After a highly successful pairing in Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012), Kareena Kapoor and Imran Khan return to the big screen with Gori Tere Pyaar Mein. Directed by Punit Malhotra and produced by Karan Johar, the romantic comedy is about a boy and a girl whose ideologies couldn’t be more different. We spoke to the lead duo during their recent visit to the UAE.
Can you tell us about your characters in this film?
Khan The story is about two very different people. I play a selfish boy who is obviously very different from Kareena’s character.
Kapoor I play a social activist, somebody who’s dedicated to making the world a better place, who wants to do something with her life. Whenever there is a project, she is always the first one to stand up and take charge. That’s where the two clash and reach a point where they separate and she goes on to live in a village. He follows her there and that sets the story in motion.
Was it difficult to film in an actual village?
Khan It was not much of a hardship, because when you are working with Dharma Productions, they take very good care of you. Of course, there were some things they couldn’t control: it was hot and dusty but, apart from that, we had comfortable, air-conditioned vanity vans that we could hang out in, coolers on set and lots of people running around with glasses of lemonade for us.
Kapoor You’re making it sound like we were on a picnic. Give them the real picture. We really worked so hard. Of course we were taken care of, but shooting a film outdoors is definitely not the same as shooting in a studio.
How was it working with each other again?
Khan Kareena has always been an actor I have really admired. This time around it was a lot fun because we had already settled into a rhythm. I know how she works and she knows how I work – we are in sync. So from day one we could just have fun with it.
Kapoor I think Imran always gets into his character. In Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu, where he played the very stiff Rahul, he was actually a bit stiff throughout the making of the film. But in this film he was just so much fun, because he plays the ultimate aashiq (lover) and he was really true to his part.
What sets this film apart from other romantic comedies?
Khan This is the kind of story that Punit does very well: two people who initially may not seem compatible and how they end up together. You know how in the older films, in the 1980s and 1990s, there always was an external obstacle in a romance – quarrelling parents, families against the marriage, she’s rich, he’s poor – these were common themes. What I like about Punit’s films is that it’s always the characters’ personalities that keep the two apart.
Kapoor I think the love stories where families were against each other are things of the past. Today we talk about personal problems and ideological differences and that’s what this story is about. I promise a good experience. When you buy a ticket, you want to have fun. At least that’s what I want. I think this film will do just as well, if not better than, Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu.
• Gori Tere Pyaar Mein is out now in UAE cinemas
