Celeb-Chat

I’d prefer to plough land, than do plodding roles

Watch out, Danger ahead: The man, who, to some extent, defined dangerous diabolism in the ’90s, is all set to turn positive with Govind Menon’s Danger. Ashutosh Rana’s repertoire of evil characterisations is awesome. His two back-to-back roles as the serial killer Gokul Pandit and the child-sacrificing psycho, Lajja Shankar, in Tanuja Chandra’s Dushman and Sangharsh redefined villainy on the large screen. He speaks with the conviction and fluency that are rare among Hindi film actors. There’s tremendous self-confidence in his attitude. The determination to re-write the rules of celluloid villainy has now expanded to accommodate the ever-dilating dimensions of screen heroism as well. While remaining loyal to his bad-man roles, Rana says he doesn’t mind doing positive roles as long as they aren’t uni-dimensional. Here, then, is the man who can out-speak any glib-talking politician on a public podium. Ashutosh Rana unexpunged...

Congratulations Ashutosh, you’re about to make your debut as a hero in Govind Menon’s Danger. How does it feel?
Good. Woh bhi bahut kamaal ki film hai. It feels strange to say it, but I’m playing a positive role.

How did you suddenly develop a liking for positive roles when you wanted to explore as many shades of villainy as possible?
Haan, villainy to theek hai. But even when I’m doing positive roles, they won’t be of the kind where I’m sidelined. In Danger the story moves forward on the strength of my character. My character’s sinister dimensions serve as the story’s spine.

I’m sure it’ll be a spine-tingler. What exactly are you playing in Danger?
I play a seedha saadha insaan, who’s very scared, very non-violent, very polite and very honest. But he works for a man who’s the most evil person you can imagine.

And who plays this evil character?
He isn’t seen on screen too often. He’s mainly spoken about in the film. We’ve used my character to show how far terror can take a human being and what changes this emotion can bring in a human being’s life. I’m very happy with Danger. We’ve tried to portray the truth of the moment rather than stress the characterisation.

Let’s take the example of the prime minister of the country. We all know he dresses and behaves with decorum. But let’s suppose a bus comes speeding at him at 200 miles per hour, how would he react in such a situation?

He’d forget about his decorum and run for dear life?
Correct. And those who would see him running for his life would probably find his body language strange because they have fixed notions on how a prime minister should behave. Do you remember when Rajiv Gandhi was attacked by a soldier during a parade in Sri Lanka, the manner in which he reacted seemed funny to onlookers? But to him it was a matter of saving his life.

You seem to be choosing your roles with utmost caution?
May be I haven’t erred so far. But I’m not scared of choosing wrongly. If I make mistakes they’re my mistakes and I will accept them.

What did you think of your role and performance in Jaanwar?
It’s Akshay Kumar’s film through and through. Ashish Vidyarthi is also fantastic. I’m just okay. It isn’t my film. I don’t think the film’s structure allowed the villain’s character much scope. Yes, I am the main villain and yet not central to the plot, maybe because hero donon negative and positive shades ko leke ghoom raha hai.

I think Tanuja Chandra has spoilt you. You can’t tolerate films where you play the run-of-the-mill villain?
(Laughs). In Raj Kanwar’s Baadal, you’ll be thrilled with my role. I play a police officer who’s a hero to the world but he’s actually a closet villain. We haven’t made any effort to hide my true identity. The audience knows I’m the villain, though the film’s characters don’t.

Sounds pretty cliched. Have you made any effort to infuse newness into the concoction?
Aap dekhenge to kahenge ki film mein bahut hi imaandari ka effort hai. My role may seem cliched to you. But to me it’s a new experience. I’m playing such a character for the first time. I had heard about rasgollas being sweet. Pehli baar mujhe khaane ko mila hai (laughs). Usska swaad hi alag hai.
People expect you to do something different in all your roles.

And I’m doing my best to live up to those expectations. I have these expectations from myself, as well. If I don’t do something unexpected each time, I’d rather return home and practice farming. And be a decent farmer. I’d prefer to plough land than do plodding parts.

You’ve three films Jaanwar, Badal and Danger within months. Isn’t that an overdose of Ashutosh Rana in the theatre?

I agree. We were planning to release Danger in 1999. But because of the release of Jaanwar, we postponed Danger. I’m trying to get it released in April or May now. The audience understands the actor’s tenor and temperament in the very first frame and goes along accordingly. I don’t much care for lauki ki sabzi. But if someone cooks it well and puts it on the table with confidence before me, I’m bound to enjoy it.

So you’re making a lauki impact in Danger? What about Sangharsh? Are you expecting all the negative awards for it?
(Laughs). To aur phir kaun hai? I agree Sangharsh didn’t do well. But then which actor in a negative role can claim his film was a super-duper hit? Sarey disasters hain. In any case who else has made an impact in an out-and-out negative role?

Your jungle call in Sangharsh was a big hit, though the film was not. Did you dub the eerie scream yourself?
Bilkul. I even do my breathing myself in my films (laughs). If you’ve been to the Kali Mandir in Calcutta you’ll hear the congregation making the same noise to drown the bleating of the goats when they’re sacrificed. I relate all my roles and its distinguishing traits to everyday life and to my spiritualism.

Are you a very spiritual person?
Yes, I’d like to think so. I believe there are some basic tenets of existence that everyone follows. Only, our ways of looking at them are different. I’m God-fearing. But I can’t think of Ram or Krishna as gods per se. Rather we should worship their karma. It’s because of their deeds that we think of them as gods. Your karma and not your personality is God. If you believe in what you’re doing you’re bound to succeed in every endeavour.

Does the fact that you play such evil characters affect your personality?
No, life is composed of both good and evil. Jab main achcha banoonga to main utna hi achcha karunga. You’ll love me as much for being good as you hate me for being bad.

