Meet the powerful cast of Love,Sex Aur Dhokha,a film on its way to becoming a cult classic
With Love Sex Aur Dhokha,a film,Dibakar Banerjee has proved that nobody understands the dysfunctional and voyeuristic tendencies of the New Young India better than him. But would he have been able to make the cut without an ensemble cast of unknown actors,some of them so good that they make the superstars look bad? We think not.
Remember their names: Anshuman Jha (student director Rahul),Shruti (Rahuls girlfriend Shruti),Raj Kumar (store supervisor Adarsh),Neha Chauhan (department store girl Rashmi),Arya Banerjee (dancer Naina),Herry Tangri (pop singer Loki Local) and Amit Sial (sting journalist Prabhat). Together,they form the raw and unbelievably un-filmi cast.
We catch up with the LSD bunch at a coffee shop in suburban Andheri. The gang has just returned from a screening in Pune where they witnessed the reaction of the audience first hand. The mood is euphoric. They vow to demand a sexcess party from their director. Having spent a year together workshopping and shooting,their camaraderie is obvious. They finish each others sentences,laugh at private jokes and give away risqué anecdotes.
As much as they were a motley bunch of characters in the film,the young actors come from equally diverse backgrounds. For instance,Chauhan,a 22-year-old budding filmmaker from Indore who was never interested in acting,was spotted in a marriage video by Banerjee. When he called,she went for the audition. On the sets,she also took on another roleassistant to casting director Atul Mongiaand auditioned her co-actors. One of them was FTII graduate Kumar (25) of Gurgaon,whom Banerjee initially rejected because he was too muscular. I lost six kilos in a month and then bagged Adarshs role, he says.
Then,theres Tangri,a 26-year-old from Ludhiana with multiple personalities trapped inside,who made it after four rounds of audition. He credits his debut to divine intervention. The day I was to meet Dibakar,it was raining hard. I got completely drenched in an auto. I knew this is a sign ki kuch achcha hi hoga, he says.
If Tangri had it relatively easy,Sial (34) had a long wait. After a lead role opposite Mahima Chaudhry in Tanuja Chandras Hope And A Little Sugar,Sial spent three years at his home playing on his Play Station. I must have hounded Dibakar with a thousand calls. He was adamant that he wanted a newcomer for the role of the journalist. My logic was that one film old is also a newcomer, says Sial.
Arya,a 22-year-old post-graduate in Hindustani classical music,is from Kolkata. She says she almost lost her eyesight when she crashed into the camera casing on the sets. You can say,I gave my sweat,blood and tears for LSD, she says.
Delhi boy Jha (24) embarked on his filmi journey with true dreams: To work with Anurag Kashyap or Banerjee and to die in his first film. Its a proven fact that if you die in your first film,you become a superstar. Aamir,Shah Rukh,Hrithik all did it, he says. Jha has worked in theatre with the likes of Barry John,Quasar Padamsee and Girish Karnad and has assisted Subhash Ghai in Black and White. A comment by film-maker Karan Johar spurred him on his dreams. Jha tells us that when he refused to play Ranbir Kapoors best friend in Wake Up Sid because he wanted to do a lead role,Johar told him,I only work with stars or my friends. And you are neither. Jha says thats the fire he needed. Now I have to become a star on my own, he says. By the way,he has bagged his second film with Kashyap.
As for 24-year-old Shruti,LSD was the comeuppance she was waiting for. The Mumbai girl lost out on signing Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and Slumdog Millionaire at the last minute. I did four auditions with Imran for Jaane Tu
and five readings with Danny Boyle but they were not meant to be. Dibakar made sure LSD was worth the wait, she says.
While the industry is patting their backs,what has been their families response? Chauhan hasnt even shown the film to her parents,nervous about their reaction to the sex scene. I dont want to show it to them. My elder brother has seen the film while my younger brother who is 13 is ruing the fact that he cant because its an A-certificate film, she says. Jhas mother questioned Banerjee over her sons death scene. She told Dibakar,Gala kaatna zaroori tha,kya. Tum use y stab nahin kar sakte the kya, he says. Sials father though couldnt understand the relevance of his sons character as a cameraman. Your voice can be heard but why cant you be seen,he asked, says Sial,with a laugh.
Tangri is shocked that the girls find him cute. Aisa kaise ho sakta hai? Hes a guy who stocks his fridge with Scotch,Maggi sauce and 5-Star, he says. When he read the scene,he thought Maggi Sauce and 5-Star are luxury liquor brands. His only grouse? People,even his Ludhiana-based bhabhi,thinks he wore a wig. These are my natural curls, he says.
The seven are in awe of Banerjee. Chauhan talks about his sensitivity. He made me write the sex scene with him so that I could be comfortable, she says. Kumar credits him for getting the right performance out of his actors. Jha claims to have found the source of Banerjees creativity. He has this habit of tapping his index finger on his lips when hes thinking. Thats how he remains so focused, he says.
Its a dream for every new actor to be launched by a big film-maker. The LSD gang has achieved that. But now comes the tough part: to choose right. Kumar will act in Shonali Boses period thriller Chittagong while Sial will be seen in the black comedy,With Love To Obama. Chauhan is making a documentary on the postmen of Dharavi who distribute letters without any address in the slum area.
The rest are reading scripts. All of them,of course,hope Banerjee repeats them in his films.
Dibakar Banerjee on his ensemble:
Anshuman Jha: In his heart,he wants to be a director. Now its up to him whether he becomes a star/director or a director/star. He has a strange awkwardness which I found endearing.
Neha Chauhan: Shes a natural. I saw her in a wedding video. She was dancing around,yet she managed to keep herself aloof. She holds her dignity well. She gave me 100 per cent intensity in the breakdown scene.
Shruti: She was a revelation. I made her wait a long time before giving her the role. She flowered during the shoot. She navigated the emotional moments quite well. She has a freshness that is endearing.
Raj Kumar: I really wish he becomes a leading star. He has this knack of expressing unseen emotions and is very watchable. His character had grey shades but he brought out the vulnerable as well as the negative side so well. Hope this town gives him a chance.
Amit Sial: He had the most selfless role in the film,you can say he was the only redeeming character. When you see his face,it looks as if it has taken lies,it has been hurt and battered. He brings tremendous dignity to a role.
Herry Tangri: He looks very simple but hes not that simple. Hes very intelligent. He invented the character of Loki Local. I just told him to think of himself as a 10-year-old boy with the body of a 25-year-old,who is driven by his wants. He just took over.
Arya Banerjee: She was the toughest candidate of them all because she is intelligent,beautiful,talented but emotionally very non-cooperative. It took my casting director,Atul,a month to break her down emotionally. As a person,she is very hoity- toity and for her to do the small-town girl was not easy.