Amit Sadh - Interview!

"WE'RE MORE THAN MARRIED; WE LIVE TOGETHER"

THE LAST TIME I MET AMIT SADH WAS MORE THAN A YEAR BACK. THAT WAS WHEN HE'D JUST BEEN VOTED OUT OF NACH BALIYE. I REMEMBER THINKING THEN THAT HERE'S A MAN WHO'S ANGRY WITH THE WORLD. ONE-AND-A-HALF YEARS LATER, POST BIGG BOSS, THE WHOLE NATION IS WITNESS TO AMIT AND HIS FAMOUS TEMPER.

BUT WHILE HIS HOT-HEADED TEMPERAMENT CONTINUES TO BE A DISTINCT PART OF HIS PERSONALITY, THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED IN HIS LIFE. FOR ONE, HE'S NO LONGER A PART OF TELEVISION, AND WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY FOR A BIT. NEXT, FIANCE NEERU BAJWA AND HE ARE ALL SET TO LAUNCH THEIR OWN FASHION LABEL, FOR WHICH THEY HAVE HUGE EXPANSION PLANS OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS. AND FINALLY, WE SHOULD BE HEARING SOME BIG FILMI ANNOUNCEMENTS WITH REGARDS TO BOTH AMIT AND NEERU'S BOLLYWOOD CAREERS SOON.

ST: What went wrong with Durgesh Nandinii?

AS: I was doing the show till I was diagnosed with typhoid. I was admitted in the hospital and as soon as I was released, I was told to take bed rest for 15 days. But I had a responsibility as an actor towards the show, so I responded to their needing me and shot for a month, after which I had a relapse. I quit then and I'm still recovering.

ST: Why choose a show like Durgesh Nandinii, which never showed much promise and just hasn't managed to click with the audience?

AS: When you start something, you never know how it'll work out. As an actor, it doesn't matter. It's very encouraging if your show works, but for me, even if the show doesn't do well, it's not discouraging at all. It's the fate of the show. Had it been a hit show, I would have still given the same amount of hard work and I would have still got typhoid. So it's not in our hands. Such is fate.

ST: Was he happy with the way the show turned out?

AS: I'll be very honest with you; I had done the pilot for this show two years ago. And I'm very close to Vipulji (Shah). They wanted me for this show. And there are few people you don't ask what the role is about. Vipul Shah is one of those people. I trust him completely, and I trust what he's written and conceived. And I'm not saying this because he's a filmmaker; it's because I respect his intellect of cinema.

I asked for a month's break because I was quite exhausted after Bigg Boss. But I had to start shooting as soon as I came out and I didn't get that much-needed break. Yeah, it could have been better but it's better to not get into the blame game.

ST: Even though his leaving the show wasn't the most favourable way to quit, Amit seems relieved in a way to be free of his television commitments. I sense his deep disenchantment with the way acting has progressed in TV.

AS: Nowadays, on the sets of a show, I see people talking about everything but acting. Actors get so excited talking about TRPs; they forget what they're actually supposed to be doing. Today, everyone's just fighting with one another. The producer is fighting with the channel, while the actors are fighting with the producers. At the end of the day, the quality is suffering. Actors are shooting like donkeys. I was shooting 18-19 hours a day.

And you can't even blame the producer who has his own commitments. I really don't think shows should go on air without a bank. Either the producers have to show some unity, or the channel has to be a little flexible. On humanitarian grounds, acting in television is the most pathetic job on Earth right now. If someone approached me for work, I'm going to tell him blank on his face that I will not work longer than 12 hours. If you need me for more than that, don't call me.

ST: Such strong words clearly elucidate the fact that Amit is on a break from television.

AS: I'm on a break right now. I've lost my health, my physique, and so for the next two months, I'm going to chill out. Get back to being fit. I really needed time to rejuvenate post Bigg Boss but I couldn't manage that. Durgesh… came about, the money and the production house was good. I didn't know I would be shooting day and night.

ST: Now that he's brought up Bigg Boss, how horrifying was the experience?

AS: I don't call it a bad experience; it was a disturbing experience, which taught a lot. Even though I never want to go back there, some good did come out of it." And what would that be? "I think the way the country received me was spectacular. I was touched. People digested my honesty and applauded it. They fell in love with my anger, my love and me. They saluted me for being so gutsy and real.

It all depends on your maturity. When I came out, I didn't speak badly about anybody because I feel within those walls, everybody is forgiven. The world was shit inside; you didn't know what you were thinking. Three months without your family and loved ones, in those same walls, with the same people, the lights on your head 24x7, so much heat, was just too much. The game was supposed to break you. And it was frustrating. So inside, when people fought, they were forgiven. But outside, it's real life, you don't have any excuses. Everybody on that show used to lie to each other of friendship and bonds and sisterhood.

I would tell them on their face that when I go out, I will connect with my family, and then if I have time, if nature forces or persuades me, only then will we meet. I've been in touch with Rahul (Roy) and Ravi (Kishan). But not with anyone else. Why should I bother? I'm very happy in my life. Anyway, it's very difficult to like me. I would tell all of them that the moment I go out, I won't even recognize your face. I won't even see you guys and you will do the same. So why all this nonsense?

ST: Word has it that the only reason he took up Bigg Boss was a desperate need for money. And while he agrees with that assumption, the dire need for money situation was not as bad as it was made out to be.

