Adil Hussain: Bizarre when people talk about films in numbers, like selling toothpaste

Mumbai, March 31  Actor Adil Hussain returned in the OTT-released film “The Illegal”, which has garnered praise. He says he finds it strange when people consider money as a factor while judging films.

“I genuinely find it strange and bizarre when people talk about films in numbers. It looks like you are selling toothpaste. Like, ‘Oh you are wearing 50,000 rupee-sunglasses!’. Art cannot be quantified that way,” he told IANS.

The actor says there needs to be another way to qualify films. He adds that good films need to be valued more.

“Critics need to find their own language to define art, not in numbers and crores. If marketeers are truly educated, they would be able to sell a good film. They won’t say it’s a good film but we have sell it cheap. What kind of an MBA degree holder are you?” he wonders.

Adil laughs and adds that if everything has to be valued in figures, then he is part of a ‘5,000 crore club’.

“My friend reminded me once about this. He said, ‘Adil you forgot, you are a member of the 5000 crore club!’. I don’t think any Indian film has crossed that. That is ‘Life Of Pi’.” he says.

He adds: “So is Suraj Sharma, who is also part of ‘The Illegal’. We can pitch it (the film) like that instead of saying ‘Oscar-winner’, because a lot of people don’t care much for the Oscars! I never thought about it that way.”

The actor says he loved being a part of “The Illegal”.

“The shooting was fun, we shot at Old Delhi and that is a fascinating place to see life on the street. I lived in old Delhi for one year in 1993. It is always fascinating to shoot and see the lives flowing around you, also inside you, in old Delhi because of the proximity of the road, noise, fragrance of food,” he says.

He loved shooting with his co-actors. “I shot with amazing actors. Shweta Tripathi is an excellent actor and doesn’t need my certification. I enjoyed working with her and Neelima ji (Azeem), who played my wife. This is the first time that I am working with them and they are wonderful people to work with,” he says.

Adil is known for roles in his films such as “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, “Mukti Bhawan” and “English Vinglish”.