Upen had a funny experience quite recently when he spent a few days in Ooty while shooting for Raj Kumar Santoshi directed AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI (which features Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif as the main leads). He got quite a few consolation calls from his friends who were wondering how the young man was coping in the serene town of Ooty which was devoid of any nightlife. However, Upen was hardly amused. Reason? He was not missing the nightlife of the city of Mumbai which never sleeps and was instead at peace with himself in the hills of Ooty.
On queried if this was true, Upen was initially reluctant to talk about what had transpired in Ooty, ’’I don’t wish to make a lot of hullabaloo about where I spend my time and what keeps me busy on an average day or night. It is quite personal to me and what occupied me most was the fact that I was shooting with Raj Kumar Santoshi.’’
But he is considered to be someone who has been known for his flashy night life ever since he set his feet in Mumbai to become an actor? Didn’t Ooty turn out to be a spanner in his plans since there wasn’t a hangout spot to visit and spend late nights?
Finally opening up, Upen went on to comment, ’’Now that you are cornering me to such an extent, let me inform you that my daily routine has completely changed for last so many weeks. I used to be a night bird earlier on but now it’s a different thing altogether. I go to sleep at 10’o clock and wake up at 5 in the morning.’’
Hard to believe that, considering majority of Bollywood goes to sleep way after midnight. Laughs Upen, ’’But that’s not the case with me anymore. I am looking at maintaining a healthy regime and hence no night outs for me. It is early to bed and early to rise for me. This is the reason why I could only laugh when people enquired me about my so called ’lonely nights’ in Ooty. The fact was that the climate out there was just conducive for me to get my body some much desired rest.’’
Though he is back in Mumbai, Upen promises that he would be maintaining his schedule. ’’It is so funny that now I am hardly managing to interact with my friends. The time that I am awake and asleep is so different from that of the people I used to hang out with’’, concludes Upen.
