Fun Facts Fun facts about Imran, curated from various interviews
Favourite directors include Michael Mann and Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Favourite Actors: Aamir Khan (of course), James Dean, Jack Nicholson, Sushant Singh, Atul Kulkarni and "Hrithik Roshan. I haven't missed out even a single film of his. I follow his works thoroughly because for me he is an object of admiration."
Favourite Acvtresses: Kareena Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Charlize Theron, Konkona Sen Sharma and "Juhi Chawla. I even proposed marriage to her when I was three years old. I even gave her a small ring. She accepted my proposal but three days back, I wanted the ring back. I'm pretty ashamed of myself. Till this day, Juhi jokes that I broke her heart."
Favourite Bands: The Beatles, Hendrix, Led Zepplin & Springsteen
Favorite Holiday Spot: Mauritius
Comfort Food: Daal-Chawal (Rice-Lentil), also loves vada pav. Loves to cook and claims to make really good Chili con Carne.
How he met Abbas Tyrewala: "I knew the lady who is now Abbas' mother-in-law. At the time, Pakhi, the casting director for the film, wasn't married to Abbas, but I used to take Hindi classes from her mom, Mrs Reena Mehta. And so, when she found out that Abbas was looking for a new boy for his film, she remembered and recommended me, and Abbas tracked me down and called me. I recognised Abbas' name, because of his lyrics. That was about three years ago. Some production person called me and said that Mr Tyrewala wanted to meet me. And I didn't know what the context was – I was looking to assist a director, and I thought that was probably what it was all about. I went to meet him, and over the course of that meeting, I realised that he actually wanted me to act in his film."
Since the cast of Jaane Tu was full of young actors, Abbas decided to take a unique approach to prepare them all for the film, "Abbas took all six of us plus Manju, who is not in the poster, to Panchgani and we spent about a week or ten days there doing workshops. He put the boys in one room and the girls in a separate room. He told us to live together and learn to deal with one another and wanted us to come out eventually as a team. We did scene breakdowns, team-building exercises and came out of it as one unit. We were like a team, which works perfectly, and the chemistry was just remarkable," Imran explained.
Jaane Tu actually took 3 years to come to the screen and it was only when Aamir took over as producer and brought in Mansoor Khan that it finally was completed. After they saw the first cut of Jaane Tu Abbas and Imran hated it, but Ammir and Mansoor said, "Relax. It's a damn good movie and you just can't see it yet!"
Favourite song in Jaane Tu was "Kahin To... cheesy, I know, but I love it. Sue me. I love to sing, but I'm honestly not much of a singer... I don't have the range in my voice. I do intend to develop it though, and maybe I'll sing in the future." Imran thrilled one fan after she asked if he would ever sing in a film for real by saying: "I would love to sing for a movie, always wanted to. And when I do I will remember you asked me first."
When Abbas wanted him to wear the red sari, he told him he had lost his mind.
Voted the Most Promising Newcomer at Buzz 18.
About the pre-interval scene in Kidnap, Imran said, "From the moment we arrived on set, Lamba and I kept conversation to a minimum. We went through a basic blocking of the scene (camera will move from here to here, we will move from a to b, etc.) and then we stopped speaking entirely. I don't know what she did, but I had to sit alone in a corner and work myself into a rage. Then we moved to the start point, which was the door, I would grab her arm and start shoving her around, she would punch me (really) to work herself up. Gadhvi yelled action, and we just went for it. No acting, no planning. One endless take, beginning to end. Then cut, then retake. We spent the whole day doing the same shot over and over. Camera would change angle a bit, or the lens would be changed, but we did the same thing. And then I went home and broke down."
At the chat on Buzz 18 with fans, Imran was asked what the hardest thing about acting is, and he replied. "For me, the two hardest things about acting (in no particular order) are: 1. Light, charming, flamboyant scenes. I'm such a somber person; the darkness comes easily to me, but not the other stuff. I have to work hard at that. And 2. Makeup. I hate it. More than anything. It's sticky, it rubs off on your clothes, on your hands if you happen to touch your face during a scene, on the walls if... you happen to rub your face on a wall. For whatever reason."
When asked about the preparation before a film he answered: "Well it depends. I like to rehearse before starting a film, but the director, producer and some costars may not feel the same way. You all know we rehearsed a lot before JT, and the same for Kidnap as well. I didn't get the chance to do any readings at all before Luck, but that's ok. It's an action film, so you don't have to worry too much about the subtle nuances of your character. ("Everything's blowing up, run Imran, RUN!!!"). For Delhi Belly, we spent a week doing rehearsals with all the actors, the director, even the cinematographer. I'm happy."
