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Aftab Shivdasani is counting heavily on Red
The Bollywood actor, who desperately needs a hit, hopes people like him in the film. Diganta Guha speaks to the star.
He's a man now. That’s what child artist-turned-hero Aftab Shivdasani would like to make clear. For this he thanks Vikram Bhatt, his director in eight films (
Kasoor, Awara Paagal Deewana, Footpath, Deewane Huye Paagal
and
Ankahee,
as well as the forthcoming
Red, Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee
and
Speed
).
So it is quite natural for Aftab to say, “Vikram is family to me.” That’s not all. “Vikram has the guts to experiment with an actor. He has shown a lot of faith in me and has always been there with me,” he says.
If
Ankahee
was the beginning of the transformation from a boy to a man, it has gone one step forward with
Red
, which is slated to release soon and where Aftab has two sex bombs — Celina Jaitley and Amrita Arora — giving him company. We also find a new-look Aftab in the film.
“I wanted to reinvent myself in terms of body language, body and hairstyle,” says the actor.
Aftab is focused on his character in
Red
.
“It was an opportunity to play an intense character. The benefit was that Vikram was directing it. A lot of homework went into it. The character is subtle, more internalised. He is not a loved character. It’s this internalisation of the character that made it more challenging,” reveals the actor.
According to Aftab,
Red
is a romantic thriller exploring the dark side of a relationship — something that is usually unexplored.
“There is certain amount of yourself whom you withhold from your partner and when that comes out in the open it affects the relationship. That’s what I would refer to as the dark side,” says the actor who plays a man with a heart ailment requiring a donor.
The love angle comes in when Celina’s dead husband’s heart gives Aftab a new lease of life.
“The tale takes a twist when it is found that her husband was murdered,” informs Aftab.
The promos look hot with the steamy scenes between Aftab and Celina.
“It’s a man-woman relationship, so some amount of intensity would be there. However, that has been handled deftly and aesthetically,” says the actor.
The dismal performance of Aftab’s last film with Vikram,
Ankahee
, at the box office still haunts him.
Ankahee
was also about relationships, but Aftab says, “It was more straight forward.
Red
is more complex.”
The projects in the pipeline include
Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee, De Taali
and
Speed.
However, Aftab is counting heavily on
Red
.
“I am keeping my fingers crossed,” he says.
