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Fear factor

Mukesh Rishi returns to Hindi cinema after a hiatus

REAL REEL Mukesh Rishi says he picks gestures from real life characters

Need to bring in the terror element? Cast Mukesh Rishi. After Amrish Puri, if somebody has evoked fear just by sheer presence it is he. Gardish, Loafer, Ghatak... the list is exhaustive. But, the actor in him was getting stifled. "I liked the way I was portrayed in Sarfarosh and Run - But such roles were few and far between. Meanwhile, Bollywood heroes started playing villains themselves."

He laughs at how Hrithik plays a villain in Dhoom 2 and Saif walks away with accolades for Omkara.

"Where is the place for us? Such villains get all the support both at the script level and at the production stage. So when I got fed up waiting for different roles I switched to the South." After doing some 20-odd films in all the South Indian languages, Mukesh is returning to Hindi films with "Lahore". "It is not that I shifted base from Mumbai. I did films like Waris Shah, where I played the guru of Waris Shah." Mukesh says "Lahore" is close to his heart because it is a sports film based on kickboxing. "I have been a cricket player, athlete and a karate enthusiast. I also did body building for a while. Few know that I have played alongside Ashok Malhotra at club level. Here I am playing a Pakistani champ." Mukesh started his career as a model in New Zealand. "My wife is from Fiji. After marriage we went to New Zealand. There I got some modelling assignments. After a while, I got bored and came to Mumbai where I received training under Roshan Taneja."

Mukesh says in real life he has never picked up a fight. "Most of the times, I draw my characters and mannerisms from real people."

Mukesh is now looking forward to Fauj Main Mauj with Mallika Sherawat where for once his character, an Army General, has comic overtones.

ANUJ KUMAR

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