/> Mahie Gill was Paro in 'Dev D' but she could well be termed as 'Chandramukhi' in 'Gulaal' due to her triple role of a mistress, mujra dancer and a beauty parlor owner in the film. Joginder Tuteja catches up with the immensely talented actor who promises to fill the void that currently exists in Bollywood when it comes to a quality performer.

Before getting on to 'Gulaal', let's talk about 'Dev D' first. With Anurag's radically different narrative in Dev D, did you really expect it to become the kind of success it has become?

Honestly speaking, I thought it will be critically acclaimed and may just about turn out to be a moderate commercial success.

Seriously, I didn't think that it will bring in audience in hordes that it has been doing even one month after it's release. The way audience as well as media lapped the film was exceptional.

I was worried that in my hometown Chandigarh, journalists may not react well to the film because of it's narrative, openness and rawness. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise though when even up there in Punjab, the film was accepted wholeheartedly.

In fact one can't remember a film where female sexuality was explored with such openness..

Exactly, the way female sexuality has been explored in the film has been phenomenal. In fact while shooting for the said scenes, I didn't have any clue on how they will come across on the screen.

I was like, 'Ya, I am doing my job with sincerity and trust Anurag to present it well on screen'. Thankfully, my trust was in the right place and these scenes turned out to be path breaking instead of touching upon vulgarity.

One hopes that you have many more important scenes in 'Gulaal' too even though you are seen in a special appearance.

Of course yes. Apart from some important scenes in the film, I have also done two 'mujra' numbers - 'Ranaji' and 'Chakmak'. They are great fun tracks.

Yes, indeed the case, especially 'Ranaji' that makes a socio-political statement, isn't it?

The number is as whacky as it gets. In a lighter vein, it manages to make a serious statement around today's socio-economic condition of the entire world. It makes references to quite a few topics like 9/11, Uncle Sam, Saddaam Hussain, Afghanistan, mineral water, democracy etc. Never before has one heard or seen a 'mujra' number like this.