That’s the space between the old guard and the new kids on the block, in case you are wondering...
Sarita A Tanwar (DNA; March 31, 2016)
The film industry is in a very interesting phase at the moment. The three 50-plus Khans — Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir — are ruling the roost. And then, there is the younger lot — Ranveer Singh, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra and Sushant Singh Rajput. Actors in both categories are doing very different kind of films and it’s working for them. The Khans can’t do what the boys in their 30s are doing and vice versa. But there are some actors who don’t fit in this clear distinction. Like John Abraham. He is closer to the senior guys in terms of experience, but he doesn’t do their kind of cinema. So where does he fit in? He knows the answer.
There is an old guard in the industry and a new guard. Where do you see yourself fitting?
Very good question. Because if you see there is an old guard, I don’t know whether you would consider Hrithik as part of the old guard or part of the new guard or if he is somewhere in the middle? I’d say there are a few somewhere in the middle. So Hrithik and me are classmates from junior kindergarten. This is just to give you an outside perspective. So I think the two of us hang in the middle. To a large extent, maybe Abhishek, also. So three of us are in that space, though I came in later, some four or five years after them?
You came in after Abhishek?
Abhishek did Refugee in 1999. I debuted in 2003 with Jism. So I feel, we have clearly defined spaces. The old guard that is doing something, the youngsters are doing something else...
Within that defined space, all three of you have your own unique space.
Hrithik has decided to be a superhero. Abhishek is into drama. I am probably the real hero in the sense. You know people ask me this question about my film Rocky Handsome releasing with Batman Vs Superman. I say, ‘Listen. Do you want to see the superhero or do you want to see the real hero?’ Because I believe that we define spaces for ourselves. Each one of us has defined a space in a certain way, so I think, honestly, we are safest of the lot. Hrithik, Abhishek and myself, in a very strange way, are very safely tucked in there especially because the senior guard is going to find it harder and harder to stay there, though they have convincingly been there for a long time and total respect to their superstardom. The youngsters have to be cautious about their choices. The three of us have gone through those choices, we have arrived there, they have still got a long way to go to reach the older guard. So we are absolutely in the middle. I think we are in a very safe zone, you can say, a sweet spot.