People loved to hate his avatar of a lecherous South Indian star in The Dirty Picture last year, but veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah says he had the time of his life playing the bad guy. In his three-and-a-half decade career, Shah has played a variety of roles, but in recent years, he has been taking up parts which will make others think twice. “I love playing those (negative) characters. I don’t like playing the good guy, it is very boring. My favourite roles are the ones that I did in Mirch Masala (1987) and Mohra (1994). These are the characters which are up my alley and I thoroughly enjoyed them,” says Naseer.

“I had no doubts about the role in The Dirty Picture and I knew what I was required to do. I suspect that it is the real me,” he adds.

The 61-year-old star’s next outing is Chaalis Chaurasi, which will see him exploring his humorous side, something he has sidelined in his career.

Directed by Hriday Shetty, the film is about four cops with an ulterior motive, and Shah plays one of them. The actor is seen doing a spoof of Ocean’s Eleven (2001) in the trailer of the film, which hits theatres on January 13.

“I think another aspect of acting that I haven’t touched enough is comedy, and I would really like to do more of it in the future. This film had a lot of scope for that genre. It had that Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) kind of humour.”