Vardhaan Puri, carrying forward the legacy of his legendary grandfather Amrish Puri, is making his own mark in Bollywood with ‘Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story‘. In an exclusive chat with ETimes, he opened up about the film’s heartwarming response, working with Kaveri Kapur, his upcoming medical thriller, and his vision for the future. Excerpts…
What kind of reviews have you been receiving for Bobby Aur Rishi Ki Love Story?
The experience has been both gratifying and overwhelming. Our audiences, esteemed members of our fraternity, families, friends, well-wishers, loved ones, and fans have been showering a lot of love and praise on the film and our performances. They’ve been talking about the chemistry, our performances, the scenic locations, the music, and, most of all, the film’s lighthearted and breezy nature without major conflict. Nowadays, people’s lives are stressful, and sometimes, they prefer content that isn’t too intense. Overall, Gen Z especially is loving the film, and the numbers we have received from the OTT platform, have surprised us. That, I’m sure, means the film is being loved and appreciated, and the word of mouth is very strong.
How was it working with debutant Kaveri Kapur?
Working with Kaveri has been a very warm and fulfilling experience. We started off as strangers, organically built our bond, and today, we are the best of friends. She’s a spontaneous actor who really trusts her intuition, and I love that quality about her. She hasn’t watched too much cinema, which is why she brings such a fresh and vibrant perspective. She’s been a joy to work with, and I cannot wait to collaborate with her again in the near future. Apart from being a really good actor, she’s also a wonderful songwriter and singer. Maybe that’s why she has such a great rhythm in her scenes.
Kaveri Kapur’s father, Shekhar Kapur, directed Mr. India, a film that featured your grandfather, Amrish Puri, in one of his most iconic roles. Did this legacy make working with Kaveri feel even more special or significant to you?
Yes, definitely. Shekhar sir is someone I have great regard and respect for. I shared a great bond with him—not when Mr India was released because I wasn’t born yet, but later when I became an assistant director at Yash Raj Films. When he was directing a film there, I screen-tested for him. He gave me great film and career advice, and we used to play table tennis together. Even then, I remember him talking about Kaveri, whom I didn’t know at all at the time.
When I heard that Kaveri was going to be a part of this movie, it felt serendipitous. What are the chances that my Dadu’s grandson and Shekhar sir’s daughter would work together on a love story? Even before meeting her, I knew she came from a wonderful pedigree, that she would be a cultured person, and a joy to work with. But after working with her, I realized she was ten times better than I ever expected. She is such a pure and wise soul.
With both your families having such a strong presence in the industry, do you feel there’s a certain unspoken bond or energy when working with Kaveri?
Yes, definitely. When I was working with Kaveri, I could see so many traits of her father, Shekhar sir, in her, and so many traits of her mother, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi. Both our families come from films, and we share a strong legacy in cinema. Our families have a similar romance with films, so bonding with Kaveri was very easy. We’ve been brought up with very similar values and moral compasses. There was definitely a mutual admiration and a lot of respect for each other and each other’s families.
Can you share some fun or interesting anecdotes from your shooting days?
I remember this really funny incident on the first day of shooting. We were supposed to do a very difficult scene that involved a kiss. After we kissed for the first time, things became a little awkward between us for about two or three minutes. But then we spoke about it and decided that this is part of our jobs, so we shouldn’t overthink it or let it affect our performance. We reminded ourselves that this is just work and moved on. Kunal sir was laughing and said, “Welcome to films! Sometimes you have to do such things and then forget about them.”
Another funny incident happened with one of my co-actors who had to do a kissing scene. Right before the take, she got extremely nervous and just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Kunal sir and I tried to comfort her, but she still couldn’t do it. In the end, Kunal sir had to rewrite the entire scene. There was an awkward silence on set, but looking back, it was quite amusing.
Kunal Kohli has a distinct style in storytelling. How did you find working under his direction?
Kunal sir is extremely collaborative, a great team player, and a fantastic captain. He’s very democratic and understands his actors’ personalities well, incorporating them into the script. He knows how to enhance your strengths and cover your weaknesses, which is the most important quality for any director. He also makes you feel extremely loved, and I believe actors perform best when they know their director believes in them. It was very easy to align with his vision during the process of this film. What I love most about him is how approachable he is—he always had a solution to our problems. He understands actors’ concerns beautifully, supports them through the process, and ensures they deliver their best performances.
