Kangana Ranaut is on a roll. Fresh from her recent successes, including award-winning stints in Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Queen, the actress is looking forward to the release of her new romantic comedy Katti Batti, in which she is paired for the first time with Bollywood's favourite lover boy, Imran Khan.
Directed by Nikhil Advani and produced by Siddharth Roy Kapoor, the film, which was inspired by Hollywood romance 500 Days of Summer, tells the story of Madhav and Payal, a couple grappling with the challenges of a long-term relationship.
Ranaut and Khan, who visited Dubai recently to promote the film, told The National that the movie breaks away from Hindi cinema's tendency to portray marriages as perfect.
Imran, you are known more for your romcom roles, and Kangana, despite having done your share of comedy films, you are better known for the serious characters you portray. How was it working together on this film?
Imran Khan: This movie is a marriage between Kangana and me. Literally.
Kangana Ranaut: It's very earthy, very real. The way the characters and the dialogues are … it's very raw. But at the same time, it doesn't lose the quintessential Bollywood gloss that Nikhil Advani loves.
IK: It's got the best of her and the best of me.
Imran, the film is about two people who become complacent in their relationship. You've been married for four years – do you identify personally with the themes in the film?
IK: That's one of the things that drew me to the script, actually. The honesty in the script, and Madhav and Payal's relationship. In films, we tend to gloss over relationships. We portray them as this idealised kind of thing that I like to call "romance porn".
KR: (Bursts out laughing) Imran, I am not sure you can say things like that.
IK: But what I'm saying is so true. You show all the nice stuff: the laughter, the happiness, this fairy-tale idea of romance … which is not what a real relationship is like.
So Katti Batti is about more than just the best bits of a relationship?
IK: Katti Batti is when you reach the absolute pits. The film starts when Madhav and Payal's relationship has already ended. The rest of the film is looking back at what went wrong and finding a way forward.
Kangana, why did you return to romance?
KR: When I consider a film, I don't particularly judge it on whether it is female-centric or not. I just take my character and work on it. That's about it. The last film that I did [Tanu Weds Manu Returns] was also a love story. So it's not as if I am not doing romantic stories. A real actor just focuses on the character.
This is you first movie together. What was the chemistry like?
IK: It was very easy and effortless. Kangana and I actually have very different opinions on this. Kangana feels the chemistry between two actors is something you can work on and develop, whereas I feel that it's either there or it's not. I don't know which way it's worked out for us but something good has definitely worked out on set for the two of us.
KR: My approach to chemistry is like it is to any other expression. For instance, there is a part in the film where I have to show a lot of coldness towards Imran and I constructed that whole emotion. For me, I work a lot on such things.
What are your favourite songs from the movie?
IK: My favourite is the song Sau Aansoon, which is the second track that we released. I wasn't a big fan of the initial video, which is different from what you see in the film.
KR: Mine is Sarfira, the first track that was released.
• Katti Batti opens in cinemas today
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