The Masked Man Raj Kundra launches the trailer of his first film and his biopic UT69

Shilpa Shetty's husband Raj Kundra, was surrounded by controversies with some salons, and was seen wearing a mask in the last two salons, on this special occasion where he had reached for his trailer launch, Raj Kundra wore a mask for the audience. He took off the scarf which he had been wearing for the last two years. This film UT69 is his biopic.

Question- Today when you are facing the media and the whole world, what do you have to say about it?

Raj- I'm back

Question- How difficult was it to face people wearing this mask?

Secret: When I wore this mask, I wore it exactly because of pain. This media trial was very painful. And the media trial was more painful than my real case trial. I am not blaming you, you were doing your work, but because of the trouble I felt, I wore a mask because I did not want to be spotted anywhere, did not want to be seen anywhere. I already have a star at home, and suddenly my mask also became a star. I got a chance to make this film, and I decided that I would take off this mask only when my film was released. This is a true story, this is just the story of what I went through, and this is not just my story, this is a story about people, emotions, and relationships, and I hope that when you watch this film, you will find that Will be fun to watch.

Question- What do you have to say about the love and praise you are getting right now?

Raj- Thank you, I know there are some people who have faith in me and the system, as I have faith. Right now the case is going on in court, I have full faith in the law, and the truth will come out soon. It was painful when you had not done anything wrong and you had to go through such a situation. My family also suffered a lot due to this, you can say whatever I want to say, don't say anything to my wife and children, and they have done you no harm.

Question- Was it difficult to find a Director for this film because Farah Khan backed out, so which Director was finalized?

Raj- Although there is only one hero in this film, the real hero of the film is not me, it is my Director Shahnawaz Ali Bhai.

Question- Whenever someone's biopic is made, its actor is someone else, Raj Kundra himself is in this film, so didn't both of you get any idea of casting someone else?

Director- Called many times, but no one picked up, and no one was ready to do the film, this was our last option. Raj wasn't sure he could do it, but I had full faith in him that he could, and he even did method acting after going to jail (funny way). This was our first and last option.

Question: Tell us something about this poster.

Raj- This was only for the poster because everyone sleeps like this in jail. There is a barrack where 50 people can sleep, but 250 people used to sleep in it in the jail. That's why I am saying that this story is not just mine, it is that of people who get stuck in the system. Hopefully, a message will be sent from the film, and India's situation will improve in the future.

Question- Whatever we saw on screen, Raj has personal experience, but how do you and the writer know so much?

Director: He told me in detail. By the way, the writer of the film has also gone once.

Question- We saw the trailer, the film is based on a very emotional story, but it is shown in a very comical manner, why did you make the decision to show it in a comical manner?

Raj- When you take a British citizen to jail, the food and accommodation there, it is very difficult. Whatever is shown in the film is true, it has happened to me in jail, whatever I have faced there. And whenever you send a film based on a real story to the censor, you have to give a lot of evidence, which we have given. We also helped some people to come out of jail, human rights people also raided the jail after the testimony of the people who came out of jail. The reason for showing it in a comical manner is that jail is not like what we are shown in films. In a detention center, you are treated worse than a criminal, even though you are still only accused.

Question- As you said that this matter is still in court, did you have to get any legal permission to make this film?

Raj- This film has nothing to do with the case, we did not mention the case even once in the film. This is the story of the 63 days I spent in the detention center.

Question: The kind of courage you have shown, by showing on screen what you have gone through, would you like to say something to those who are still there?

Raj- If I had done something wrong, I would not have come out like this, and because I know I am not wrong, there are other cases going on, and I have full faith in the law. For those people who are stuck in the detention center today, I am trying to help them as much as I can. There are many people whose bail has already arrived, but there is no one outside who can pay that five hundred rupees for them and take them out. I have helped all the people who were in my barracks as much as I could. I hope I can help more people.

Question- As we saw in the trailer of the film, people are calling you Porn King, even when you were in jail, people were calling you by the same name outside too, what would you like to say about that?

Raj- A song comes to mind with this saying “Kuch to log kahenge logo ka kaam hai kehna”. To be honest, calling a lion a donkey does not make a lion a donkey.

Question- The title of your film, ‘UT69’, many people want to know its meaning, so what does it mean?

Raj- UT means under trial, and number 69 means that was my number inside the jail. And then when I Googled this number, I came to know that it is an angel number, which means balance and peace.

Question- As you have said, Shilpa Ji stood by you like a rock at such a time, so what was her reaction when you told her about the idea of this film, and has she seen this film yet?

Raj- She was standing at a distance from me when I told her about this film for the first time and when I turned for a moment, a flying slipper landed on my face, then I understood that I was not I will be able to explain, so I asked Shahnawaz to explain what the film is going to be. Shahnawaz gave him a very short narration, and then he understood that this is not against the system in any way, this is the story of a human being. He supported me a lot. He asked would do acting. I said yes, I have done method acting so I will do it. She is very nice and always supports me.

He has seen the film, and he is proud of me. And this is my victory.

Question- When you were in the detention center, was there anyone who became your friend who always stood by you, whom you still meet even today?

