Aadar Jain: I was obsessed with Ranbir Kapoor

Ranbir Kapoor and Aadar JainHe is the newest kid from the Kapoor khandaan to make a foray into films Son of Reema Jain and grandson of Raj Kapoor Aadar Jain is all set to make his debut in the film Qaidi Band Even before the film hits the theatres the youngster is making news After all he was introduced by none other than cousin Ranbir Kapoor as the new talent of YRF the banner which is launching him His promotional campaign however got targeted by the Twitterati as reeking of nepotism Here the newbie talks about his debut film cousin Ranbir and takes headon the charges of nepotismThe trailer of Qaidi Band is out what are your thoughts right nowIts an amazing surreal feeling I am at a loss of words My family friends teachers everyone who has been a part of my life have appreciated it My mother got so emotional she was in tears She actually saw it a couple of days before the launch She has a Ganpatiji ka photo on her phone and she was pointing it at the trailer to seek his blessings That was a special moment for me because she was so overwhelmed When my nani saw the trailer she called and told me I am proud of youWhat was Ranbirs reactionHe hasnt seen it yet He is in New York shooting for the Dutt biopic I am waiting for him to watch it and give me his feedbackAre you closest to him among your cousinsYes as a child I was obsessed with Ranbir I would follow in his footsteps He was the one who gave me my first football shoes We have several things in common We share the same love for movies sports and food He also bullied me a lot I am also close to Karisma Kareena Riddhima and Natasha Nanda who is my maasi Ritu Nandas daughter Nikhil bhaiyaa We are a closeknit family When we get together it is like a big parade mdash its a full table tennis match Food is going from one side of the table to the other there is a lot of noise Every Sunday we make a conscious effort to go and meet my nani and we never miss the annual Christmas party at Shashi nanas houseEvery actor dreams of making a debut in a love story with pretty visuals and foreign locales What made you choose a film on undertrials as your first filmMy dream was to act and to entertain people When I was auditioning for the film Habib Faisal narrated the story to me He said it is important that I like the story and connect with it When he narrated it to me I didnt see it ki yeh koi alag type ki picture hai I really connected with the story I thought it was entertaining and engaging and at the same time educational I never knew anything about the situation of undertrials in jail I had only seen it in films like Shawshank Redemption and Prison Break I had a rough idea What was interesting for me was our country has more undertrials than what is considered normal Overall I connected with the character and the music aspect I have always been musically inclined growing up and played an instrument In the film my character plays the guitar The way all of us express through music and come together in the film also interested meDid you discuss it with your family and take any tipsTo be honest when I started out I told my family I wanted their blessings I didnt want any advice Whatever choices I make I want to take credit I just went with my gut feelingWhat kind of prep did you do for the filmWe attended a rigorous workshop I am a drummer so had to learn the guitar the nuances etc During the shot I actually played the chords I also learnt a particular dialect because my character has a northern accent Since music is an important part of the film I sat with the composer Amit Trivedi to draw some inspiration I read up on different cases of undertrails and jails as the film is based on real incidents and real characters There was an Assamese undertrail Machang Lalung who was in jail for 54 years for a crime he didnt commit When he got acquitted he felt that his whole life was wasted and it affected him I read his entire storyPhysically did you have to undergo any changesYes I had to lose fivesix kilos for the film In jails they serve phiki dal and rice My character had to reflect that My lifestyle is such that I get proper food but I cant look healthy in the film so I had to lose weight and get the rugged lookLike Ranbir you also started out by assisting directors What is the idea behind itWhen I was in high school I decided I wanted to act I went to New York Film Academy to educate myself When I came back I realised I needed to do the ground work As a child I had never gone on the set of a film so didnt know how a film was made I wanted to know the basics what actually goes into the making how the DOP frames his shots how the actor hits his mark etc I wanted to gain experience and exposure so I assisted Farah Khan on Happy New Year and Karan Johar on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Incidentally Ranbir tried to bully me on the sets of ADHM He treated me like a professional and I used to call him Sir though it was a little awkward Actually he wanted to teach me how to do things in the right way Then he told me he didnt find much to bully meAfter ADHM did you decide to face the cameraI wanted to train myself I went to dance and acting workshops concentrated on my fitness mdash I was doing all those things when I met Shanoo Sharma casting agent She told me that if I am ready to audition she will test me I was auditioning for threefour weeks before I got the filmSoon after you were introduced by YRF you had to face charges of nepotism as you come from a big film family Were you prepared for it did you get affectedI did read a couple of comments When its your first film you work so hard and you give it your all for one year mdash of course you feel bad when you read these comments Obviously you cant help it People will always have opinions The only thing you can do is work hard and speak through your work I just feel no matter where you come from no matter your background the odds are the same Yes it might be a bit easy for me to meet the casting director But I have to audition prove my mettle as an actor because I dont think a producer or a director wants to take an actor who is not worthy of the script A producerdirector is putting so much of his own money on new talent So you have to audition whether you are the insider or the outsider I got the film purely on the merit of my talent There are so many who dont belong to a film family like a Ranveer Singh or an Anushka Sharma who also audition The odds are the same for everyone