Did you carry your evil roles in Dushman and Sangharsh home?
No, when I’m on the sets I’m into my character. After that I cut loose. I leave it to nature to restore me to my normal self after playing a character. If you don’t forget you’re only a medium of expression, you can never be bogged down by your roles. I never try to become the master of any role. I’m just a tool. Baqi Maalik jaane Maalik ka kaam jaane.

Are you in Tanuja Chandra’s next film?
Yes. It’s called Yaar. Jackie Shroff and I play buddies. I have an out-and-out positive role. Yaar is a love story between two friends. Yeh unki pyaar ki kahani hai.

You mean a homosexual relationship?
No, just true friends. Up North you’ll find many such emotional non-sexual bonding between two male friends. The kind of friends who would do anything for each other. To aisi waali dosti hai Yaar mein, of two friends who have grown up together from childhood. For a change there is no girl who comes in between their friendship.

Besides Yaar, aur kya?
I’m doing Vikram Bhatt’s Tumko Meri Kasam. In that, my character veers from positive to negative and then again to positive and back. It’s a fantastic role. Vikram is a fantastic director. Mahesh Bhatt and Tanuja Chandra have written a great screenplay. I’m going to put my soul into the film.

How do you manage to take television so seriously. You’re not only in Dhundh, Waaris and Kabhi Kabhie, you’re also seen in telefilms all the time?
If nothing else, these experiences help me to measure my limitations as an actor. Like my role in Vikram Bhatt’s Tumko Meri Kasam, my role in Waaris veers from the positive to the negative. Waaris is doing very well. I see no creative restrictions on television. On the contrary, because I haven’t forsaken the medium, filmmakers have dared to sign television actors. Aamir Khan has signed a television actress as the female lead in his home production Lagaan. Someone has to take the initiative to bridge the gap between cinema and television. Let’s not forget, Sooraj Barjatya signed Renuka Shahane for Hum Aapke Hain Koun after seeing her on television. She has her stature and fan following on television. If our prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee sees an actor like me who does both television and cinema, and reacts so positively to me, then I don’t think the homeviewing medium can be ignored.

In any case, more people watch you on Waaris than they did in Sangharsh.
Yes, there’s no medium larger than television. It reaches thousands of homes without being invited to do so. But there’s no repeat value on television. Whereas in cinema you’re alive even when you are physically gone.

How serious are you about Renuka Shahane? She speaks about the relationship, but you don’t?
That’s entirely up to her. I generally don’t like to talk about my feelings. I don’t, because I don’t want to. I don’t think Renuka has any problems with my attitude. If she did, I’d speak about my feelings for her. All I’ll say is, my attitude to everything in life is serious. I don’t take any relationship for granted. If I wasn’t serioius about her, Renuka wouldn’t have spoken about our relationship. Taali to ek haath se bajti nahin hai. If she spoke about our relationship, it meant I’m all for it.

So you are serious about her?
A hundred per cent. I’m not a frivolous person. She’s a fantastic human being. She knows all the aspects, good or bad, of my life better than anyone else. I can’t open up my feelings as well before others as with her. Renuka isn’t judgemental. She accepts every person or thing on its own merit. This isn’t just a rare quality, it’s an almost extinct quality. But we have made no plans of getting married for a long, long time. Neither of us has ever thought of marriage. We haven’t wasted even five minutes of our time together on this topic.

What does a man-woman relationship mean to you?
Any human relationship must be positive. There are no full-stops in a relationship. The more limitless it is, the more creative it is. Neither Renuka nor I have discussed marriage as the culmination of our relationship.
There are uncanny resemblances of thought, career and personal life between you and Manoj Bajpai.

It’s just a coincidence, I feel. Both Manoj and I are able to deal with the complexities of our private and professional lives and project them coherently. Otherwise, there are no similarities between us. We’re two separate individuals. The comparisons don’t make me the least tense.

Are you moving ahead in life? Have you changed your lifestyle according to the success you now enjoy?
Not really. I don’t make any decisions without consulting my Guruji. He has forbidden me from considering any property, purchase or any other acquisition right now. But yes, I’m paid well. I started my career with a fee of Rs 800 on television serials. The film industry knows my worth because it knows I know my worth. It therefore has no qualms in paying me what I ask for.

But if they paid you Rs 800 on television some industrywallahs may be reluctant to pay you what you deserve?
That is a possibility. But if I’ve gone through the humiliation of working for Rs 800, it’s only to present my capabilities as an actor before the audience. They were like samples for which a price had to be decided.

Danger seems to be a small film. Do you think small budget films stand a chance at the box-office?
I believe in good cinema or bad cinema, never in small or big cinema. What counts is not the amount but the proper use of the budget. My director and producer in Danger were so organised, they made a film which would otherwise have cost seven crore in under three crore. The script was ready months in advance. We had ample time for rehearsals. We completed the film in 40 days. We had neither the resources nor the appetite for wastage. No added retakes were required because an actor fumbled. Every player was crystal clear about his characterisation, emotions, relationships. If we’ve gone for retakes it was only because we wanted more intensity in the shots.

Would you like to direct a film?
I haven’t thought about it. But Renuka is writing a film for me. No, not for television, for the large screen. Renuka mere liye chota sochti hi nahin. I’m looking forward to being directed by her. I know she’ll make a very strict director. She brooks no nonsense from anyone, whether it’s Ashutosh Rana or anyone else.

Can we hope for some more lively speeches at live events?
Aap Bhagwan se prarthana kijiye ke mujhe awards mil jayen. To main aapko bilkul lively speeches sunaaonga. Mujhe sarey chahiyen. Yes, I accept I’m greedy. Everyone wants all the awards. I’m honest enough to admit it.

Subhash K Jha