Farhan Akhtar feels his upcoming film Toofan will spread positivity

Sheetal

“It’s the journey that matters,” says Farhan Akhtar to put his upcoming movie Toofaan in perspective, while drawing parallels with the last outing, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, with the same director, Rakyesh Om Prakash Mehra, and the fact that it is again a sports drama.

He adds, “More than a sports drama, it is about inter-personal relationships. And about the predictability of the end — don’t we know that in all the love stories the couple will end up together, but we still like to join in for the journey and how it will unfold.”

Rakeysh has also confessed how the benchmark he and Farhan have set with Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is high. He adds, “I was too eager to work with him again and when the idea came from Farhan himself, it struck a chord in the first five lines of the narration. Later, we had talks with Anjum Rajabali (writer) to develop a screenplay on it.”

Star power

The film stars Mrunal Thakur opposite Farhan Akhtar and people will get to see Paresh Rawal, after a long time, in a never-seen-before-role of a boxing coach. Paresh says, “I thought of myself as a fit person before saying yes to the project and starting training for the role. I have never done a role that is so physically demanding. I even tell my children at home that had I done all this 12 years back, I would have been a totally different person! Just 15 minutes training for boxing took my breath away and mind you, I am person who can jog for one hour!”

Not just Paresh, Farhan himself says he has new-found respect for boxing and boxers all around the world. He adds, “Boxing is a very demanding sport, which made my role tougher. It looks so good to the eye and surprisingly easy on TV that even I was surprised. Apart from the physical side of it, mentally it was challenging to get through it too.”

Mrunal, who is playing Ananya, calls it a slice-of-life offering and adds, “I always wanted to work with Rakeysh and the film is a dream-come-true journey. My role is that of an open-minded, passionate girl and who is just part of many motivating factors that are needed for a person like Aziz (Farhan) to shine through and recognise his talent. I have kept my mother as the point of reference to do justice to this role as she has played the same role in my real life.”

Time is right

About the timing and the platform of release on July 16 and Amazon Prime Video, respectively, Farhan says, “It couldn’t be more right. The film was ready to be released in November last year and then it got pushed to May; finally it is coming out now. Obviously, it was pushed for all the right reasons. Now that people are finding their way back towards normalcy, we just hope that it gives them a smile, a sense of positivity, hope and optimism.”

About the famous pot-bellied shot in the trailer, Farhan says it wasn’t prosthetics as both him and Rakeysh did not believe in taking shortcuts. He adds, “On the contrary when we completed the shoot just four days before the lockdown last year, I was left with those extra pounds and nowhere to go to, since gyms were closed. Eventually, I had to live with my character way longer than I would have chosen otherwise.”

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