It’s Better To Be A Villain

PREM CHOPRA tells JYOTHI VENKATESH

Today is the veteran actor Prem Chopra’s 85^th birthday. To wish him a happy birthday, we atbollyy.com and Mayapuri, reproduce this rare old interview of PREM CHOPRA by JYOTHI VENKATESH which appeared first in the now defunct evening Free Press Bulletin dt July, 17, 1976, exactly 44 years ago.

The day I met Prem Chopra for this interview at the Natraj studios where he was shooting for producer-director Pramod Chakraborty alias Chakkida on the sets of Dream Girl, he was eager to see his latest film Mehbooba, in the evening at the Navrang preview theatre. To provoke him to give me a good copy, I asked Prem Chopra whether he would be noticed in a film in which the focus was on Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini. As I really had expected, he retorted, “Not only will I be noticed, but also take it from me, I will be the highlight in the film. Some of my friends in the industry who have seen the trial held earlier have vouchsafed for this. Just wait and see when the film is released”.

Prem Chopra has this habit of doing his homework for every assignment that he takes up. “The trouble with our producers is that most of them do not give me the script and the dialogues in advance in order to enable me to undertake an in-depth study of my character. Take for instance Chakkida. He is a good friend of mine. Yet he gave me the dialogues I rendered just now, only today morning. Tell me where is the time for me to prepare myself for the role in such cases? Before I could shoot my next question, came a call to Prem Chopra from the office of producers Mushir and Raiz informing him that the trial show of Mehbooba supposed to be held in the evening was cancelled. No wonder, I thought aloud, for Rajesh Khanna and Shakti Samanta had scooted to Lonavla in the afternoon after shooting Anurodh, in order to see Shaktida’s farm there.

Prem is disappointed.”I was so eager to see the film you see. It is one of the challenging roles that I have done in my career. I play a villain no doubt, but with a purpose. In the film, Hema Malini and I are betrothed and just when we are about to marry, Rajesh Khanna comes to our basti and snatches Hema away from me. It is a case of re-incarnation. He says “In his previous birth he was a classical musician in the court of the King where Hema was a dancer. They were in love in the earlier birth. I protest against his act of weaning Hema away from me after we are engaged and order, as the leader of the gypsy tribe, to punish Rajesh. Meanwhile a scuffle ensues and in the process Madan Puri, who plays my father in a brief role, shoots at me and I die. It is a sympathetic character the audience can never forget. The costumes were designed as per my instructions on the basis of the character, I had seen in a Western movie sometime ago.”

I do a foolish mistake. That is I ask him how many assignments he had at the moment. He goes on non-stop, Ram Balram, Azaad, The Great Gambler, Shaaka, Kasam Khoon Ki, Des Pardes, Phandebaaz,Paapi, Paapi Devta, Imaan Dharam, Rangeela , Lagaam, Tyaag, Bairaag, Dream Girl, Dhoondy’s next! I say stop it and tell what made him take up a role as Shabana Azmi’s father in Dhoondy’s next film. “Look here. An actor is one who is able to interpret and live any role whatsoever in the most realistic manner. His mannerisms should be able to convey the character he is portraying. You should live the character and not live yourself as some of our superstars. That is why I accepted the role as Shabana’s father.Vinod Khanna plays the hero in that film and I play a bad man turned good man in the end, a sort of character who is obsessed with the idea of making more money.

“I do not mind tackling any kind of role. I have always kept on introducing changes in my roles. Like I did comedy cum villainy in Do Jasoos and Chupa Rustom. There should be variety in an actor’s performance. Otherwise the audience is bound to get bored of him. If I had repeated myself in film after film, today I would not have lasted. I have always infused life into the characters I portray”.

I ask Prem if he still nurses a desire in his heart to become a hero in films. “Be practical yaar. My time has gone. I cannot become a hero. I have no regrets because an actor gets more scope as a character than as a hero. For in our Hindi films the hero is more often stereotyped. Today, people no longer give more importance to the leading man at the cost of any other actor in the same film. In Kala Sona, it was me and not Feroz Khan who proved to be the repeat value of the film.”

Prem Chopra says that after Barood, he has stopped accepting guest roles. “Chakkida promised me that he would mention that my role in Barood is a guest appearance like in Bobby, but I was shocked when the film was released not to find my name in the guest list. As a result people tend to think that I have become so bekaar that I even agree to do a chota mota role like the one I did in Barood. It might not have affected Chakkida, but it certainly affects my career. Hence in future I have decided not to agree to do roles for friendship sake at the cost of my career.”

I ask Prem Chopra about his views on sex and violence in films.”All over the world sex and violence are predominant factors. But they should not be stretched to vulgarity. The presentation should be subtle like in Raj Kapoor’s films. Action is very important in today’s context because violence is included in order to thrill the masses and elicit mass involvement. Now that the censors have come down heavily on both, let’s hope they make better films now”.

Do you have any plan to act in any art film? I prod Prem. He shoots back. “You cannot make an art film just to satisfy your ego. Film making is a profession. It’s not gambling. According to me there is no meaning to an art film. Some pseudos in the film industry have falsely labeled a motley group of filmmakers who specialize in making such shoe-string budget films as art filmmakers. I would rather stick to commercial films than take up  any art film.”

As a parting shot, I ask Prem what the secret of his success as a villain is, in spite of stiff competition from new comers like Amjad Khan, Ranjeet and Danny. He flashes his characteristic smile and quips, “I am above politics and have hence no ‘campbazzi’. That’s precisely the reason why I am a successful actor today.”