‘The madness keeps us going’

It���s 7 am on Wednesday at Bandra Bandstand.
And taking the air on the promenade among the morning joggers and walkers is Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah. The two are back in a film after 12 years. BT dragged them out to talk, argue, share a few laughs while Bollywood awaits the return to screen of these two veterans. ���I skipped my yoga class to meet you,��� grumbled Naseer who was dressed in tracks.���So what,��� said Anupan, similarly attired, ���I was down with fever but the thought of being photographed with you got me excited.��� And, putting his arm across his old National School of Drama co-star, Anupam led Naseer down the cobbled pathway as the two went from present into flashback by the sea...
BT: You���ll last acted together in the 1996 film Chahat starring Shah Rukh Khan and Pooja Bhatt. What happened after that?
Naseer: We have a problem with each other!
Anupam: I feel insecure if he is in the same film. In our new film, maine socha Naseer ne mujhse achchi acting ki hai. So I called the producer and reshot my scenes.
Naseer: But what you don���t know is that maine bhi bina batayein film mein ek gaana dalwa diya. I���m playing a terrorist in this film but there���s a twist in the tale which justifies his actions. This film is an appeal to everyone���s conscience. It asks you how long you are going to sit down and watch.
Anupam: I believe in the theme, too.
BT: But so many films being made on terrorism...
Naseer: But isn���t it better than watching a rich-boy-meets-poor-girl film? It���s wonderful that filmmakers are tackling such issues nowadays which show the real world rather than showing the sugar-coated alps of Switzerland.
Anupam: I feel such films are made because there���s a change in the audience���s perception or else how would you explain the bombing of big films and the success of small films like Khuda Ke Liye.
Naseer: Yes, and that too it���s a Pakistani film with unrecognisable faces, yet people watched it instead of Tashan which has all the actors we like. Now it���s the film and not the stars that people watch.
Anupam: True, it���s not the stars that make the film, but the content. The last time I had seen such huge hoardings of myself was when Saaransh was released. Mein apne car se uttar ke dance karne laga!
Do you watch each others��� films?
Anupam: Shub shub bolo. Why torture him with my films?
Naseer: He doesn���t watch half of his own films. And I have not watched some of mine either, like the recent Mere Baap Pehle Aap and Jaane tu... .
Anupam: I don���t watch his films because phir mujhe complex ho jayega. I remember when I came to Bombay and bought my first car and you gave me a proud look that said, ���Wow, you have got a car now!��� I also remember your expression after you watched one of my memorable films, and it was like ���Kya kar rahe ho, yaar?���
Naseer: You buying a car was like a personal achievement for me. We actors are getting our due at last. As beginners we didn���t have a ghost of a chance to succeed in the industry and I think if we didn���t have unshakeable faith in ourselves, we would have succumbed to the pressures.
Anupam: I think it���s also the madness in us that kept us going.
Naseer: That quality is common between us besides the fact that we faced rejection when we started. I remember when I went to the film institute, people asked me what course I had come for. Acting! Eh? Shakal dekhi hai?
Anupam: Tell me about it...