Raazi actor Jaideep Ahlawat: The audience thinks that hero is the only lead in the film

Having played a negative character in many films before Raazi, actor Jaideep Ahlawat feels that even villains deserve to be called the ‘other’ lead.

Actor Jaideep Ahlawat, who got a lot of praise for playing Alia Bhatt’s trainer in Raazi, was earlier seen portraying grey characters in films such as Khatta Meetha (2010), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Commando (2013).

Jaideep Ahlawat started his career by doing roles with grey shades.

Asked which type of roles excite him more, negative or positive, he says, “I love every role that I opt for, but there’s this thing in Bollywood that you don’t have a choice in terms of the roles you play when you enter. But I never regret [my roles] because they were amazing characters,” says the actor, adding, “I personally feel that grey characters have more colours, because they show the reality. Life is always in grey shades. For example, someone who was good to you earlier could become bad for you later. It’s like that.”

“Yes... there are actors such as Balraj Sahni, Anupam Kher, Paresh Rawal, Irrfan Khan and even Nawazuddin Siddiqui. An actor is an actor. In Commando (2013), I, too, was the lead — Villain bhi toh lead hota hai na? It’s just the perspective that there’s only that one hero; the others aren’t the lead. Agar Ram bada hai, toh Raavan bhi bada hai. In films like Raazi, every character who comes on-screen becomes the lead.”

Jaideep would love to do a romantic comedy next. “I know there will be somebody who will invest in me,” says the actor.

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