Asheesh Kapur tells JYOTHI VENKATESH that the syndrome of casting couch does exist in Bollywood and male actors are also victims...

Is ‘Kurbaan' your debut film as an actor?
No. Though I had made my debut with the English film ‘The Other End of The Line' produced by Ashok Amritaraj with Jesse Metcalfe, Shriya Saran, Anupam Kher, Sara Foster, Lara Miller etc, the film is yet to see the light of the day, and my claim to fame as far as Bollywood is concerned till date is the off beat film ‘Blue Oranges'.

Karan Johar's ‘Kurbaan' directed by Rensil D'Silva, in which I have essayed the role of a terrorist along with Saif Ali Khan, is my second release, after ‘Blue Oranges'.

Isn't it suicidal on your part to have taken up a small role as a terrorist in a film like ‘Kurbaan', which boasts of big stars like Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena and Om Puri?
I am quite happy about what I have done in ‘Kurbaan'. Though some friends of mine wondered whether it was suicidal on my part to have agreed to do a small negative role, in ‘Kurbaan', the fact is that I do not look at my role in ‘Kurbaan' as a risk, just because I have played a negative role in it.

How would you compare your work in both ‘Blue Oranges' and ‘Kurbaan'?
Though I liked my work in ‘Blue Oranges', I just loved my work in ‘Kurbaan'. As far as ‘Kurbaan' is concerned, I could get a lot of opportunity to collaborate with various teams because it is a bigger set up and mine is a bigger role when compared to my role in ‘Blue Oranges'.

How did you bag the part in ‘Kurbaan'?
It is thanks to Rensil that I managed to get the part of the hardcore terrorist Hakil that I have essayed in ‘Kurbaan'. It was for the first time that I met Rensil through a coordinator but he told Karan that he wanted to cast me for the part because he was convinced that I could do justice to my role.

I knew that it was not a major role, but then Rensil assured me that he would develop my role and make it indispensable from the film. I am glad that I trusted him implicitly, because I got a lot of appreciation from people who have seen the film.

How tough was it for you play the part of Hakil in ‘Kurbaan'?
As an actor, it was not tough at all for me to get into the skin of the character of Hakil that I have played in ‘Kurbaan' for the simple, reason that I was born in the age of terrorism.

I also made it a point to do research to find out what the target of terrorists is. When I was in the eighth standard I had seen Gulzar's ‘Machis' starring Chandrachur Singh and Tabu. I also saw Mani Ratnam's ‘Roja', which also dealt with the subject of terrorism, like ‘Machis'.

Incidentally, Chandrachur Sir had actually taught me history in my boarding school- The Doon School, in Dehradun, where he was a teacher before he had taken up acting as his career.

Tell me about your acting background!
I had spent my formative years in D'dun, where I got a great platform to work as an actor with the likes of John Mason, Mrs. Phyllis Bose etc. When I landed in Mumbai, I trained with Professor Roshan Taneja for about six months to hone my acting talent and polish my latent skills under his guidance, which stood me in good stead, as an actor.

What is your approach as an actor?
I confesses that my approach as an actor is to know my lines in advance, do home work by gathering as much information from the writer as well as the director and be comfortable with all my co-actors, especially since I am of the opinion that there is no one way to acting.

How do you rate Kareena's performance in ‘Kurbaan'?
I think after her sterling performance in ‘Omkara', Kareena is at her best in Kurbaan, in a deglamorized avatar. The film would surely fetch her lot of acting awards all through next year.

What role did you play in ‘Blue Oranges'?
It was a murder mystery, which sank at the box office because it was a little futuristic. I played the role of Hari Prasad Goyal, as quirky odd lower middle class kleptomaniac, who is wrongly implicated in a murder. The film added to my work, though it did not run. My co-actors in the film ‘Blue Oranges' were talented actors like Rajit Kapoor and Pooja Kanwal.

How did you bag the role in ‘Blue Oranges'?
Besides, ‘The Other End Of The Line', ‘Kurbaan' and ‘Blue Oranges', I had also acted in the film ‘Monica' in which Divya Dutta plays the title role of a call girl.

It was when I was acting in ‘Monica' with Divya and Rajit that Rajit suggested that I should give an audition for the role that I played in ‘Blue Oranges', since he had already been zeroed in for a pivotal role for the film. I did and I bagged the part.

Do you think the syndrome of the ‘casting couch' exists in the film industry?
The syndrome of ‘casting couch' does exist in Bollywood and even males often end up as victims. All said and done, I'd say that you always have a choice to opt out of a tricky situation.

Whoever says that the ‘casting couch' does not exist is either scared to admit it or does not have the knowledge. In life, you do not carry grudges. I have eventually worked with even those people whose propositions I had turned down, but on my own terms.

What is your ambition?
I feel that though acting is something, which comes to me naturally and is a way of opening to the film industry; eventually I want to concentrate on making films.