Purab Kohli talks with Subhash K Jha about his game-changing role in the brilliant My Brother Nikhil directed by Onir, which released in 2005.
Purab, how do you look back at My Brother Nikhil?
Twenty years of My Brother Nikhil. So it’s been long, long since that movie was made and yet it holds a very strong place in my heart. I mean, just from reading the script, I still have a clear memory of it being one of the nicest scripts I’ve read. And beyond the fact of what the film was about and the message behind it, which was also very important for that period of time in India, when, I mean, there was nobody talking about such subjects and also the kind of film it was.
So you had no trepidation about playing a gay man?
The subject was very important, and I had no reservations whatsoever. And secondly, the kind of film, the way it was made and the sort of storytelling choices that the director Onir had made when he was making the film, this whole docudrama kind of approach. I think it was quite a new-age type of filmmaking for that time. And then to get a banner such as Yash Raj to release the film, I think it was quite telling of what a landmark film it was.
So very special?
So, yeah, it holds very special memories in my heart and in my head and also the experience of filming it. I mean, before that, I had done one or two or three films, but this was really special; it felt more like a family coming together and working together. It was truly an independent film in its making, you know, the goodwill of Sanjay and Onir, the producers of the film and also Onir being the director of the film.
Onir told me it felt like a real family while shooting.
Yes, it was Onir and Sanjay Suri who got people together like a family and spending all that time in an outdoor, beautiful outdoor location. Also, Goa at that time, 2005, was still very non-touristy, you know, and we went there in the beautiful monsoon months and spent, just after the monsoon, we went September, I think September, October, that time we shot, if I remember correctly. I think we shot one schedule in August and then went into September. So we went during monsoon, the fag-end of monsoon, and shot till September.
Have you seen My Brother Nikhil recently?
Of course, I watch it whenever I want to remind myself that I’ve done good work. Very, very wonderful experience and beautiful moments. Even now, I often sit down, I’ve got the DVD and I watch the film online also. I mean, you watch the film, it leaves, it leaves me with a very, very good feeling. So definitely twenty years on, My Brother Nikhil will always hold and 25 years, 30 years on, I mean, I think till date, you know, even living in the Western world, now people ask me, tell us one of your films that we can watch. The first one that comes to my mind is My Brother Nikhil. So the film is very cherished.
