Imran's weekly column for Hindustan Times, March 30th - First step as a writer 31 Mar 2009 | 378 Views | admin
Talk to me, Delhi
By the time you read this, I will have made my stage debut. I hope it went off well. I have already made my screen debut, and this, which you are reading now, is my print debut.
I'm pretty excited about it, because I love to write. That's why I jumped at this opportunity the moment HT City called me. I like the idea of being able to connect with people one to one (yes, you can write to me and ask me stuff I'll reply), and generally having a space to talk about whatever's going on in my head that week. There's always a lot.
Since this is my first column, let me lay out the rules. 1) Don't take anything I say too seriously Everything I write has an undertone of humour and I'm very particular about not hurting or offending anyone. So if you are hurt or offended, you probably missed a joke. 2) I'm not easily hurt or offended, so feel free to speak your mind when you write to me. I appreciate honesty 3) I will respond to as many people as I can, but sometimes I may not be able to talk about certain things, such as films that are in development, or that didn't happen, or things too personal or private, or anything that might embarrass someone. Please be understanding.
Now that we're done with the introduction and rules, let's get down to business: what's in my head. I find myself in a strange position for an actor; I have nothing to do. I finished shooting for my film Luck last week, and I haven't signed a new film yet, so I have nothing to do. I've spent the past two years working nonstop, complaining about not having any free time, and suddenly it's all over I'm free. I don't have to shoot, don't have to wake up at 4 am anymore... and I hate it.
Turns out, free time doesn't agree with me.
I need to be occupied, to be doing stuff. (Side note: if this column turns out to be too long, you know the reason why.) So, I have now dedicated myself to finding a film. Been doing a lot of action lately and I'm pretty tired of it. It's very physically demanding. You spend the entire day either running, jumping, falling, climbing, hanging, fighting or, in some unfortunate cases, being set on fire. Yes, really What it boils down to is this: a few weeks ago, as I lay in a hotel room in Suphan Buri, Thailand, my body aching so much that I couldn't move, my feet hurting so much that I couldn't stand up, and my eyelashes sticking together because they'd caught fire earlier in the day (see, I told you), I made a decision - enough of this, I gotta find a nice, light film to do. One that has me looking good, not covered in mud or blood.
One where I'm wooing beautiful girls (perhaps playing a rich NRI living in New York) while wearing designer clothes.
Oh, shut up, if you stop watching movies like that, we'll stop making them.
I'll end this here with my final thoughts: I'm happy to be here, looking forward to hearing from you guys. Seriously I'll reply to you.
That's that. Now, do they give out 'best debut' awards for this as well? imran.khan@hindustantimes.com
"As actors, we all want our audience to like our work; so even if you ask me this question after five years I will say yes I want to work harder and harder to be loved by my audience."
~ Imran Khan