Raj- A dysfunctional family is created. For me, there was a person there who kept an eye on me, because I was told that I would not talk to anyone and no one would talk to me. I thought I would come out in seven to ten days, I didn't know it would last so long. There were some people with whom I could talk, the person who kept an eye on me, I used to talk to him also a little. Now if you stay with someone for 63 days, you become friends. When you watch the film, you will understand the bonds and relationships we built there. Made some good friends too, I will try to help them as much as I can.

If I talk about some well-known faces, no, they are given special barracks, and for that, you have to do land fraud, etc., which I did not do. I met Ejaz Khan inside, he was in the barrack in front of me, and we used to share biscuits and water with each other. And I didn't meet anyone.

Question- You have made this film light-hearted on the sensitive topic of Raj Sir's life, so how did you balance this, of making a sensitive topic comical through a good story?

Director- We did not want to make any soft story, and as Raj said he was not alone there, there were 200 other people with him in the same barrack. This story definitely starts with a secret, but it is not just a story of secrets. When you watch the film, you will know that this is not just their story, it is the story of all those people surviving there.

Question- As you said this film is based on your experience of those bad days, so while making the film you were reliving those moments, so is there any moment that was very impactful for you?

Raj- When Shah told the entire team that Raj was making his own film, the team's reaction was that they had seen him making husband-wife jokes on TikTok, and he would be able to act. I took acting classes from an acting coach who has worked with Irfaan Khan Sir, Avnish sir, and Shah, all of them were very helpful in taking this film to this point. When the shooting started, I thought that we would start with light scenes in the beginning, but Shah got the scene where I talked to Shilpa on the phone the very next day. This was the first time in my life that Shilpa and I did not talk to each other for seven days. And I was dying to talk to her. I cried a lot throughout the film, I did not use even a single drop of glycerin. That was a very tough scene for me to do. When that scene was over, everyone said that he would do the film.

Director- Ours is a small film so we were shooting with only one camera, he did the entire scene by crying, and we were not expecting that Raj would act so well. Then I went to Raj and said that Raj will have to do this scene again. And they had to do it again.

Raj- That was very tough for me. When you remember jail you feel like crying.

Question- As you have said that you were writing about your journey from the very first day, have you already decided about making the film?

Raj- I was writing those notes for a book, I had to make a book, ‘My Time in Jail’. Shah and I are already friends, so when I came out, he came to ask what happened inside. I gave them the notes as well as the letters that Shilpa and I used to write to each other. After thirty to forty days, he came to us with Vikram ji and said, look, we have made a complete script. I said that no actor will work in this film, so he said that I want a new face anyway. I didn't know he was talking about me only.

Question- What is your motive or reason behind narrating this story of your life as a film?

Raj- In our country, what is seen sells, and the media has shown a lot. I wanted to do this film with great honesty, whatever perception people created for me was because of the media showing it. The only reason for making this film was to let people know that this is not a soft story, people go through a lot of things when they are in such situations. There is no motive behind making this film that the film will come out and my image will be cleared. People have said many things to me even in jail. I had to hear many ugly comments about Shilpa. I had tried a little to maintain law and order there, due to which some people liked me and some people disliked me.

Question- How many tips have you taken from Shilpa Shetty Ji for doing this film?

Secret: They say that a melon acquires its color by looking at another melon, so it has acquired some color in the last fourteen years. She was not much involved in the film, but she supported me throughout the film. He had full faith in our Director Shahnawaz. Is this a film or reliving the past moments? It was very tough for me to do this, I hope I did a good job.

Question- As you said Arthur Road Jail is a detention center, and people are not treated well there, so when you were making the film, did you feel that this would be going against the system, and do you think so? Will the condition of people there be a little better after the release of this film?

Raj- The film is not about the system, there is a big loophole in the film once you get trapped. And that's the same for everyone, no matter who you are. There are many people inside the jail whose bail has come but due to some reason or the other they are not able to come out, if the government can help them, because of this the jail has become crowded.

Question- Now that you have entered films, has there been any discussion with Shilpa ji that let's do a film together?

Raj- I am a newcomer and they all are A-listers. (Comically)

Question- We would love to see both of you together, even if there is a cameo that will be fine.

Raj- Now even TikTok is banned in India (Comically). Will create an Instagram reel for you.

Question- When did you decide that you have to remove the mask and face people?

Raj- I am not a star, there is already a star in my house, this mask itself had become my star. I wore it so that people could remember, and maybe that's why this film was made. Perhaps I allowed this mask to become my star so that people would know in the future what he said to me and that those things were not true.

Question- From where did you get so many designer masks and how many do you have?

Secret: My sister has brought this mask that looks like Iron Man from London. It is irony that the real actor behind this mask had also gone to jail once and came out and became an actor. Some masks are still with my son, some I am distributing among the people, and I have also sent one to poor Urfi Javed. I would also like to thank Urfi, Munawwar, and Farah, who had nothing to do with this film, but still promoted this film. It is in such situations that you come to know about a true friend. There was a time when I had the numbers of four thousand people in my phone, now I keep the numbers of only those hundred people who are my true friends.

Question- Now will you be seen only without a mask?

Raj- Yes, absolutely. This was a promise. Just don't tell this secret tomorrow, you looked good only in the mask.

-Ayushi Sinha