Kenny Basumatary starer Bollywood movie ‘Yaara’ is all set to hit the digital screen on 30th July on ZEE5. Kenny, of Local Kungfu fame, will be playing one of leads in the movie. Directed By Tigmanshu Dhulia, the movie also casts Vidyut Jammwal, Shruti Haasan, Amit Sadh and Vijay Varma. In an exclusive interview with Discover East, Kenny Basumatary talks about the movie, his character, Chokdi Gang and beyond.
We all loved the trailer of Yaara. Please tell us about the movie and your role?
Thanks a lot. I suppose that genre-wise, we could classify Yaara as a gangster epic. It spans three time periods, from the four gangsters entering lives of crime as children, then as youngsters, and finally as middle aged men. My character’s name is Bhimsen Thapa, but everyone calls him Bahadur. He’s the most loyal and steady in the group.
Who’s your favorite character in the ‘chokdi’ gang’? You can choose yourself.
Of course I’d choose my own character, because it’s my first leading role in a Hindi film ha ha.
Apart from being set in a very retro theme, we also see beautiful sceneries in the trailer. Which was your favorite location during the shoot?
I got to visit Nepal, which was one of the best perks of the shoot. But I also loved Mussoorie, for the chilly weather and the Ruskin Bond-y atmosphere.
The poster and trailer give us the ‘jay-veeru’ feeling. Did you get the same feeling while shooting?
I didn’t think about it at all until the trailer came out. When there are four guys in a group, the dynamics are quite different.
In the trailer, we see four guys and one woman. Is that going to be chaotic?
It would have been much more chaotic if there were four woman and four guys. There wouldn’t have been time to explore each relationship properly. It could have been done in a series, but a film needs to be tighter.
How was your experience of working with the gorgeous Shruti Hassan?
I had a few scenes with her. She’s pleasant to talk to. And she has a voice I envy because it carries really far.
As it’s going to be released on a digital platform, what are your expectations?
I hope lots of people see it. Legally. Zee5 plans start at only 99 rupees per month, and subscribers can also watch Bangla film Nirontor, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, because our Inspector Boro heroine Poonam Gurung has a key role in it.
Career wise also, I hope it works out for me because everyone in the industry will watch a Tigmanshu Dhulia film, especially one as good-looking as this.
What are your views on the film industry being affected by the pandemic? How can it recover?
Almost all of us have stopped shooting. I’m personally waiting for the curve to go downwards so that we can get back to work with a minimum degree of risk. It’s not just our industry; pretty much all industries have been severely affected, and people of lower income categories much more so. I’ve read reports that the I&B ministry is mulling over allowing cinema halls to reopen soon, and some multiplex chains have also put out releases over the measures they’ll be taking after reopening, like sanitizing the theatres after every show, frisking without touching etc.
Personally, I’m hoping that I get back the entertainment tax on LKF 1 and 2 as soon as possible. I’d submitted the application more than a year ago. And the Assam State Film Finance & Development Corporation has also invited applications for subsidies, so if I can get some grants for LKF 2 and Inspector Boro, then it would really help in making my next film without having to depend on other financiers.
Tell us a bit about your upcoming projects.
The first thing we will shoot next is a romantic comedy web series in Assamese for upcoming OTT platform Reeldrama. They should be launching in a few months, and all three of my films will be available there. The cast has been finalized, but we’re waiting for the curve to flatten.
I’ve acted in Bhaskar Hazarika’s next production Emuthi Puthi, a heartwarming family dramedy which I’m really looking forward to watching in theaters with audiences. Rajesh Bhuyan’s Swargarath, starring Siddharth Sarma (Behorbari Outpost’s KK), is the second Assamese film I acted in this year. Brilliantly written by Santanu Rowmuria, we had finished around 60-70% of the shooting before corona came to our shores.
And finally, our Local Kung Fu team is doing the action choreography for the multi-starrer Barood 2. We had already started training the actors, who have been whipped into fantastic physical shape by Bhaskar Tamuly.
