Hussain Dalal on working with Shahid in O'Romeo: He does all the heavy lifting

In an exclusive interaction with India Today, actor-writer Hussain Dalal opened up about his experience of working on a Vishal Bhardwaj set. He also reflected on sharing screen space with Shahid Kapoor, praising him as the finest co-star.

Vishal Bhardwaj’s O’Romeo wasn’t just another project for actor-writer Hussain Dalal. It marked an opportunity to collaborate with his dream director and reunite with an old friend, Shahid Kapoor. In an exclusive conversation with India Today, Hussain opened up about his experience on a Bhardwaj set and why he considers Shahid the finest co-actor.

Sharing his experience, Hussain said, “Because I have written Deva and Farzi, I have a fun equation with Shahid, and we are friends. We were both excited to work together, and our only concern was getting the era right. I am from Mazgaon and grew up in Chor Bazar, and Shahid is also a Bombay boy. He is very professional, and hence kept step-checking so that anything we do, even the way we laugh or clap our hands, should not look contemporary.”

“Shahid is the finest co-actor to be with because he does all the heavy lifting. He gives you the space to fly as an actor. Both Vishal ji and Shahid were so open to trying something new. If you are an actor with ability, this is the best set because it was a creative one," Dalal said.

When asked if he took on some of his childhood observations to shape this character, Hussain shared an interesting learning. He mentioned how most films portray poor or underprivileged people as sad. However, in reality, it's the stark opposite.

"If you go to a poor country, there will be happy children running on the streets. On the other hand, rich children living in towers are often sad. I don't think these emotions have anything to do with your financial capabilities. But because most films are made by rich people in India, we shoot poor people with a sadness filter, which I find hilarious. We were all poor while growing up, but never sad. Vishal Bhardwaj is a filmmaker who deals with realism, so he didn't have that problem. He wrote Ustara and Chotu as happy people, because he understands the elitist differentiation. So as an actor, it was also my responsibility to add to that and make it a happy character,” Hussain added.

The actor also spoke about the feedback he's been receiving from the industry and audiences for his performance. Hussain shared how he's been getting multiple messages, and he's also amazed at the number of people who went to watch the film. "From a story point of view, he's (my role) the sixth character in the film. So, if it's working for them, that's a big thing for me. I don't feel touched by industry people's feedback, but when strangers compliment me, that's a huge win. I am a street cred guy, and some children coming up and speaking to me about my role has been my stimulation. My family also enjoyed watching the film, though my mother had an issue with the number of expletives I had to use,” he added.