"I and Mallika are completely different" - Rahul Bose

Known for his serious characters, Rahul Bose is now looking forward to meatier roles in commercial films too, including the comic ones. A versatile actor that he is, Rahul has struck a chord with his recent films, "Pyar Ke Side Effects" and "Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam". Here we present a scrap of conversation with the versatile actor for you.

Q.: Please tell us about your character in the film "Shaurya".
A.: In this film, I portray an army lawyer who gets irritated all he time, as he does not have many cases. The lawyer gets a case at last, which is quite complicated, and realizes that he might eventually lose his life if he continues to work on the case. The story will move on as the lawyer, played by me, goes ahead with the case and fights it.

Q.: According to you, what's the meaning of "Shaurya"?
A.: I think "Shaurya" means whatever you do, do it with complete confidence and dedication.

Q.: Minisha Lamba stars opposite you in the film, so can you talk about your chemistry on screen with her?
A.: I mix well with all my co-stars. Even if I hate someone, my acting and perfect sense of chemistry does not let others notice this. I think building proper chemistry in front of the camera is quite easy, as they all are made or created. All that we show and do at the set are just forced and made. You also follow the same route as you are supposed to work as a part of a team.

Q.: But still, there are some pairs whose chemistry creates magic on screen, isn't it?
A.: It's very rare. I don't think you should have to be friends to get that chemistry on screen. Take for example, I and Perizad are very good friends, but that chemistry doesn't show up on screen. On the contrary, there are Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla as well as Dilip Kumar and Vaijayanti Mala who never liked each other, but their onscreen chemistry was mind boggling. People say, I look better with Mallika on screen, but in reality, we are absolutely different from each other.

Q.: "Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam" is the second film after "Pyar Ke Side Effects" with Mallika. What would you like to say?
A.: I would like to say that I liked doing this film. As it was my second film with her, there was less of problem and more of friendship.

Q.: Is it true that the sequel of "Pyar Ke Side Effects" will be made soon?
A.: No.

Q.: From serious characters to comic identity, what would you like to say?
A.: What would I say? I am happy. That's all. Before coming to films, I was a theater artist and comedy was my actual identity there. Now you may ask me the reason of why I started portraying serious characters, leaving comedy and then again came back to comedy. It's something like one day you have lunch at home and then go for Chinese dishes and the next day for Japanese dishes and again, the next day back home for lunch. Well, amongst all, I like world cinema the most and I think world cinema is "daal-chawal" for me. That's why I love to watch "Japanese Wife" and "Mr. and Mrs. Iyer".

Q.: Are you doing any other film with Buddhadeb Dasgupta after "Kalpurush"?
A.: Nothing is fixed yet. But I hope he will talk to me about his next film. Actually he talked to me about a film, but that time I had a rugby tournament and the date of the match clashed with shooting schedule. I rejected the film because of the tournament and he got angry with me. But now we are friends again. I like to work with him because he is a great filmmaker.

Q.: You were making a film after "Everybody says I am fine". Please tell us about that.
A.: My next film is "Moth Smoke" which is based on the novel of the same name by Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid. We will start its shooting from October this year. It's based on love, revenge and friendship. You will get three new faces in that film which I have decided to shoot in New York, London, Mumbai and Delhi. The story of the novel is basically based on the modern lifestyle in Pakistan.

Q.: Please tell us about your forthcoming films.
A.: There are films like "Shaurya", "The Whisperers", "Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam", "Japanese Wife", "Ghost Ghost Na Raha", "Mumbai Chaka Chak" etc. in which I am involved. I am working with Manoj Vajpayee in "The Whisperers" which is made in both Hindi and English. "Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam" is a hilarious movie in which I am working with Mallika, K K Menon, Paresh Rawal, and Pavan Malhotra. "Japanese Wife" is a cool art film by Aparna Sen. Suniel Shetty is producing a film to get Mumbai neat and clean and he has named it "Mumbai Chaka Chak". In "Ghost Ghost Na Raha" we are showing the same story of Woody Allen's "Mr. and Mrs.". In that film I am working with Soha Ali Khan, Irfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma. Besides I am working in two Santosh Sivan films - "Before the Rains" and "In Kashmir".

Q: Besides films you spend time in social work too. Recently you took the responsibility of educating some children from Andaman. Please tell us about that.
A.: There is nothing to talk about that. Yeah, it's true that our agency "The Foundation" has taken the responsibility for the education of them from sixth to twelfth standard. It's a two crore rupees project. After that we will start a campaign to support sexually abused children. It'll be for both boys and girls. It's really sad that it happens even in educated and well established families too. However, we are separating our treatment for rich and poor. Our mission is to eradicate the problem from its root. In India, people feel ashamed to talk about that, but I believe when I will start that campaign, people will soon open their mouths and will never feel ashamed of it.

Q.: Who is your inspiration behind your work for social causes?
A.: I don't know. I know only one thing that whenever I see something illegal happening, I get really angry. The racism that came to show up recently due to an incident in Mumbai has really made me ashamed as a citizen of this city. There's no feeling of differentiation amongst us, but when few people raised their voice, we felt afraid. Here we can easily understand that there's no unity amongst us.

Q.: Would you like to be involved in politics in future?
A.: Not at all. If I get involved in any political party, then I would spend time only in strengthening my party and thinking about ruining other parties. It's better to let go as everything is going on now. I don't think that I need muscle power to say my words. For me, it's much laudable to bring truth to the front.