It is a golden period for actors like me: Ashutosh Rana

PTI, May 11, 2024, 7:39 PM IST

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Actor Ashutosh Rana believes his acting career is still in the early stages, even though he has been a part of the industry for over three decades.

Rana, who has received recognition for his work in films like “Dushman”, “Sarfarosh”, “Mulk”, “Sonchiriya”, “Pathaan” and “Fighter”, said he is happy that the lines between mainstream and off-beat cinema has blurred today.

“I feel there is a lot left in Ashutosh Rana. The actor in Ashutosh Rana is like a child who has just started walking and is taking baby steps. There is a lot to come. Why I think this way is because I started with films which were called off-beat cinema and that has become mainstream cinema now.

”For the actors like me, it is a golden period,” the actor, who is headlining the latest OTT show “Murder in Mahim”, told PTI in an interview.

The 56-year-old actor said he would love to play a variety of characters on screen, whether they are heroic or villainous.

”I definitely hope to get lots of work and play different characters. I want to play Chanakya on screen, Raavan, Vivekanand and Krishna. There are so many characters who are engraved in our mind like Gabbar (from ‘Sholay’),” he added.

Rana believes that he has been able to receive appreciation from audiences because he played each character with the utmost honesty.

As an actor, he said, his primary goal is to “capture the thought process and persona” of a character.

“I don’t believe in doing good work, I believe in being honest with my work. The appreciation that I’ve got from the audience and media is for the honest portrayal of roles. For instance, how can you like my characters Gokul Pandit and Lajja Shankar Pandey from ‘Dushman’ and ‘Sangharsh’, respectively?

”You felt the character was honest in terms of its portrayal and hence you liked my work. Besides, I try not to repeat the characters and ensure that there’s diversity in what I do. I’m the actor made by the audience, they’ve made me and promoted me after watching my work.”

“Murder in Mahim”, an investigative drama series, is adapted from a critically-acclaimed book of the same name by author Jerry Pinto.

The show is a social commentary that explores the chilling murder mystery and the underbelly of Mumbai, highlighting the reconciliation of a lost friendship between Peter (Rana) and Jende (Vijay Raaz).

Rana said he wasn’t nervous about headlining a show and instead calls it a ”pleasure”.

“I don’t take pressure, I’m a responsible person, and I’ve acted with utmost responsibility,” he said adding that he hasn’t read the book as he didn’t want to corrupt his imagination as an actor.

“Whenever a series or film is made from a book, the actors who are acting in it shouldn’t read it because it restricts your imagination as an artist. When you haven’t read it, then you can add things on your own,” he added.

The show, which is helmed by Raj Acharya, hails from Tipping Point Films and Jigsaw Pictures. It was released on JioCinema on Friday.