After playing the goody-goody suitor to Bipasha Basu in "Ishq Hai Tumse" this year, Dino Morea is ready to thrash the daylights out of the actress in "Rakht".

The film by Mahesh Manjrekar releases this month.

"I really need to shock audiences. 'Rakht' is my first really evil role, and I'm excited about it. It gives me a chance to unleash all the bad vibes within me. Sure I'd love to play more bad guys," says Dino.

"The conventional hero's role doesn't offer that many shades, though I'm playing one in Neeraj Pathak's 'Gumnam' opposite Mahima Chowdhary. I'm also Dino the normal in Manjrekar's 'Deh'."

In "Deh", Dino plays a young man who has an affair with an older woman. Dino jumps to the bold subject's defence.

"I don't think such relations are taboo any longer, even in our cinema we've had 'Dil Chahta Hai' and 'Leela'. People have come to terms with the fact that such things are not impossible. I really enjoyed working with Jaya Prada. She's very sweet.

"I love these experimental roles. They offer me a chance to go within myself in search of answers to questions that I wouldn't ask myself otherwise."

Right now Dino isn't in the best of moods. Two of his very old ads for a brand of cheese and mineral water are being played, "many years after my contact with these guys expired!"

"How can they do this? We had a contract for only a year and a half. Now they want me to produce papers to prove my point. Who the hell keeps papers six years later? You know I count on the good side in people to see me through. But apparently that isn't enough. You have to be on your toes against being defrauded."

There's dissatisfaction about not going into another level in his career.

"Like all other actors, I too want to work with the crème de la crème, like Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Farhan Akhtar. What's wrong with that?

"Earlier I used to think that directors in the A-1 category have their own favourites. But now I'm more confident. They'll approach me when I suit their purposes. Of course, I'm happy to do films like 'Rakht' and 'Chehra'. Their directors Manjrekar and Saurabh Shukla are fabulous. I love my look and character in 'Rakht'. I think I'll be noticed."

There's, of course, Aparna Sen who is apparently considering Dino for her first Hindi film "Gulel".

"I've heard about it," he says. "But we haven't really connected yet. I'd love to work with Aparna Sen, and not only because I've never worked with a female director."

Fortunately, Dino has no reason to quibble about his career.

"Apart from 'Rakht', which I'm very excited about, I also play a bad man in Padam Kumar's 'Kabhi Bhi Kahin Bhi'. It's a really interesting and original script. I play a wannabe actor who loses a prized role. That freaks him completely. He loses his mind."

Dino admits he's very ambitious. Now his brother Santino is being trained for cinema. "My younger brother is right now in Los Angeles studying films. My elder brother learnt the business of restaurant operations and now he's back in Mumbai with me.

"We run a restaurant called Crepe Station, which, by the grace of god, is doing well."

On the personal front, Dino is seeing his steady girlfriend. "She's adorable. But no immediate marriage plans. Not for the next two years. I need to consolidate my career before I get married. Initially marriage needs your concentration to make it work. You can't be married and working hard."

"Hey, I'm also doing Sohail Khan's 'Fight Club'. It has nothing to do with the Brad Pitt film by that name. It's so called because it has lots of fights," says Dino.