no control over and there is no point stressing about it. There is pressure as the Marathi version was a hit but, at the same time, we have given our best. Once it comes out it's all up to the audiences whether they like it or not. There is so much we can do as filmmakers and beyond that audience will decide.

Poster Boys, featuring Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Shreyas Talpade as leads, is running successfully in cinemas.