What is 'Ready' all about?

Ready, produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Rajat Rawail, Sohail Khan, under the banner of  T-Series, Sohail Khan Productions and Rawail Grandsons Entertainment and Software Pvt Ltd is a romantic comedy which is a remake of the 2008 Telugu blockbuster by the same name, which starred Ram and Genelia D'Souza. The movie promises to be a laugh riot, and boasts of a huge star cast and funny, eccentric characters played by Paresh Rawal, Mahesh Manjrekar, Zarine Khan and Arbaaz Khan. It is directed by Anees Bazmee and will release worldwide on June 3rd. It has chart busting music by both Pritam Chakraborty and Devi Shri Prasad.

Please tell me about your role in Ready?

I play the role of a young guy, who is an eternal bachelor called Prem in Ready. Asin plays the role of an orphan named Sanjana, who lives with her greedy uncles who are behind her wealth. After Sanjana and I fall in love with each other, I set out to teach her greedy uncles a lesson. The film has every element which can make it a joyride for its viewers - dance, romance, masti, and action - just like, what you critics call a typical Salman film. This is Asin's third Hindi movie and her second with me, after our first film together-London Dreams. 

Can you tell more about your character?

 Prem is a very loveable character, who takes off from where No Entry ended and gets into the mode of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. It is Anees Bazmee's version of Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. It is today's Hum Aapke Hain Kaun. It is out and out a naughty film in which every one has a sense of humor, from dad to son to chacha to chachi.

Is it true that it is after a long time that a film was shot in Sri Lanka?

Yes. The major parts of the film Ready were shot in Sri Lanka and Thailand. I was told that it was after quite a long time that a Hindi film was short in Sri Lanka, where Tamil films are very popular with the audiences.

Why did you insist on having the music launch of Ready in Film City?

Yes. I wanted to use the euphoria around Ready to bring attention to causes I believe in. My latest endeavor is to help the workers in the film industry. I wanted to felicitate the employees of the Film City, where I ahd shot for Maine Pyar Kiya, at the music launch of Ready.

Is it your new strategy to work in remakes of hit South Indian films?

It is just a sheer coincidence that three films of mine have been remakes of South Indian hit films, like Wanted, Ready and Bodyguard. I did not consciously plan any strategy. The reason people have liked me in films like Wanted and Dabangg is that heroism has been brought back in these films with the hero emerging as a larger than life character. Down South, they have not let heroism go away and hence the masses go to South Indian flicks in large numbers in hordes even today. However, as far as Bollywood is concerned, it is the truth that we have started missing heroes' big time. I agreed to act in Wanted because around that time, I really was fed up of watching the so called niche films or romcom films and wanted to go to a theatre and see a hero film

You replaced Jacqueline Fernandes with Zarine Khan in Ready. Why?

Jacqueline Fernandes was slated to do a song in Ready with me but at the eleventh hour, she could not do and Zarine Khan stepped in. I did not do any favor to Zarine by suggesting her name. On the contrary, it was Zarine who did us a big favor by agreeing to be part of the film though Asin had already been signed as the leading lady of the film and had the bigger role. It is another thing altogether that we did not ask any other actress to step in that role. (Laughs)