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Want to play Gandhi
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Ashutosh Rana believes the portrayal of each villain is different
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Acting couple Ashutosh Rana and Renuka Shahane
Just hearing the name Ashutosh Rana conjures up all those frightening images from Sangarsh and Dushman. Images of the cold blooded psychopath from Dushman and the religious fanatic who sacrific
es children in Sangarsh immediately come to the mind. But mind you, the man himself is a lot different. A believer in God and destiny, Ashutosh comes across as a very spiritual person with a traditionalist outlook. In fact, his spiritual guru Pandit Dev Prabhakar Shastri, he says, is both his biggest strength and his biggest weakness.
A politician
Ashutosh is shooting for Ravi C. Kumar’s untitled Telugu movie starring Nithin, in which he plays a politician. The film deals with the land mafia nexus in property business. Another Telugu movie of his, Balakrishna starrer Okka Magadu was released recently, where he plays Chief Minister Namboodri - a self-centred politician.
Back in Bollywood, his next movie Coffee House portrays him in a very different role, much unlike the terrifying villain we’ve come to expect of him. He plays the lead role of an idealist newspaper owner, whose love for integrity costs him his everything and eventually his life itself.
The actor enjoys acting in regional languages and believes that “language is no bar for an artist. Cinema is a medium of expression and language just a way of expressing.”
Does it annoy him being portrayed as villain every time? Not at all, says Ashutosh. “Every villain is different. Bura aadhmi hotha hai alag alag type ka. If I’m repetitive, people will not be interested in my roles.”
This graduate from National School of Drama is very selective when it comes to choosing his roles and signs no script without reading the script. “I am not interested in just my character when a director approaches me for a role. First I listen to the entire story, only then my character.” And only if the role has anything “meaty” will he sign for the movie.
This desire to be different and make a mark in each of his performances ensures he gets less work.
New venture
On upcoming movies, he promises his role in Pooja Bhatt’s new venture, tentatively titled Kajra Re, will long remain in people’s memories like his unforgettable performances in Sangarsh and Dushman, which etched him in people’s minds as the ‘ethereal villain’.
Ask him what his dream role would be and he pops up another surprise, doing a double role as Ram and Ravan in the same movie. “They are mirror reflections,” he says. He also fantasises playing Lord Krishna, Vivekananda, Shivaji, Hitler and “Gandhi if anyone is willing to offer.”
Can one expect to see wife Renuka Shahane return to the Silver screen and instantly comes the reply, “Hundred per cent. Why not? In fact, she’s directin g a Marathi film.” Will Ashutosh be acting in it? “It’s a women-oriented subject. And if I am to act in my wife’s film, it will have to be in a central role.”
TOMIN PAUL
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