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In COMBAT mode Kelly Dorjee (right) and Nagarjuna in “Don No.1”

So, what brings Kelly Dorjee back into news? It’s his hit film in Telugu, Don No 1 directed by Raghava Lawrence. The film is now dubbed into Hindi. 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 crore. I play Sikandar, an international don. Based in Pakistan, he is a terror across the globe. But he is yet to overtake Surya (played by Nagarjuna), Don No. 1 from India. How he confronts him and how the two villains try to outdo each other is what the film is about. The storyline may not be great but its presentation is. My character is highly stylised. He has coloured hair, wears white suits and has 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 only 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 grab 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 will be seen on the Hindi film screen after a long gap. He states the reason without mincing words, “The media never treated me fairly. Whenever they wrote about me, it was only when I was on and off in my relationship (with Lara). It always belittled me. 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 alone doesn’t work. To remain in Bollywood, you need to market yourself aggressively. You should blow your own trumpet. I am doing that now. I am nice to the press despite my bitter experiences.” And now he has three films in his kitty; two with Mani Shankar and one under the Ram Babu banner!

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