The 'rockstar, Raja Sahib' Randeep Hooda can't stop praising

Randeep Hooda, who visited Delhi recently for a screening of his next Rang Rasiya, simply can't stop praising the character he portrays in the film, Raj Ravi Varma. Also known as Raja sahib, he was a painter known for his portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses.

Actor Randeep Hooda, the macho star, will try a different stroke soon. Hooda plays the painter Raja Ravi Verma in Rang Rasiya that hits theatres this Friday (November 7).

-Rangrasiya

Raja Ravi Varma was a painter known mainly for his portraits of Hindu gods and goddesses. Also known as Raja sahib, he often painted scenes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Varma is said to be the pioneer of modern art in India and was the first one to depict Hindu gods and goddesses in human forms. In a candid chat with Hindustan Times, Randeep Hooda claimed that Rang Rasiya and Highway are two films he has enjoyed most working on, but added that Highway was depressing for him as an actor. "I did Rang Rasiya when I had done only two films so I enjoyed doing it the most. I could live the character fully because it was shot in one schedule, like Highway. I enjoyed Highway too, but that was a depressing film for me as an actor," Randeep said. "This (character he plays in Rang Rasiya) is far more free and charming," Randeep playfully added, hinting at the sensous scenes that most of his films have but Highway did not. Filmmaker Ketan Mehta's Rang Rasiya was in the cans for five years before it managed to get approval from the censors. Why did Randeep decide to take up a "non-commercial, arty" film early in his career? It was because of "rockstar" . "There was this man who was such a rockstar that Indian government could not handle his fan mail and they had to put up a separate post office for his mail. The man also gave us the sari as we know it and the way it is draped today -- very dignified and sexy way of dressing," Randeep said. After making him read the film's script, Mehta showed Randeep some of the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma. Randeep said he was "aghast" when he realised that he was being asked to play a man whose works are worshipped at his own house. "I was sold on Ketan Mehta, but this fact was the icing on the cake." Watch: Randeep Hooda in conversation with HT​

​"Ketan is one of the most original India voices when it comes to filmmaking. His Mirch Masala (1987) is one of my two favourite films, the other being JP Dutta's Ghulami (1985)," the actor added. Randeep, who rarely interacts with his co-stars on the sets, claims that even the character that he plays in Rang Rasiya taught him a vital life lesson, one that changed the way he chose his films. "Raja sahib (painter Raja Ravi Varma) had said that the deepest desire of every artist is to get across to as many people as possible. That was the day when I decided I am not going to be a niche actor anymore and branched out to Bhatt films and other totally commercial potboilers like Kick. Niche is something which we put upon ourselves...I want to have a mass reach." Randeep will also be essaying the role of the infamous killer Charles Shobhraj in Prawaal Raman's directorial venture . Denying reports that Main Aur Charles is a biopic on Shobhraj, Randeep said, "Main Aur Charles is not a biopic, even this (Rang Rasiya) is based on a novel (by Ranjit Desai) and not on his life. Main Aur Charles is based on a chargesheet given to us by Amod Kant, the investigating officer of the 1986 Tihar jail-break where a man and a couple of other people walked out of the maximum security prison in India -- just walked out! It's about that one incident -- how he did it and why he did it." Charles Shobhraj is a serial killer who killed 12 women and is currently serving his term in a Nepal jail.

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