Vivaan Shah: Salman Khan was not the first person to build his body, My dad was

Vivaan, 24, may look like a child when it comes to his physical appearance, but is otherwise mature as a human being.
He is emotional, has interests and has the ability to get along with all kinds of people. He loves to observe and study cinema and while he may be much more of a conformist unlike his rebel father, Naseeruddin Shah, he has learnt his values from him.Ahead of his upcoming heist and dance film Happy New Year, he opens up to Bombay Times about his need to adapt to society, his bond with Shah Rukh Khan and his continued fondness for his ex-girlfriend Akshara Haasan. Excerpts:
Were films the obvious choice for you?
I was born and brought up in Mumbai and studied here till class VI, after which I was sent to Doon School into a boarding, where my older brother Imaad was also studying. Boarding school is a very good thing as it toughens you up and you tend to cultivate a lot of interests, which you otherwise may not have, studying in a Mumbai school. Also, you meet people from all over, so, your understanding of people and India broadens. I was a very good student and wanted to be a historian. Being a part of a film family, it is assumed that you become an actor, but in reality, I never wanted to be one and wanted to always lead a so-called normal life. When I would study, my friends would come and say, ‘Why are you studying? You will toh become an actor.’ So, I would get pissed and say, ‘Nahi, main engineer banoonga.’ While I got admission in St. Stephen’s College in a regular BA Honours, I missed getting History Honours by a mark. Doing the regular BA was not a stimulating experience and I did not enjoy it at all. I was also missing staying away from home for so many years, and thus, I took a transfer to Jai Hind College back in Mumbai after the first year and that’s when 7 Khoon Maaf happened out of the blue. Acting had always been there in my DNA and been my passion. But there is a difference between loving acting and getting into the business. Also, I was shy and did not have the confidence that I could be good at it. But 7 Khoon Maaf came at a time when I was very confused. Vishal Bhardwajji knows my father and had composed some beautiful music for all our Motley plays. One day, he came for one of our plays in which I was acting and told baba that I want Vivaan to play a 45-year-old. Working on the film, it was an epiphanic moment and I found it to be a blessing to be a part of cinema. I was 21 and went back to completing college, doing theatre alongside.
How did Happy New Year happen?
I was called for a screen test by a casting director and later learnt that it was for a film directed by Farah Khan starring Shah Rukh Khan. I gave the first round and then met Farah for a second round. She asked me, ‘Are you a good dancer?’ I lied and said, ‘Ya, ya’ thinking that it would help my chances of getting the role. But she said, ‘Shit, we needed a bad dancer.’ I said, ‘No, no. I am actually a bad dancer.’ And I got the role.
READ: ​Happy New Year: Things to look forward to in the film
Who are you most attached to?
My older brother, Imaad. He and I share the same interests in films and music. We have grown up together and he is my best friend. He has been an influence on me and for me, he is the voice of reason and the most sensible human being. Another inspiration in my life has been my stepsister Heeba aapa, who is 42. My father married her mother, who was older to him when he was studying at the Aligarh Muslim University at 21. He later divorced her after Heeba aapa was born. For a few years, she went and lived with her mother, who was a Pakistani in Iran and after her mother died, she returned to India to live with us. I am very attached to her. She also does a lot of theatre and dance, and plays Ismat aapa in one of our plays.
Talk about your parents Naseeruddin and Ratna Pathak Shah?
Everything I am today, be it my interest in literature, theatre or films or exposure to current affairs, boils down to what they have taught me and exposed me to. They taught me to basically have a healthy mind and are also my sharpest critics. I am too attached to my mother and am considered a mama’s boy. She is the most rational and logical person. Whenever I have a dilemma of any kind, I have learnt over the years that my parents will give me advice based on their understanding of the world and with a practicality and rationality. My dad has taught me empathy and the ability to be able to stand by your guns and not sell out, to constantly be curious about life and be disciplined. My mother has taught me to listen to everybody’s point of view and to think about others before you think for yourself. My parents are idealistic and that becomes a constant dilemma for me as sometimes, it may be difficult to apply it in today’s day and age. For instance, it is very difficult for me to drive the car when my parents are sitting with me. They will want me to always toe the line and do it correctly and my mom will say this repeatedly, even if it is in the middle of the night where no one is watching that, ‘Don’t throw litter on the street. Don’t jump a red light.’ I will tell her, ‘No one is watching’ and how everyone does it and I have done it so many times but she will say, ‘No’. So, often it leads to battles but at the end of the day, I learn my values from them and I know that they practise what they preach. While you stay with your parents, why does your brother live alone?
My mom has a simple rule. You stay at home till you are 25, after that I will kick you out and you fend for yourself. You can’t be living off your parents and need to financially take care of yourself.
Talk about your relationship with your father?
He is the most sensitive human being ever and someone who genuinely empathises with people. He has always told me that acting is all about empathising. No one can have the interest and passion that he has in his craft. He is constantly learning and reading and right now, he is at a stage in his life where he feels like teaching acting. We have a very honest relationship, but I am intimidated by him as well. And it is something that bothers him as well, as he would like people to be able to be more free with him. Though it’s not a formal relationship and I can totally be myself with him. He is the silent type and very short-tempered just like I am, but with me, he really talks his mind and pours his heart and soul out. I am a conformist, but my dad is a rebel at heart. I am more emotional than anyone else in my family. I am not a sell-out, but am someone who feels the need to adapt to society. My favourite film of my father is Jalwa. He was the first actor in the industry to make a body. That is even before Salman Khan. Salman Khan was not the first person to build his body. My dad was. People keep going on about how he is anti commercial cinema and how he is art house, but let me tell you that when he did commercial cinema, he did it as good as the best in the business. He believes that there should not be a category such as commercial and art-house films. There are just good films and bad films. We should make films which are interesting and tell great stories.
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Talk about Farah Khan?
She is like a mother on set. Shah sir (Shah Rukh Khan) says, ‘She is like a director and mother on set’. She scolds you as a mother and a teacher and everybody is happy working for her. She has a great sense of humour and amazing perception of the world. She is a tough woman with a tough exterior but a heart of gold. I once cried on set as I could not get my step properly and got scolded by Farah ma’am. But immediately after that, everyone tried to cheer me up in some way. Working on Happy New Year has changed my life in just not the obvious way, but I have learnt so much spending so much time with them, watching them work.
What about Shah Rukh?
He is the most sensitive, stimulating person I have ever met in terms of his interest in people, work and every aspect of life. One thing that I learnt from my parents, which Shah sir reinforced, was to have interests. He is so approachable and that is so amazing, given his calibre. He is intimidating and I am still intimidated by him as I have grown up watching his movies, but he is a very perceptive person. He knows that and so, he tries to make it easy for you, which is why he is so free in the way he talks to you.
You were allegedly in a relationship with Akshara Haasan. Are you single now?
Yes. We were dating for about two years before she broke up with me a year back just after I had begun to shoot Happy New Year. We are still very good friends and she is the most amazing person in the world, very talented and a beautiful human being. I learnt a lot from it and have become more mature now. Both my real family and my family from Happy New Year helped me a lot. Shah sir and Abhishek kept telling me, ‘The pain you face in your life is your ammunition as an actor and this is what you have to hold on to.’
What next?
I am doing Mastan that I have been working on for a while. I will continue doing theatre and regardless of whether I do get offers or not, I will go on making movies. It is my dream to someday direct a movie.
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