Step aside, Hrithik and Shah Rukh. Bollywood has a brand new superhero, and he’s as funny as he’s powerful.
A Flying Jatt, written, choreographed and directed by Remo D'Souza, has young actor Tiger Shroff portraying a flawed Punjabi superhero who is still coming to terms with his powers.
Ahead of the film's release on August 25, The National talks to Shroff and his co-star, Jacqueline Fernandez, about the new comedy.
Tell us about A Flying Jatt.
Shroff: Obviously he is a superhero, but the most notable aspect of his character is that he is far from perfect. Like, for instance, before he gets his superpowers, he is afraid of heights. So after getting superpowers, flying is still a challenge for him. In this way, he is a very real character.
Why do you think Remo D’Souza chose you to play the role?
Fernandez: They used to go to the gym and workout together. Remo must have seen Shroff working out and said "There's my Flying Jatt!"
Did you ever imagine you would play a superhero?
Shroff: I had never imagined, but of course I had wanted to. Seeing Hrtithik Roshan in Krrish and Shahrukh Khan in Ra. One, of course I wanted to be one of India's superheroes, too.
Who’s your favourite superhero?
Shroff: Spider-Man. He is such a real character, so wholesome. Despite his superpowers, he has his weaknesses, too. That's what makes him so real, and so much more of a better superhero. If I could be any superhero, I would definitely be Spider-Man.
Jacqueline, did you ever imagine yourself romancing a superhero?
Fernandez: Well, it's not so much that I am romancing the superhero in this film, as he is romancing me. Flying Jatt is the one who is trying to sweep Kirti off her feet! But no, frankly I had never imagined it. After having seen movies like Krrish and Ra.One, I wanted to be part of something like that, and those kind of movies are so few and far in between that when A Flying Jatt was offered to me, I immediately said yes. And I am so glad because it has turned out to be simply brilliant.
If you were to be romanced by any superhero out there, who would you choose?
Fernandez: Hitch. Definitely Hitch.
There is a song in the movie where you two are romancing in the air. Tell us how it was filmed.
Fernandez: Yes, that's the song Toota Jo Kabhi Taara. The two of us are suspended in mid-air in harnesses and that's how a lot of the portions of the song are shot. I think this is the first time it has been done in Bollywood. It took five days to film, it was hard work. It's not as easy as it looks! Actually, just us performing in the harnesses wasn't the challenging part. It was quite a challenge to put us into and take us out of the harnesses as well.
[Jokingly] Towards the end, the crew just got tired and left us there in the harnesses at the end of the shoot, you know, left us there overnight, so that they wouldn’t have to do it all over again the next day.
• A Flying Jatt releases in the UAE on Thursday, August 25
artslife@thenational.ae
