#CatchChitChat: Experimenting with roles is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is my glass of wine, says Randeep Hooda

You are known for experimenting with varied roles. Why is that?

I love to juggle between different genres and play different characters. And believe me that is not at all easy. 

One of the major reasons why I don’t do many films at a time is because it takes time to come out of a character. 

The only occasion when I had to shoot for two films simultaneously was Sultan and Sarabjit. I had to shoot with Salman for a few days in between the schedule of Sarabjit. That happens sometimes but I usually take up one film at a time. 

Acting is not as shallow as growing your moustache or changing your hairstyle, but experimenting has its own pleasure and I am doing it just for myself. It is not everybody’s cup of tea but it is my glass of wine.

Tell us about your drastic physical transformation for Sarabjit

It was torturous to lose weight for Sarabjit and I do not advice anybody to do that. I don’t know if I got into the skin of character or not. That is for the audiences to decide. I have a certain style of acting and I often do it my way.

I have not used prosthetics for Sarabjit except for the ones used to show me as an elderly character. There was some shit article that said that my losing weight for Sarabjit was fake and my only reaction was f*&^ you, go and watch the film.

How much does a Box Office clash affect the collections of a film?

Clashes do affect the business of films in Bollywood and as an actor, I have no say in deciding the release date of movies. It is always better to go solo rather than to clash with another film. But at the end of the day, it is the producers call to decide on a release date. My job is to promote a film.

What is your take on multiplexes adopting differential ticket pricing strategy?

I don’t think the multiplexes should opt for a differential pricing strategy as the audiences use the same seat. They have some fixed overheads to recover costs like electricity and other factors. The AC runs in all films. The staff works for all kinds of films. So I find it very funny when people talk about differential pricing strategy. Having said this, yes, pricing can be discussed and there can be different pricing according to budget and all that. But hey, I am not in the business of theatre politics, I am here to act in movies.

Is there a particular role you've always wanted to play?

I am doing all kinds of characters and I am often surprised by the characters I am offered. I never thought I would essay a character like Charles or Sarabjit or my character in Laal Rang. They all came to me as a pleasant surprise. I don’t want to limit myself by deciding which characters I want to play. I take them up as they come to me.

Is Salman Khan singing for Laal Rang?

We had the plans to make Salman Khan sing for the film. I offered him a song, which he was ready to do. But Bhai was busy shooting for Sultan and our film releases on 22 April. When will he sing?When will we shoot for the song? I don’t think it will work out. But hopefully it will happen soon. Salman is a very generous guy and I am thankful that he considered the offer to sing for us. 

Tell us something about Sultan

Whatever reports you have heard about Sultan, you can write that. I don’t think I am allowed to speak about my character in Sultan. Rather, I would not like to speak about Sultan while promoting Laal Rang. I am very sorry, I am very selfish.