New Delhi (India), February 4: We caught up with Bollywood Actor and Writer, Aditya Prakash where he spoke about his personal life, movies, his love for old songs, and his formula for success.
You were instrumental in getting Pathaan for the Amazon Prime video platform. Could you please tell us more about how it happened?
I have to say that there was a lot of competition for this movie. Even before it was released, there was a lot of hype about it. Because every major OTT platform in India wanted this movie for themselves, it took a lot of negotiating, meetings, and strategizing before we finalized the deal. There have been some days, where I have had to work for 12-14 hours straight.
With all that meetings and appointments your personal life would suffer, how do you manage to keep your personal life intact as well?
I am a firm believer in the idea that happiness in both your personal and professional life is necessary to lead a contented and successful life. Professional success doesn’t matter to me if I don’t have a happy personal life. If you don’t have both, it won’t give me or anyone else true happiness in life.
Just being successful professionally will not bring you satisfaction in life if it’s not accompanied by personal life bliss as well. So, I make it a point always that my personal life does not get affected due to my professional work. I make sure that I am able to make time for my personal life priorities & family as well, as much as I can. Time management, in my opinion, is a crucial skill that should be acquired by anyone & everyone, regardless of their occupation and the field they are working in.
Speaking of which, are you looking to get married soon?
(Smiles) When I find the right girl why not? The most important thing for me is to have that gut feeling that she is the one. I rely on my inner voice a lot, I always have. It’s on the cards for sure. Definitely, it’s happening very soon.
What’s it like to make a transition between a creative domain such as acting and writing to a corporate domain?
Yes, I mean it was initially a little challenging. It requires adjustment. In the creative field, you tend to follow your instincts a lot and you don’t need to follow a lot of rules. In contrast, in the business world, you are expected to always abide by a predetermined set of guidelines.
Corporate life is somewhat monotonous in that regard because there is such a set of operating principles that you must adhere to at all times. You just follow the processes and procedures that the company has already established, ignoring your instinct.
Having said that, I believe there is still a place for instinct in many aspects of corporate life. When it comes to dealing with people and stakeholders, negotiating, for instance, requires you to rely heavily on your intuition and gut feelings.
The more you rely on your instincts, your ability to negotiate a deal with the other side will improve significantly. having learned these skills from a creativity-inclined industry has definitely helped me in the business side of things as well. Also, I do think the line is blurring very rapidly between these 2 worlds due to the entry of major corporate companies in the media and entertainment sector in India such as Prime Video, Hotstar, Disney, and Netflix.
A lot of youngsters in India want to pursue a career in the movie industry but don’t know how? especially people belonging to middle-class backgrounds, what advice do you want to give them?
Yes, the procedure for entering the film industry is not particularly well-organized or streamlined. there is no set of guidelines that you can follow as we do for engineering, law, or medical. You must navigate a way in, all by yourself. Find a way to connect with the right people. I do know how difficult it is. However, if you are true to your work and your passion, life always helps and you get a breakthrough. all I can say is that if you feel like this is where you really belong – give destiny a chance. give your life a chance and I think life will take care of you. it will provide you with that opportunity that you need. I will quote a famous saying by Rumi “What you seek is seeking you”. this has also been used by one of my favorite directors- Imtiaz Ali in his movie Jab Harry met Sejal. It’s beautiful.
What makes a movie successful according to you?
Well, making a movie takes a long time. Even if people don’t always realize it, a lot of work goes into it. A big-budgeted two-hour film is made in about one and a half years, sometimes it may take even longer. A successful film is made by technicians, directors, writers, editors, and others. It’s true that actors seem to get the most credit, but a lot of work goes into making a movie successful in the background.
I do not believe that there is a “Sure-Shot Formula” for a movie’s success; however, it is generally acknowledged that a Bollywood movie with good music, some action, drama, romance, and a foreign location is the best way to get a 100-crore movie right now. Although there have been several exceptions recently, including movies like Badhaai ho, Bala, Andhadhun, Uri, and Raazi, among others. Nobody had any idea that these films would end up being as successful as they did.
In the 2000s, rom-com films like Veer Zaara, Mohabbatein, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Salaam Namaste, Hum Tum, Jab We Met, and Ta Ra Rum Pum dominated the Bollywood industry. However, there have been some shifts since then. The popularity of action movies has significantly increased. The Dhoom series, as well as Bang Bang, War, Pathaan, Tiger Zinda Hai, and Baaghi 1 and 2, are good examples of these.
Among these that you just mentioned, which are your favorite movies?
Veer-Zaara, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham are among my favorite films. I grew up watching these movies and they are very close to my heart. I have a very soft spot for Kal Ho Na Ho as well.
Staying on the topic who is your favorite Singers and musicians?
I really love the voice of Arijit Singh, Jubin Nautiyal, and Shreya Ghoshal. I am also a die-hard fan of old songs. whenever get time, I always listen to Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, and Mohammed Rafi songs. Among old songs, my favorite ones are- Wada Karo Nahin Chodoge Tum Mera Saath, Tera Mera Pyar Amar, Mere Sapnon Ki Rani, Sun Sahiba Sun, Teri Bindiya Re, Tune O Rangeele. I could really go on and on but I will stop here now. As I said I am a die-hard fan of old songs.
Follow Aditya on Instagram and IMDb
Insta link – https://www.instagram.com/adityapr13_/
Imdb link – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6855813/
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