Arfi Lamba on Islamophobia, actresses he wants to work with and more

Arfi Lamba made his Bollywood debut with the film ‘Prague’. He later on starred in movies like ‘Fugly’ and ‘Singh Is Bliing’. In the latter, his comic timing was praised a lot. Now, he will be seen in a short film titled ‘The Idiot’ which is based on Islamophobia.

Recently, we interacted with the actor over email, and he spoke to us about his short film, his take on Islamophobia, directors and actresses he is keen on working with and more…

Tell us something about your short film ‘Idiot’?

‘The Idiot’ is a very special film. I feel so lucky to have acted under the direction of Ruchi Joshi and Sriram Ganapathy. The film deals with a very relevant subject of Islamophobia. We hope it starts the right conversations into the subject and brings back the focus to lynchings of humans rather than to killing of cattle for food.

The short film is based on Islamophobia. So, have you come across people who actually suffer from Islamophobia?

We just need to look around us and stop pretending to look away. The beef lynchings and the mob behaviour are very evident. I have friends who don’t get houses in Mumbai in certain areas because they are Muslims.

Talking about Islamophobia, what’s your take on celebs like Sonu Nigam and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi complaining about Azaan being played on speakers?

I am totally against loudspeakers in religious places. The God is definitely not deaf. But then why single out masjids. Even temples and gurudwaras should be banned from using loudspeakers. And what about Ganesh Chaturthi?

You have done films, plays and short films. Which is the most difficult and the easiest one to be a part of?

Theatre would always be my first love. Short films are a great medium. With attention times reducing to seconds, they are the best to deliver a message with a punch. But nothing can beat cinema. The desire to be on silver screen and to enthral and entertain an audience is all an actor always seek.

Before turning an actor you had worked as an engineer. So, what attracted you towards acting?

I did not want to work with machines for the rest of my life, I wanted to touch the lives of people, make them laugh and cry and just like movies have been a part of me, I wanted to be a part of their lives through cinema. But I was a very shy kid and it took me ages to listen to the real calling my heart and here I am.

You yourself have a production company named Bombay Berlin Film Productions. Tell us something about it, what kind of projects you people plan to back?

We have produced ‘LOEV’ which is on Netflix now, available in 180 countries. We co-produced ‘The Road to Mandalay’ which has, like ‘LOEV’ travelled to some 50 festivals. The company will keep on producing films with an international appeal or the ones that have a message for the society. This is not to say that we are shying away from entertainers. But our entertainers will also have a bound and wonderful script.

Talking about your big screen appearances, you were last seen in ‘Singh Is Bliing’ in 2015. So, what’s happening next?

I did a German film that released this May in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. I learnt German for that part. I am in talks for three films and we should be making announcements soon.

As you are still making a mark in the industry, tell us which directors and actresses you are keen on working with?

I would love to work with Ruchi Joshi and Sriram Ganapathy again. I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan and Xavier Dolan, so at some point may be I would love to work with them. I am in love with Imtiaz Ali sir, Nagraj Manjule, Sriram Raghavan, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, Homi Adjania, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Katgi and many many others. The list is endless. In terms of actresses, I am looking forward to working with Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor, hopefully in near future.

Murtuza Iqbal

‘Eat Sleep Bollywood Repeat’ is his life Mantra. Dance is his first love and Rani Mukerji is his eternal crush. He is someone who loves being himself, and as for the ones who don’t agree, his reply? “Talk to my hand!”