"I am at a very interesting stage in my life where I am more interested in my work as an actor than I was ever before," says Bollywood's original bad guy, Gulshan Grover
"I am at a very interesting stage in my life where I am more interested in my work as an actor than I was ever before," says Bollywood's original bad guy, Gulshan Grover. Busy travelling and meeting actors from across the globe, the veteran villain says that he now understands the language of cinema much better.
Already receiving congratulatory phone calls from those who've managed to see his work in the yet-to-release Mittal vs Mittal, the actor tells CS that he's just waiting for a hit to make people realise that he's been very much around:
Foreign break
Because of my involvement in films abroad, filmmakers here began assuming that I may not be interested in working in Indian cinema, now that I get paid in dollars! All that created good and bad situations. Some really lovely scripts that were discussed with me never really fell into my kitty. But I've gained as much as I've lost out on. I've acted in several international projects, some big ones like the Jungle Book, others small and tiny. I've gained so much experience just by being on these sets. But there've been several humbling instances where the people I've shot for have actually known nothing about my body of work in Indian cinema! At the time when I ventured into international films, Indian actors from parallel cinema and theatre circles were the only ones who were considered talented enough to be in foreign productions. With time, this perception has changed and foreign filmmakers now know that actors in commercial cinema too are equally talented.
No hero act
Acting gives me a high. I studied in Shri Ram College of Commerce and always had scores that an actor never ends up needing in this industry! I gave all that up just to be able to act. So I had to know exactly how to consolidate my brand and position my looks in this industry. I chose to play a villain. And once I was a hit, I had to hide from people who wanted me to become the hero. In Naache Mayuri, they had started stitching my clothes in the role of the protagonist. I had to literally beg them to drop the idea. I cannot imagine having to dance, sing and look good all the time!
Evolving with time
I was lucky to have spent my learning years with far-sighted directors. Twenty years back, Mahesh Bhatt told me that soon there was going to be a fleet of directors replacing his likes, and they would be presenting me in an entirely new manner. I realised very early that if I hold on too dearly to the way I thought and played my roles, I'd be left behind! I needed to evolve and I feel I've done that.
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