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On COMBAT mode Kelly Dorjee (right) and Nagarjuna in a scene from Don No.1

So, what brings Kelly Dorjee back in news? It’s his hit film in Telugu “Don No 1” directed by Raghava Lawrence. The film is now dubbed in Hindi and is likely to release in the first week of March. Nagarjuna plays the lead.

Says Dorjee, “‘Don No. 1’ is a major hit in the South. It was released in December last year and has already made Rs. 60 crores. I play Sikandar, an international don. He is a Robin Hood of sorts. He is based in Pakistan and is a global terror. But he is yet to overtake Surya (played by Nagarjuna), the Don No. 1 from India. How he confronts him and how the two villains try to outdo each other is what the film is all about. The film’s story may not be great but its presentation is. My character is highly stylised. There’s coloured hair, white suits and Russian women bodyguards. This look came after I had a long debate with Raghava. He wanted to give me the typical ‘Tango Charlie’ look. But I refused.”

Kelly plays villain by choice. “There are many ways to play a villain but one way to play a hero,” he quips. But he still finds it tough to convince the director not to typecast him.

“It’s very difficult to convince directors that a villain need not be loud-mouthed and endorse a particular style. For me so far, the best villain in today’s Hindi films is Saif in ‘Omkara’. I want to corner that empty villain corner in Bollywood but I repeatedly get the same roles.” But there is hope for him in director Sanjay Chauhan’s debut film “Lahore”, releasing shortly. “In this film on kickboxing, I play a team member with negative shades,” he shares.

Kelly would be seen on the Hindi film screen after a good long gap.

He states the reason without mincing words: “Media never treated me fairly. Whenever they wrote about me, it was only when I was on and off in my relationship (with Lara). I didn’t get any films for over a year. I went door to door begging directors and producers to give me a chance. I learnt the hard way that talent doesn’t work alone. To remain in Bollywood, you need to market yourself aggressively. You should blow your own trumpet. I am doing that now.”

And now he has three films in his kitty; two with Mani Shankar and one under Ram Babu banner!

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