He has been famous for changing his looks with every other film, and true to form, Gulshan Grover will show you something new in his next one — the remake of Karz, titled Karzzzz, starring Himmesh Reshammiya and directed by Satish Kaushik. The likeable ‘bad man’ of the silver screen talks to HT City about his one-crore look and the ‘not-so-likeable’ performances of today’s villains.
Tell us about your role in Karzzzz...
My role is a tribute to the late Premnath, who played the same role [a character named Sir Judah] in Karz. In this movie, Rs 1 crore was spent on my look — hair, clothes, accessories, etc. It’s one of the biggest sums ever spent [on one person’s get-up] in any Hindi movie.
What are your upcoming projects?
Pooja Bhatt’s Kajra Re, Victory, Mittal vs Mittal and many more projects are in the pipeline. I have finished one international film called Prisoners of the Sun, directed by Roger Christian.
Your take on the current trend of leading men playing negative roles?
Though leading men are now experimenting with negative characters, it is important for an actor to get into the skin of the character. According to me, none of them is doing justice to the negative shades.
What do you think is lacking in the bad guys the heroes play?
If you are playing a bad guy, the villain should be beaten, degraded — only then is the message clear to the audience to not be like them. I disapprove of films like Dhoom, where the villains’ character is glorified. (In that film’s climax, John Abraham, chased by cops, tosses all the stolen money over his shoulder and rides his bike right into the sea.) If you have done wrong [as a villain], you must be prepared to be humiliated.
What do you think is lacking in the bad guys the heroes play?
If you are playing a bad guy, the villain should be beaten, degraded — only then is the message clear to the audience to not be like them. I disapprove of films like Dhoom, where the villains’ character is glorified. (In that film’s climax, John Abraham, chased by cops, tosses all the stolen money over his shoulder and rides his bike right into the sea.) If you have done wrong [as a villain], you must be prepared to be humiliated.
Why do you think actors are no longer wary of taking on negative roles?
I think there are three possible reasons — one, he has been rejected as a hero; second, he is not doing well as a hero and so is open to experimentation; or third, producers want to experiment by getting actors to explore the grey areas.
What does it take to be a bad man?
As far as this bad man is concerned it’s the dedication towards my work and the desire to deliver better and even better.