Film Tere sang by Satish Kaushik -
Sheena Shahabadi in conversation with the new found talent Ruslaan Mumtaz. !
Ruslaan Mumtaz: How does it feel to be the newest leading lady of Bollywood?
Sheena Shahabadi: It feels great. As far as I can remember, I always wanted to become an actress since childhood. It's a dream come true for me.
RM: You've started your film career working with one of the veterans of Bollywood, Satish Kaushik.
SS: I've seen Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai and Tere Naam. The latter can be termed as my favourite Satish Kaushik film. He is an actor's director and it was great working with him.
RM: What about the term, a kidult love story…
SS: I don't think that the word 'kidult' is funny. It's like kids who behave like adults later on and that's why the term 'kidult' is used. Even if we have made a mistake. We know how to be responsible for it.
SS: What are your views on a word like 'kidult'?
RM: Kidult is an American word which says that the young teenagers are like kids but are more responsible than the adults.
RM: Today's actresses have problem playing the role of a mother. But your debut film sees you as a fifteen year old mother. Were you hesitant?
SS: I wasn't hesitant at all. I wasn't scared. I've read in the newspapers about fifteen year old girls getting pregnant and similar kind of stories. I think its high time people face the reality and be aware of what they are and aren't doing?
RM: If you were pregnant today. Would you then abort your child?
SS: I think the biggest crime you can ever commit is to kill your child. Abortion is nothing but killing your child. In fact, you are killing someone who has not even entered this world. I am against abortion.
SS: What are your views on abortion?
RM: I will completely go by the girl's decision here. She is carrying the child in her womb. She is the decision maker because she brings the child into the world. For me, a fifteen year old girl should not have a child but if she wishes to, there should be no reason to stop her too.
SS: Do you prefer men being pregnant?
RM: I seriously wouldn't prefer men being pregnant. I am happy that I am a man. Women go through a lot of things, a lot of pain while pregnant or otherwise. So it's the men who come to the rescue. They give them respect, love and a chance to decide or choose what they want to. RM: What about live-in relationships?
SS: I will not be comfortable with live-in relationships at all because I wouldn't like to commit a mistake at such a young age. I think everything has its own time. I am not saying that you can't have sex, but not at an early age where you can't look after yourself. Personally, I wouldn't go for a live-in relationship even today when I'm twenty one.
SS: What about you?
RM: For me, a live-in relationship will only start if the girl doesn't have a house to stay in or she is not from the same city. But if we both have our individual families in the same city, we should only live together once we are ready to get married or engaged.
RM: According to you, what sort of a message does a film like Teree Sang give?
SS: Teree Sang is against teenage pregnancy and that's the message it gives. It says not to get pregnant at an early age.
SS: Is Teree Sang a difficult film to digest?
RM: Yes, it is a difficult film to digest. We have a fifteen year old girl getting pregnant. The day I walked into Satish Kaushik's office and I saw you, I was stunned. You did look fifteen. So I too had to lose lot of weight to match up with you in terms of looking like a school boy. The film deals in conflict of today's and yesteryear's mental attributes.
RM: Did you seek help to prepare for a role like this?
SS: I did seek help from my mother who gave vital inputs into the preparation for a role like this. I also asked my onscreen mother Neena Gupta for tips on my role as a pregnant teenager. She was very helpful.
RM: Are you prepared for failure and success?
SS: Yes I am. You need to be prepared for both once you choose to come into the profession like this. I am confident that I will move ahead. I don't know about the film. But yes, failure is the first step towards success.
SS: Are you ready for failure?
RM: I choose a film and do not expect to be a box office success. I choose a character right. So even if the film fails, the character doesn't. My previous film MP3 didn't work but I got more roles after my debut film. My next film is a Nikhil Advani production. I am not buying a lottery ticket.I am an actor. You give me a good script and a part and I'll do well. Box Office is producer's domain.
RM: What is the feedback you've got till now on your performance?
SS: The film hasn't released but my family has seen the film and they liked it. My friends have given me a good response on the theatrical promos.
RM: Was it tough to shoot the first kissing scene?
SS: I was a bit nervous initially. The kissing scene is not censored. The scene is done in a very poetic way. It won't look vulgar or cheap. In today's films you can't have a couple in love who do not want to kiss. It's stupid. I was well aware of the scene before the shoot started, though I was a bit hesitant.
SS: Which is your favourite scene from the film?
RM: The scene where you talk on the phone to your father telling him to forgive us rather than punish us. The mistake cannot be corrected and forgiveness is the best result. I just kept on looking at you. The tough scenes were well acted by you but it was the simpler scenes which are tough ones. You had to be told to touch me because you were very nervous.
SS: Coming back to the kissing scene…
RM: Thanks for reminding me because you were the one who told me to speak to Satishji to remove the scene from the film till I told you to have it. I was a little worried at that time but everything went well and the scene too.
Two years after his debut film MP3, Ruslaan Mumtaz is back with Satish Kaushik’s Tere Sang. He is playing a seventeen year old boy, who gets a fifteen year old pregnant. Here is what the young actor had to say about the flick, his aspirations in life and more as he speaks with Pankaj Sabnani from BIGOYE. 