AS: I went in for money. But I didn't know it would be so difficult. I was missing Neeru very much; that I guess the whole country knows by now. And I can't stay in this house for a day; imagine my state in that one house for three months! I'm a free bird; I'm like a tiger, who will say anything and do what I want. I'm a very different person. And the Bigg Boss house was for very filmi people. It was all about being diplomatic. I was breaking down, getting agitated and frustrated inside. So once when I broke down and cried, I must have said something like, 'I came here only for money. Otherwise, I would never have come.' The media blew it out of proportion of course. I wasn't so desperate also.

ST: Amit's apparent lack of money seemed to touch a chord with the audience, who responded with offers to help.

AS: People got very affected. I'd gone for a press conference in Lucknow. This lady came up to me. She said, 'Beta, main teri mummy jaisi hoon. Apna bank account number dena, main paise jama kar deti hoon.' The country loved me. Wherever I go today, people just come up to me and say, 'Hame aapko bas chhuna hai.' They just keep looking at me. Girls keep writing me letters. Even though I didn't try to portray myself as perfect, people loved me for the man I am!

ST: It wasn't just the country, as a person too, Amit feels changed.

AS: It was very humbling when I came out. I think I've earned more respect in Neeru's eyes. It takes balls to be so real. Everybody who met me said, 'Amit, you were so real!' As a person too, I got more confident. In such a place, with some 40-50 cameras trained on me, I could still be real. You know what; I think the show could have been better if they hadn't tried to make a reality show into a fiction drama. Had they shown more shades of me, the show would have rocked. I was a terror inside that house.

ST: There is the opinion that Amit is quite the difficult person to live with. This of course, was a conclusion they reached after watching him going quite mad in Bigg Boss.

AS: I'm not a difficult person. People will get entertained watching me because I have so many mood swings and natures. I can be funny one moment, and then just not talk. That's not being difficult; that's being honest. I have very few people in my life and I'm happy about that. Those few are equal to a billion in the world. I don't waste my emotions and I can't lie. I don't believe in acquaintances; it's all or nothing for me. Those fake hellos and smiles don't work.

ST: It's difficult to imagine someone surviving with an attitude like that in the glamour industry.

AS: Well, I've survived, haven't I? And it's been seven years. I've bought a house and I'm buying one more. I don't follow anyone. I have the balls to be an individual.

ST: That is one point, which is coming through very strongly all through this interview. Another question to ask Amit is about a recent report that he's patched up with his family, whom he'd been estranged from since a long time.

AS: People get matured in life and so have I. My parents are no more, but I have made peace with other relatives. I had left home and come here to make something of myself. I was aloof before; now I've changed.

ST: It's not just his nature, which has changed; if things go according to plan, he should have a film career to look forward to from next year.

AS: My films are starting from next year. And I have good producers supporting me. I just need to get back in shape in the next seven-eight months. As far as the kinds of films are concerned, I'm looking at anything and everything. I'm an actor; any producer interested in me can call and audition me for anything. If I like it, and it's good for my career, I will be a part of it. I have no notions in my mind. Yes, it has to be a good role; I refuse to do side roles. I've never been part of bad work in my TV career also, so why now? There's no haste. I'm a guy who can sit at home waiting the whole year.

ST: Amit reiterates that he doesn't want to say no to TV completely, and yet I get the feeling he's had his fill of the small screen.

AS: Quality matters to me. I'm not a labourer. I have this rebel image in the industry; you just can't overpower me. I've lived two years on the footpath, and even there, no one could squash me. What are they going to do here? I've done everything in life; I've even been a security guard at a showroom. This is just the way I am, and I don't wish to change. People around me tell me I'm a hero. Neeru tells me night and day that I'm the best and I shouldn't change even one percent. Why should I change for the television industry? It's too small. But if I've learnt one thing in life, it is to never say never. If something really good comes long, you never know. But no more soaps, that's for sure. Nothing saas-bahu, period.

ST: On the personal front, there's huge confusion about the status of Amit and Neeru's relationship. Are they married? Are they not? Because from what we've heard, things haven't been formalised yet. Neeru is still his fiance. But who better than the man in question himself to clear the uncertainty?

AS: I'm not married yet. You know I'm so fed up with this question, so now if people call me to ask if I'm married, I say yes. If they ask me are you not married, I say no.

ST: Ummm…that answer doesn't really clear the confusion for us.

AS: I just say that out of irritation. If everybody wants to get me married, what can I do? People write such crap about us. First, there was this thing about a secret marriage in Canada. Then, they wrote that Neeru went to Canada and I was drunk in Goa, after she dumped me. Soon after, they sent me into depression. It's really quite ridiculous. Every time we go to Canada, they say we're going to get married.

ST: So what is the real picture then?

AS: We were planning marriage. But we're holding on; we're still young. We're more than married; we live together. There's no haste in life at all. I don't like to run. I only run on the treadmill; in life I crawl. And it's not like we're postponing marriage because of our careers (Neeru has signed a multiple-film contract with Tips). We just don't want to do it right now. I don't want to plan anything. Then again, marriage is not a small thing; it's not easy.

Why the unnecessary haste? Of course I'll marry Neeru. If I get into the mood, I could go to the gurudwara and get married in an hour. For me, marriage is the most beautiful institution. It binds you. I'm just waiting for the right moment. I've found the right woman in Neeru and I'm very faithful to her in whichever corner of the world I am. And she is very faithful to me in whichever corner of the world she is. And that's more than marriage.

ST: Amit has been writing a book since the past few months and you can be sure you'll get to read his sarcastic take on people and the opinions they form. And Neeru has taken up fashion designing as a career. Together with Amit, they're opening a store called Aaina.

AS: We're opening two stores actually, in Canada first, and then we'll open out here too. Neeru is completely involved in the creative aspects, while I'm the financier. This is what's keeping us occupied.