Ali Fazal,who played Joy Lobo in 3 Idiots,had to shed 13 kilos to bag the lead role in Roshan Abbas Always Kabhi Kabhi. The debutant talks of his journey. Launch vehicle I play one of the leads in Always Kabhi Kabhi and the name of my character is Sam. He is a charmer and the college heartthrob. The character is quite unlike me,although the film was a throwback to my good old schooling days. Casting coup I was called for the auditions of Always Kabhi Kabhi on Shernaz Patels recommendation. At the audition,Roshan Abbas liked my work and immediately signed me up. However,he felt that my getup did not suit Sams character. So I was asked to shed about 13 kiloes to look the part. I also went through a wardrobe transformation. Stepping stone I had earlier starred in 3 Idiots as the passionate,soft-spoken Joy Lobo,who is driven to the edge and commits suicide. But that was a very small role. During my schooling days at the Doon School,I used to play basketball. Once I broke my arm. As I didnt know what to do to kill time while the plaster was on,I joined a theatre group. That was the first time I performed onstage and since then theres been no looking back for me. During my college days at St. Xaviers College,Mumbai,too,I did a couple of plays. I still continue to act for various theatre groups when I get some time off. First shot It was a solo shot in which I take a call and then I rush to the hospital. The scene comes somewhere in the climax and it was a really tough one to enact. I cannot reveal more about the scene as I do not want to give out too much information about the film. Lessons learnt I have learnt to be extremely diplomatic. I have also realised that it is only hard work that pays in this industry and that there are no shortcuts.One cannot lose hope and should always be positive and patient. Stumbling block My journey has not been too difficult. Gone are the days when it was difficult to get a good launch without having great contacts in the industry. People from filmi families get a better backing but,theres room for new talent too. Directors are actually going all out to discover new actors. Matinee idol There are a whole bunch of new directors in Bollywood including Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,Rajkumar Hirani and Anurag Kashyap. I would like to work with these directors. But I am looking out for a good script rather than the people I work with. Future projects Im eagerly awaiting the release of Always Kabhi Kabhi. I have just finished shooting a video that will be used in the promotions. I will be concentrating on the promotions of the film for the next month-and-a-half. Only then will I consider new projects.
