Vancouver is spotted hosting many superstars in the scenic and breathtaking city and this time, we were graced by the dashing Harman Baweja. Although he jokes that the weather is not his reason for being here, I know that deep down he must be loving the rain! (or maybe not, who am I kidding!) I got to sit down with him and learn about Baweja Productions’ latest venture – Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur – which released on November 11, 2016 but learned a lot more about Harman. Here’s what our conversation was like:
Me: Okay, now moving on to fun stuff. The non-journalistic questions about Harman Baweja. The man, the dude that everyone wants to hangout with. I just want to know you, as a friend and as a person. Who is Harman Baweja?
Uh, how much time do you have? Well, where do I start? Okay, let’s start with likes and dislikes. Likes are… well as you already know I like rajma chawal (a traditional Punjabi dish of kidney bean and rice). If I was to define myself in a very confine manner, I think I’m very blessed. I have a great family. Immediate family is amazing and we work together. You know what they say that a family that eats together lives together? So it’s even more beautiful for a family that works together, eats together and is sort of insync. That and also my extended family. I have about 17 – 18 first cousins, who are sisters, and I am sort of in touch with them – I kid you not – on a weekly basis. And friends. We make a choice in life, we choose our friends. They aren’t thrusted upon us and I have a great group of friends. So, I am blessed that I have good people around me and for me that is the most important thing in life. Everything else is momentary. It comes and goes. Like failure and money. Not saying it’s not important but it’s momentary.
We, as in layman, see celebrities and conjure up so much fluff in their mind about the celebrities…
It is just that – fluff. I must tell you. Anyone who is in the entertainment business is just more famous because he’s more visible but in terms of success he may be at par with the businessman with a store down the street but he’s just more known than the man running the store. But, it can get to their head sometimes because fame is something that can get to your head makes you think you’re above the rest but hey, the industry is a great place. It levels you down before you know. You make this colossal flop and you’re suddenly not wanted and you’re like hey i’m not one of them anymore. So, again, it’s momentary. One has to know that life is beyond fame and popularity.
So how do you deal with it? On a personal level.
I don’t deal with it at all. I kid you not. I have never gotten into this thing at all that I need someone with me or security, etc. Why would i need somebody else around me? I think it’s just a lot that we build around ourselves. What’s the worst that can happen? Someone’s going to come to you and ask for a picture? And that’s not the worst. That’s beautiful. I can understand for the women as they need to be a little more careful because a couple of guys can come together and get obnoxious but i’m a guy. I could defend myself. I’m a sardar.
What’s happening on the love scene? Should we start a matchmaking site for you?
Yeah. Dude. I don’t know. Please, don’t start a matchmaking site for me. My love life is as messed up as everything else. I don’t know man. I wouldn’t say that I’m on the lookout. It’s never that way. It can’t be. Ultimately has to happen and it will happen.
So what’s your image of the ideal woman? Your ideal life partner.
I think the image of an ideal woman is that hopefully she shouldn’t be ideal. It wouldn’t be very realistic. No barbie dolls. I’m a Punjabi munda (chap). Barbie doll’s too skinny for me. I just have to connect, as cliche as it sounds. Sometimes you just meet someone and there’s a great connect between the two people and that’s it. Things go on from there.
You grew up in a film family. Was this something you always wanted to get into? Did you know growing up that “i wanted to be a part of this industry”?
I went to Switzerland to study hospitality management and then I dropped out after one year and that’s when I realized that I can’t do this. I knew I had to do something more creative. I went to LA, did film school there. Then I worked, sorry, was whooped by my father – he’s a tough task master – for a good 7 to 8 years. Still working with him so trust me I know what I’m saying. The passion was always there but I could see how difficult this world is growing up because I would see my father coming home at awkward hours, not seeing him for days and sort of building a wall around myself thinking alright I don’t want to do this. But then it’s creative, it’s passionate and that’s pretty much what drives me to do whatever i do in life.
What does a typical day in a celebrity’s life look like? Like everyone else’s. You get up and need a desperate cup of coffee to kick you out of bed. You make sure the shower’s not too cold because then don’t feel like jumping into it. Then You dilly dally a bit before having breakfast but you’re forced to have breakfast if your Mom’s around or you can sneak away, you get to work then you look forward to the last part of work and then you say it’s done! It’s pretty much the same. What else are you passionate about? Other than movies.
Video games. Soccer. Soccer is something that I love. So I love playing soccer, I love watching soccer so yeah, sports and video games, movies are my passions which is typical boy as you say. Do you like to read?
Yeah but you see I can’t pay attention for too long. So the first thing I do when someone gifts me a book, which people who know me now don’t gift me books anymore because they know that I’ll just gift it back to them after a month or so, is ask them how many pages. Sometimes, I meet writers who’ll say you gotta read this book i’ll ask them how many pages and they’ll say 212. I say sorry I can’t read your book because my threshold is 200 pages so I’ll never end up reading the climax. I think my mind works too much so after a while I feel like I need to move. I love watching documentaries more than movies. I’m more of a documentary watcher than films.
Other than rajma chawal, what other foods …
Burgers. It’s very random, I know. But rajma chawal, burgers and Mexican So typically as I enter North America I used to go to Johnny
Rockets, my favourite – which is apparently shutting down so now it’s In and Out. So, the first thing I would do is go to Johnny Rockets and have a burger then in the evening I would have Chipotle.
What’s your one desire in life and what’s your message about attaining desire?
If desire can lead you to happiness, which is what it should be in most cases, I think you should go after it but not at the cost of someone else’s happiness and that’s the only way you can make sure you’re happy. I think one should follow one’s desire. It’s the ultimate driving factor for whatever we do in life. So don’t squash your desire, don’t fall into the different parameters of life. Step outside the box and live for yourself once in awhile. You gotta life for yourself first. It’s like the oxygen mask in an airplane, you gotta put it on yourself first before someone you love. If you can’t get yourself going you can’t make the people you love happy because you’re not happy yourself so it’s just a vicious cycle. And your one desire?
I just like to be in a happy state in mind. But there’s no desire.z It’s what makes you happy in that moment.
He discloses that the next film coming is Jetha, based on the life of Bhai Jetha and for that we wait excitedly.