One of the stunts supposedly in Luck is Imran swimming with sharks!
Plans to direct films one day but feels that acting will teach him and give him a lot of experience: "Abbas just shifted me away from direction but that is not to say that I won't go back to direction. It's on the cards but just don't know when."
Aamir revealed about Jo Jeeta, "He is the first Indian hero to show his rear to the audience." Imran replied, " ...Even before Saawariya. Whatever happens, Ranbir can't take that from me.
He never liked Aamir growing up. Aamir used to tease him and he also would take him out and use him to meet girls.
Best advice from Aamir mamu: "Find your own way. From choosing your director and script, learn everything the hard way."
While at the New York Film Academy in LA, he made many short films and about those first films he said they were, "clichés full of static shots of cigarette smoke."
When he was 14, he worked at a crocodile farm.
He is a book addict and can have 50-60 books stacked around his room.
Avid movie buff...mainly Western films but is catching up on his Hindi films. His favorites include: A Fish Called Wanda, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Life is Beautiful, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Amar, Akbar, Anthony, and Rebel Without a Cause.
He and girlfriend Avantika have been dating for 6 years. She actually had a cameo in Jaane Tu. "We met at a friend's place. He had invited a bunch of people over for dinner, and there we all were. I'd never seen her before; she'd never seen me. We just ended up chatting with one another, and kind of kept on chatting. One thing led to another, next thing I knew it was six years later and journalists are asking me how we met... strange."
He revealed on IK.org "The only meaningful thing I keep with me is a ring I wear on the middle finger of my right hand. Avantika wears the same one, it's something I designed myself and got made for one of our anniversaries." Awwwww!
"My friends call me the most boring person on Earth. I hate parties, hate clubs, and am not really fond of going places so I tend to drag them all over to my house."
Said, "I'm not really a shy person, I'd say I'm reserved. I can sit with a group of people I don't know and not feel at all uncomfortable. But I won't say anything either. Personally, I don't find it that hard to put my personality aside while acting. That's kind of what I like about acting, that I get to be someone else for a while."
He lives in a yellow house, his favorite couch is blue, and every 6 months he changes the color scheme inside his house.
Has a dog named Kajri, a cat called Bonnet(so named because he was found in the bonnet of Avantika's car) and two more cats.
"Ten adjectives to describe me... Quiet, stubborn, loyal, introspective, cheesy, calm, amiable, polite, frank, simple. As you learn more about me (through various means) you'll understand why."
Also a trained bartender, and was trained by the guy who taught Tom Cruise for Cocktail.
Hates pranks on set.
Before coming to Mumbai he worked as a camera operator for a few months on a reality show that never got picked up.
Also had a script stolen by a TV channel. "I actually came back from USA because Vandana my girlfriends, Avantika's mom, told me this particular channel had a show they wanted to revamp and they were looking for young writers and directors. So I went and met them. It was a horror thriller suspense kind of show; those one-hour stand alone episodes. I wrote down 3 sample episodes just plots and I showed them a couple of short films I had made. They were very impressed and said, 'We'll get back to you'. They never did but a short while later an actress friend of mine Sonali who acted in Taare Zameen Par called me and said that she got cast in a show which sound like the story I had once told her. She turned up with the script and when I read it I said yeah they have expanded my idea into a full fledged script."
On the Buzz 18 chat he wrote "Am always glad to interact with fans, it's my second favourite thing to do (after the actual process of making films... sorry, that takes precedence). You're the reason I'm in the movies; it's all about entertaining people."
At the beginning of that chat gave a shout-out to Imran-Khan.org: "Big welcome to all IK.org members. You guys were supporting me long before anyone else, and for that you'll always hold a special place in my heart." In ours too, Imran, in ours too!
He proposed to Juhi Chawla :
"Juhi Chawla. I even proposed marriage to her when I was three years old. I even gave her a small ring. She accepted my proposal but three days back, I wanted the ring back. I'm pretty ashamed of myself. Till this day, Juhi jokes that I broke her heart."
He hates Yoga :
"A lot of people have told me about Yoga. I remember in school also they used to teach Yoga. It is supposed to be good for flexibility and relaxing. I might get into trouble for this but I hate Yoga! I never liked it, it never gelled with my personality."
He's a computer geek and a movie buff:
"I have two computers side by side. Sometimes, I watch two movies at a time. I love music but I do not play any instruments. I was sent for piano lessons when I was younger but did not have the patience to learn it. I played unusual sports—I used to skateboard and I would roller blade. I have even damaged my left knee in a skateboard accident."
"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
Favourite directors include Michael Mann and Vidhu Vinod Chopra
