Imran Khan open to playing villain

After gauging his performances at the box- office so far, Imran Khan seems to be sticking to what he does best — playing romantic leads. The actor recently fuelled speculation that he is avoiding playing negative roles, when he turned down Dibakar Banerjee’s offer to star in his next film, Shanghai, a political thriller.



Banerjee, who directed Khan in a recent cola commercial, was very keen to work with him. "Seeing the discipline and drive Imran invested into the ad, I’m more than convinced I’m ready to work with mainstream actors," the director had said.



But when the director approached Khan with Shanghai, he declined the offer politely. But Khan says he is not averse to playing characters that have shades of grey. "It’s not a conscious effort on my part to stick to romantic characters," he asserted.



Game for all genres

Khan’s track record tells another story. His romantic leads in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008) and I Hate Luv Storys have both won him accolades aplenty. Kidnap (2008) and Luck (2009), on the other hand, saw him play negative roles and neither performance was appreciated by critics. Both the films also fared poorly at the box-office.



However, the actor insists that he is game for all kinds of movies, and refuses to rule out any genre from his future plans. "Some of the best movies in the past couple of years have centred around action and other offbeat themes. If I say no to all of them, I’m going to miss out on some really great offers," he says.

When pointed out that he was clearly favouring romantic leads, Khan provides reassurance. He points out, “I’d be risking my career if I played one kind of role again and again.”