Rahul Bose tells Jyothi Venkatesh that he had to do a lot of emotional gymnastics to make his unreal character seem real in Mughall-E-Azam...

What is Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam?
It is an out and out over the top contemporary comedy about how a small town drama company gets involved in a deadly mission to save the country and has a nukkad kind of charm to it.

It also has the kind of wackiness which Kundan Shah's Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro had. All said and done, I do not think, it is the kind of film that I would have done in the beginning of my career.

What is your role in Mughall-E-Azam?
I play RAW agent Arjun, who takes the help of a small town theatre group to save the entire nation from the clutches of a group of terrorists. The film has derived the title Maan Gaye Mughall-E-Azam because the theatre group consists of a lazy bunch of actors who perform only Mughall-E-Azam.

What made you take up a role like this?
I agreed to do the film because I had started my career as an over the top comedian on stage. No one would imagine that I can do a comedy like this.

Arjun is crazy about a small town actress called Shabnam played by Mallika Sherawat and loses all his sense of equilibrium. It was an enriching experience because I had the opportunity to work with capable and skilled actors like Kay Kay Menon, Paresh Rawal and Mallika Sherawat.

How was the experience of working with Mallika?
Mallika's comedy timing is faultless. Believe me, her performance in Mughall-E-Azam has turned out to be great exercise in acting. As far as Mughall-E-Azam was concerned, it wasn't just me and Mallika because it was more of a dilution with Paresh and Kay Kay, too, in scenes with me and Mallika.

Tell me something about your on screen chemistry.
On screen chemistry between two actors is a matter of chance. Though you would not be able to find two people who are so different from one another like Mallika and I, our on screen chemistry has been great, ever since we had worked together earlier in Pyar Ke Side Effects.

How tough was it to play a comedian for an intelligent actor like you?
I joked with director Sanjay Chhel that it was the toughest role of my career. Your intelligence saves the scenes from being hamming and stupid and helps you as an actor to bring humor alive with dignity. I should confess that I had to struggle to make my unreal character credible and do a lot of emotional gymnastics to make it seem real.

How was it working with a writer-director like Sanjay Chhel?
Chhel is a very well read man, who has a dark sense of humor. He calls me a pseudo secular south Mumbai man while I call him the right wing Hindu fundamentalist North Bombay man. Playing a RAW agent was easy.

Though I am of the opinion that emoting is a process that an actor has got to do on is own and no director can help you 100% in that process, Sanjay helped me in projecting a kinky sense of humor as a lovelorn RAW agent.

What is your criterion when you choose a film?
I did Pyar Ke Side Effects because I wanted to do a romantic comedy after doing serious roles. I agreed to do Jhankar Beats because I wanted to do a film of different genre and Jhankar Beats was a quintessential buddy film of its time

What is your approach as an actor?
Whether I think with my actor's hat or director's hat, I always make it a point to think of maximizing the meaning of a scene. Till date, I have never asked any director of mine to place the camera at a particular angle or for a Close Up. I have never asked a director to include a scene or edit out any unflattering one.

Tell me something about your new film with Esha Deol?
All that I can say about the film which I am doing with Esha Deol for the first time in my career is that it is a bitter sweet comedy directed by Shivam Nair about a young contemporary couple and has been titled Exchange Offer

Is it true that you are also doing a film with the mothers of both Soha and Konkana?
Yes. While Dil Kabbadi brings together Soha and Konkana together for the first time, Antaheen brings Sharmila Tagore and Aparna Sen together for the first time. It is for the first time that I am having Aparna Sen as my costar and not as my director.

Usually young actresses are paired opposite older actors but in my case it is the other way round. Working with Aparna and Sharmila is most advantageous because one gets to absorb so much knowledge from them.

In what way have you grown as an actor?
I feel that as an actor, I have a lot more flexibility now. I hope that I also have a greater range as an actor now. There is more fearlessness and joy there as an actor now.

Earlier I remember I sued to learn my lines a hundred times whereas now I just read the script and discover whether the lines make sense or not. The best thing I have discovered about me now is that my Hindi also has improved.

Which are your five best performances till date?
I would say that I rate my performances in my films like English August, Kaal Purush, Mr & Mrs Iyer, Japanese Wife and Tahaan as the best as far as my career is concerned

Is it true that you have retired from playing Rugby?
Though I have not retired, I have stopped playing International Rugby for India, because to play for the tournaments, you need to commit yourself for a period of two to two and a half months. I will play for Bombay Gymkhana, Maharashtra and International tournaments because in these the time commitment from me is less. You have not cashed in on any image as such as an actor. Why?
I feel that it is very risky if the market has certain expectations from you. The trade will have expectations from you if people's career is riding on you. I have no qualms in confessing that I do not at all matter to the film industry.

No one will blink an eye lid at all if I were to die tomorrow. I feel that I am an outsider all the time and yet get what I want. It's what I call power without responsibility. -Jyothi Venkatesh