Tusshar Kapoor in pursuit of versatility

New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) After being labelled a comic actor, Tusshar Kapoor was looking for variety and a chance to prove his versatility. And now he is happy that his forthcoming films will present him in various new avatars.

"I don't want to be typecast. I don't want people to say that he was a good comedian or a good romantic hero. I want people to remember me as a good actor. I want them to say that I could do all kinds of roles," Tusshar told IANS.

To prove his talent he signed Apoorva Lakhia's crime thriller "Shootout at Lokhandwala", Ashwin Chaudhary's romantic comedy "Good Boy, Bad Boy" and Anant Mahadevan's thriller "Agar".

Right now he is eagerly looking forward to the release of Lovely Singh's "Kya Love Story Hai", opening May 25.

"I am really excited about it because it is directed by my friend. It's a triangular love story. I play a boy called Arjun who is laid back and doesn't like doing anything. His parents have left enough money for him. Then he falls in love and things change in his life."

Tusshar, who was understandably bored with his current screen image, readily accepted the role of a hit man in "Shootout at Lokhandwala" and underwent special training for flawless delivery. The film is based on a true incident that took place in Mumbai 1991.

"I attended a small workshop to prepare for the role. My friend Prakash Bhardwaj arranged the workshop and conditioned me for the role. I met Prakash while working in 'Good Boy Bad Boy'."

Talking about "Agar", he said: "In 'Agar' I play a media person who loses his mental balance due to an incident. He gets cured after some time and tries to put his life back on track but his past keeps following him."

So far Tusshar, who debuted with "Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hain" in 2001, hasn't made a permanent pairing with anybody on screen and admits that there is a dearth of new faces in filmdom.

"People thought that Kareena Kapoor and I look good on screen. But we didn't do too many films together. Right now there isn't any particular actress with whom I have formed a good on screen pairing.

"Of course, there is a dearth of new faces. People are scared of experimenting with new faces. They prefer working with established faces only."

About venturing into direction, he said: "No, I don't have any plans of getting into direction. Acting is such a time consuming job that I can't think about anything else. I just want to concentrate on my acting. I do help my sister but that's it ... nothing beyond that."

Most actors say they don't give much importance to critics' views but Tusshar thinks otherwise.

"We all know where we have goofed up. We are aware of our shortcomings. I don't read all the reviews. I pick four or five of them and while reading I try to analyse how honestly critics have assessed my performance. Of course, I have learned from their criticisms. But sometimes I don't find them convincing.

"I also give importance to a film's performance. If I feel that it is doing well and producers are happy with the profit, I feel happy too."

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Shoot Out At Lokhandwala