/> Abhimanyu Singh's proudest moment came when when his parents in Patna went and saw Gulaal in a movie theatre near them.

"They hadn't been to see a film in ten years. They had to see their son's performance. I was scared of what my father would think of all the abusive language and hardhitting content. But he loved it. So did everyone back home. More than anything else it pleases me to know I've made people back home in Bihar proud of me."

As the volatile aggressive and thoroughly unstoppable Rajput student-leader Rananjay Singh in Anurag Kashyap's Gulaal Abhimanyu Singh has finally made an impact after ten years of a lonely back-breaking struggle of rejection humiliation and struggle.

"It hasn't been easy, " admits Abhimanyu as the compliments pour in. "The first eight years in Mumbai were specially tough. I knew during the first two months of my stay in Mumbai that there's no point waiting for hours to meet producers. They won't meet you and definitely won't give you a role."

The solution for Abhimanyu was through another route. " I decided to do theatre intensely. I joined Makarand Deshpande's group Ansh. He became my guru. That's where I met Anurag Kashyap and KayKay Menon. These were the people who supported and inspired me."

In the meanwhile there was television to make ends meet. Abhimanyu admits it was a frustrating time. "There's a lot of aggression in me. It comes from my Bihari roots. I'd scream and cry in the privacy of my room. What else could I do?"

The first major feature film came courtesy fellow-Bihari Manoj Bajpai. "I was in Patna when I got a call from Manoj in Mumbai saying I had got a major part in Rakeysh Mehra's Aks. It was an important role of a cop."

But the film did nothing for Abhimanyu's career. The struggle began all over again. "Recently I had a prominent part in the Bhatts' Jannat. People appreciated me.

But that was it. I'd have gone berserk if I hadn't met Sargam Singh, an actress who soon became my wife. Within a year of our marriage our daughter Ameli was born. Sargam gave up her career to look after me and our daughter."

The turning point came with Gulaal and the role of the belligerent royalty ensnared in campus politics. "It gave me a chance to channelize my restlessness into a character that had layers of complexity."

Abhimayu's proud wife could barely hold back her tears after she saw Gulaal. "I asked her why she didn't hug me after the film the way Aishwarya Rai hugged Abhishek when she like his performance. I think she was too overwhelmed to show her happiness."

Abhimanyu's little daughter also saw the film with its gory adult content. "She recognized me and clapped every time I came on. Luckily she didn't understand when I was killed on screen."

On the basis of Gulaal he has already signed films with Dr Chandraprakash Diwedi and Anurag Kashyap.

"I feel my period of struggle is finally over. Or maybe it has started all over again."