Bhool Chuk Maaf, the much awaited rom-com starring Rajkummar Rao and Wamiqa Gabbi is all set to release in cinemas on 23rd May. Directed by Karan Sharma, the film is set in Varanasi and follows the story of a couple caught in unusual circumstances. Rao and Gabbi recently appeared in IMDb’s exclusive ‘Ask Each Other Anything’ segment where they shared advice they would like to give one another, their experience while shooting the movie, and fun behind the scene anecdotes from the sets.
Sharing one piece of advice they would like to give one another, Rao said, “Initially, for the first one or two days, I thought you were a little low on confidence. You were doing it right but because you were unsure of how it’s shaping up, that would disturb you somehow in your performance. I think you shouldn’t do that. You’re correct, you’re right. Just go with your gut." Gabbi told him, “Working with you was one of my best experiences. I don’t know what advice to give you. You’ve already learned all the lessons in your life and that shows like your empathetic nature, your kindness, your openness, it’s a pleasure working with you, Raj."
Upon asking each other fun stories from the sets of the film, Gabbi recalled, “It’s only after the shoot of Bhool Chuk Maaf that I got to know, I don’t need sunscreen for just my skin, but also for my hair as I got to know my hair was burnt. We were shooting at that ghat so my whole body was tanned. My hair got burnt. I got to know later that sunscreen has to be sprayed for hair also. I told you that we will never shoot in May-June in the ghats of Banaras. You said that if a good film comes, we definitely will." Rao added, “How we shot in 50 degrees in Banaras. ACs were not working. People see the trailer but they can never figure how we were almost burning so badly, in 50 degrees.”
Revealing their first reaction to the script of the film and what excited them the most, Gabbi shared, “I really enjoyed the narration and I just knew from the very first day that I am doing this film. There’s something about all the characters, they all are so alive. I felt so nice after the narration. I thought that this was such a nice laughter ride and I want to be part of this. All the sequences at the riverbank, I thought I can’t do them differently each time. It’s only you who is reliving the day, but for us it’s the same.” Rao mentioned, “For me, it was how I would react to the same situation differently. It can’t be anger throughout, it can’t be irritation throughout. There has to be so many different ways that one can react, living the same day for so many days. Especially when you know that the next day is the wedding, the most important day in the life of my character. I think the whole way of reacting to the situation, that haldi especially. And then the ghat where he comes and he tries telling you and the friends, that this is what is happening and for you to say the same thing again and again.”
Gabbi asked Rao how he consistently brings charm to comedy roles, to which he said, “Comedy is a tough genre. A lot of things have to be in place, such as the script and situation. You can’t just write anything and ask an actor to make it funny. Most of the films I’ve done are mostly situational comedies, where the writing plays a very important part. I never try to be funny, I always try to react to the situation. Sometimes depending on the genre, sometimes it’s a notch higher than realism and I put in that little extra effort. Some of the films though are also very real in nature. I think comedy is in pauses, you have to have the right pauses and at the right place. That’s where I believe comedy comes from and I’ve learned that from watching a lot of international actors like Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Irrfan Sir. He’s one of my most favourite actors in all genres, especially comedy.”
