Actor-writer Hussain Dalal is riding high on the success of O’Romeo, where he plays the loya friend to Shahid Kapoor. Audiences are praising his chemistry with Shahid and his nuanced performance. In this exclusive interview, Hussain opens up about collaborating with director Vishal Bhardwaj, working with his co-stars, the evolving space for writers in Bollywood, and why he doesn’t see AI as a creative threat. Excerpts:
O’Romeo has been receiving an incredible response, and your character has struck a chord with audiences. What has this love meant to you?
I am truly overwhelmed. People are liking the film, they are liking this character and it shows that the film as a whole works because if somebody remembers a character in such detail, that means they have also liked the film, which for me is a big victory.
Audiences are also loving your chemistry with Shahid Kapoor. How did that dynamic translate on screen?
I am happy about it. Shahid and I go back a long way. We have been friends for a long time. So, when I got this part, we just sunk our teeth into it. And Shahid is the finest co-actor in the world. He helps and cares about the other person’s performance also in a scene. I love this about him. It was an absolute blast working with him.
The film is intense and violent, yet your character brings lightness and unpredictability.
This character is the director’s imagination. It is exactly what Vishal sir wanted. He wanted my character to bring more than comedy, goodness and lightness in the film. A character like this makes you also feel that this is the reality of their life. So, they don’t stop being happy when they are doing dark things in their life. It’s not like they are gangsters and they sit and talk in slow motion. So, it makes the whole story real which I found to be amazing.
As a writer yourself, what did you observe about Vishal Bhardwaj’s storytelling?
I was amazed every time I was reading the new scene that he would write or when I would see a scene with other actors. Woh bahot mastikhor aadmi hai and that you can see in his films. Every time there’s a joke in the film. Ek masti hoti hai. Ek lightness hoti hai. So that, as a writer, for me, was like being in writing school. I felt like doing some crash course on writing.
Vishal Bhardwaj and Shahid Kapoor have a long-standing creative partnership. Did you witness that synergy on set?
Absolutely. They’re like made from the same cloth. They’re always jamming. It was an absolute honour for me to be in that setup where I’m jamming with the great Vishal Bharadwaj and the great Shahid Kapoor. It was almost unbelievable.
You also shared several intense moments with Triptii Dimri. What stood out to you about working with her?
She’s a fantastic professional. Solid actress. Always on cue, in the character and a very hardworking person. She was always in control of her character and how she wants to play it.
Do you ever worry about being slotted into the ‘hero’s best friend’ space?
Not really. Because I feel that I also space it out. The last time I played a hero’s friend was in Toofan. After that, I did Jee Karda, which was a whole different kind of character. So we space it out and I feel people are getting smarter and with the advent of the OTT, now all actors get their due. You don’t really get typecast if you are careful. So I am aware and also in a Vishal Bhardwaj film, you’re not really a hero’s friend. In his film, you’re a character that’s doing something for the story. He doesn’t write a character without a purpose. I would have done any character in his film.
Compared to a decade ago, do you feel writers today have greater creative authority in Bollywood?
In Bollywood, writer’s value is very high. The problem is that the value of the writer has gone down in OTT. Films have always respected the writer. My first film came out 15 years ago and I got a name on the poster, got full credit, got money and respect. In OTT, because of corporatisation, any senior writer can get any kind of feedback. And there are no creative people who give feedback. So the respect is the same in cinema. In fact, it’s always been there.
With AI becoming a global talking point, do you see it as a threat to writers or a tool?
It’s a very big advantage if you want to do clerical work, like cleaning up the grammar of a document or doing some research. But for creative work, if you’re a duffer yourself, then what will AI make? You need to have the intelligence to think up a story. If AI can help you type a story, that is brilliant, all the best to you, man. I don’t think that’s a threat. It’s your talent. But AI cannot think up a story. I can’t tell AI to write me a blockbuster film and that film becomes a blockbuster. That’s stupid.
