Tusshar Kapoor talking with Subhash K Jha reminisces about his debut in the hit film Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai, which released in 2001 and also starred Kareena Kapoor.
Fond memories of your maiden film?
It was my first job, you can say, so I looked at it that way, and I was thrilled that I was getting launched into a career without family support. Independent of my home production.
Satish Kaushik was known to be a hard taskmaster?
Satish Ji was the best and the most challenging part of the experience! Best because he wanted a perfectly natural performance, like I was an experienced newcomer, and tough because he never minced words or restrained his temper to get that out of me!
This was Kareena’s second release?
Kareena was mindblowing in every way, her freshness, confidence, and the way she brought her tender side into the character of Pooja!
You knew her well from before shooting with her?
Yes, but we didn’t speak much as I was like a freshman trying to ace his exams on the set, and she was hardly a newcomer then with some experience behind her!
Was Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai the launch you had hoped for?
The film gave me everything that a newcomer could ask for: box office numbers, critical acclaim from various quarters, and awards, too! But like all debut
It was only a great beginning, wasn’t too long before I understood that the journey had only well begun and there was miles to go before I could even chill!
If you had a chance to do it again, would you change anything?
No, I’d do it the same way and I can’t redo it because that innocence and natural rawness won’t come back ever!
The music was a chartbuster?
The songs were a blessing; each song did well as it got launched, but when ‘Rabba mere rabba’ came out, all the songs went to number 1! The songs are still popular and have kept the film alive even twenty-four years later! Much of the film’s opening can attributed to the success of the album! Thank you, Anu Malikji.
