Courtroom thriller Pink hit Indian screens on Friday and is getting rave reviews. Ahead of the launch, the star cast were in Bengaluru to talk about the movie’s impact on their lives. Pink features Tapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang who play three roommates whose night out at a resort sets off a terrifying chain of events. Angad Singh Bedi plays the antagonist Rajveer Singh while Amitabh Bachchan plays a lawyer.
The youngsters say they love everything about the city, except the traffic. “Most of us feel at home here,” says Angad while Kirti quips: “If Bollywood decides to shift to Bangalore, we would love to stay here.”
For Angad, son of legendary spinner Bishen Singh Bedi, Pink was a dream come true. After switching careers from cricket to cinema, Angad says, “ Pink is a very special film. To share the frame with a legend like Amitabh Bachchan and work Shoojit Sircar, who is my teacher was surreal. This happens only in silly dreams. But I did dream of it, I put it out in the universe and it conspired for me.”
Angad says his character is from Delhi’s moneyed class. Rajveer’s upbringing is conservative and patriarchal. He is extremely internal. He doesn’t talk much. He is more of a thinker and has a lazy arrogance about him.”
The actor admits it was hard to find reference points. “My upbringing was different. I don’t even have friends who are like Rajveer. I come from a middle-class family, that taught me the value of discipline. I learnt that only hard work will get me rewards. I’m nowhere close to this character. But that is the beauty of Shoojit’s oeuvre. There is always a deep social message in his movies. His movies do not have a hero or villain. They are characters going through a mix of emotions. I had to prep a lot for this role. I had to read about power and even had to change my gait.”
On working with his co-stars, Angad says the experience has been special. “These three girls are like family now. In fact, Pink was not a film. It was a workshop. We used to shoot a scene, they would send it for an edit and by the time we finish the next scene, the edit would come back. Shoojit is a magician. It was a 42 day schedule and we finished it in 31 days.”
He adds: “Amitabh Bachchan is just phenomenal. I’ve lived earlier thinking what people will say if I leave cricket and do films. But I’ve learnt from people like him that what is important is my instinct and to stand by my decisions. He is the youth of this generation. He has such amazing power of expression and he is really humble. He never talks about himself. He is always ready to find out more about you.”
So what’s with the title, Pink ? Pointing to the pink shirt he is wearing, Angad says usually the colour is associated with purity, delicacy and innocence. “We want to make pink the new black. It should represent power, vision, a voice and authority. That is what this film is about - the emergence of the powerful woman.”
This film is a thorough entertainer, he points out. “It is a social thriller. It is not preachy. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. All the characters look real because none of us have baggage – stardom has not hit us yet.”
