WTK Press Conference
The scorching temperature shot up even further when actors Jackky Bhagnani and Lauren Gottlieb arrived with all their sought-after charm at the Worlds of Wonder (Delhi, NCR) for a chit chat with the press on their upcoming release, ‘Welcome to Karachi’. Veteran comic actor, Arshad Warsi, who plays a strong role in the film, was absent due to some prior commitments.
The film, as told to us by the cast, is an action comedy where Jackky plays a dumb Gujarati boy, Kirdaar Patel (“If it’s Dumb and Dumber, then I’m Dumber”, said Jackky) who desires to visit America but loses his passport after which actor Arshad Warsi, who plays his friend, jumps in to the rescue and promises to take him there via a boat. There’s chaos after which the two end up neither in America nor India but Karachi. That’s where actor Lauren Gottlieb is introduced in the plot as a Pakistani Intelligence Officer who is skeptical of a conspiracy and spies on them. There’s more drama, much more comedy with little intellectual weight.
We asked the two actors about their chemistry on screen and experience with each other. Lauren said, “It’s my first movie outside dance where I had to speak a new language and learn the Urdu diction. Being an American it was a challenging task, but the whole team instilled a lot of faith in me and I am hopeful of pulling it off well.”
Jackky said, “On the dance front, it was difficult to catch up with Lauren given the splendid dancer that she is though she kept backing me up. Otherwise, it was great fun and she was very supportive as a co-star and I believe that she truly justifies the role given to her.”
With the story being about two Indians stuck in Pakistan, it is confirmed to generate a lot of buzz and give out a message. We asked Jackky about the emotional chords that the film would strike. To this he replied, “India and Pakistan have a rivalry that either aggravates or eases out through only two mediums: A game of cricket or a movie. Personally, I feel that while the film lasts, people from both sides will forget tensions and rivalry and plainly enjoy. I won’t propagate any message as such, we just want them to laugh and have a good time.”
The film was set to release on 21st May alongside Tanu Weds Manu Returns but the release was shifted to the week ahead. We asked if it was because of the competition that TWMR would have given to the film. Jackky answered, “It’s not always about competition. Mr. Anand Rai (Director, TWMR) and my father are close friends and it was a mutual decision to shift one film ahead of the other so that both can benefit from it and the coming week was a solo one too, so we let it be a win-win for both films!”
29th May is the date of release and also a crucial day for the actors and with the movie grossing millions of views already for the pumping music and the interesting story base, both Jackky and Lauren are nervous as well as hopeful that the film will be loved across boundaries.
