Raise the bar

* Is it another hard-hitting film?
Madhur Bhandarkar does not make films for fun. He is very involved in his subjects and before he starts filming his material, he spends a lot of time researching on the movie. The greatest thing about working with Madhur is that he goes where he wants you to be. It’s easy for a director to brief the actor and then say “Let’s shoot”. But Madhur goes through an intensive preparation.

* Do you think your chocolate-boy looks will fit the bill of a convict?
Looks do not matter in this film. The conflict arises when you see a normal person jailed in the company of characters you would usually see there. What would the point be if the film had a scar-faced tough guy behind bars? The audience will not sympathise with the character.

* You seem to align yourself with serious cinema.
I like entertaining films that I can watch at ease without the stress of asking questions. I see no point in acting with material that doesn’t make sense to the audience because I, as a viewer, would not like to watch it. This is why I make sure any film I sign on delivers a thought and has a soul. A soul is a connecting medium for the audience, an element that helps the audience identify with a film. There have been countless big-budget films that have flopped just because they did not have a soul.

* Johnny Gaddar was a thriller; your upcoming film Freeze is based on a supernatural theme and Jail is based on dark reality. Do dark, mysterious subjects fascinate you?
I guess it is only a coincidence that all these films have dark themes. What worked for me was they all have compelling stories. Believe me, I would love to do a love story. In fact, I have signed a romantic film with Ken Ghosh and Ramesh Taurani.