I am the next Prem Chopra: Rahul Bose

He made an impact on audiences with his negative role in Thakshak, but it has been more than a decade now that actor Rahul Bose put on the grey garb. The actor will now be seen in Midnight’s Children, an upcoming film directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta, which is based on the Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name by Salman Rushdie. The movie opened at the 17th International Festival of Kerela (IFFK).

The 44-year-old actor plays General Zulfikar, a Major in the Indian army for 30 years before   moving on to Pakistan after Partition. Zulfikar is portrayed as an ambitious, arrogant and shrewd man who extends this behaviour even towards his wife Emerald, played by Anita Mazumdar.

Rahul says, “It was a real challenge because I did not want to just portray a two-dimensional character. Zulfikar is not the antagonist in the movie. He is fundamentally a coward and does not really have an ideology to be a villain. We had to work on giving him a sense of being a real person. Deepa expanded the character and brought in the vulnerability that was needed to bring the character alive.”

Explaining his character further, Rahul adds, “It is about finding the core of the character within you. I had to work hard to find those traits within myself. And surprisingly I found streaks of cruelty within me. Acting is staying close to who you are. And I found myself perfectly capable of being mean and shrewd. I am the next Prem Chopra!”

Deepa’s film apart, Rahul will be seen playing a negative character in Kamal Hassan’s Vishwaroopam. He is also in the process of putting together his second directorial venture, Moth Smoke, based on a book of the same name by Mohsin Hamid. The film was slated to go on the floors early this year, but the project got postponed after financiers pulled out. In the past, Rahul has directed Everybody Says I’m Fine! that released in 2001.