|
Bollywood heroes enjoy breaking the law |
|
Monday, June 07, 2004 |
 There's criminal conspiracy afoot in tinseltown. Ajay Devgan, Vivek Oberoi and Abhishek Bachchan have crossed over to the dark side and audiences seem to love them for it.
Devgan, the evil protagonist in films like 'Deewangi', 'Company' and 'Khakee', says the switchover has liberated him from the burden of brooding romantic leads and action hero baggage. "Positive is boring. After a point one gets tired of playing Mr Goodie-two-shoes who is never wrong and oohhhhh so perfect! If no one is perfect in real life, why enact such characters on screen?" he quips.
Be it the cop-gone-bad act in 'Khakee', the steely resolve of 'Company' or 'Deewangi's' hint of madness, Devgan has managed to exude raw malevolence in role after role. The villainy, he admits, all lies within. "I think there's a dark side to all of us. We have to constantly try and keep it under check or else we would become outcasts. Simple observation of the world around me and my own inner truths guide me when I take on a role with negative shades. It usually gives me a great opportunity to experiment," he exults.
Abhishek, who recently got mean and dirty as Lallan Singh in Mani Ratnam's 'Yuva', agrees. "Lallan is a product of the streets. While he may not be a criminal at heart, he does what he knows best - look out for his own interests. Years of growing up in a rough and tumble world have taught him that. He's an opportunist who wants to improve his life but doesn't have the sense to recognise an opportunity to do so. His survival instincts get the better of his judgement and in the process he plummets into the deepest abyss of his dark self," says Bachchan Jr.
The young actor has no qualms about going 'bad' so early in his career. He's clearly enjoying every bit of adulation and critical-acclaim that the offbeat role has brought him. "I liked the message behind the film and was very much convinced about 'Yuva'. If you hate Lallan at the end of three hours, then I must say I have succeeded in my job," claims Abhishek.
Vivek, who gained cult status as underworld don Chandu in his debut film, also knows a thing or two about breaking the rules as an artiste. According to him: 'I don't subscribe to any rule. People told me Ram Gopal Varma's 'Company' was not the right kind of film to launch my career, that I would get typecast. I refused to listen to them and went ahead and accepted the role. The rest as they say, is history. Later I was warned against doing films like 'Saathiya', 'Dum' and 'Road'. But again I used my own discretion since I hate following the beaten track. I believe in myself and my potential to do good work. At the end of the day nothing else matters."
The risk that comes with doing his own thing doesn't bother Vivek. "When is it not risky? I believe in doing different roles, even if it is one that has shades of gray. I won't shy away from it as long as I'm convinced about the character and the project," he insists.
Bad is good for others in tinseltown as well - Akshay Khanna in 'Hamraaz', Akshay Kumar in 'Andaaz', Suniel Shetty in 'Khel' followed more recently by veterans Pankaj Kapur in 'Maqbool' and Om Puri in 'Dev'.
Darkness, it seems, is here to stay. |
|
|
