Meet Ashutosh, the bad boy!

 
When a certain four-year-old boy growing up in his native Gadarwala village in Madhya Pradesh took to acting in the village theatre, little did he know he would go on to become one of the most menacing villains in Indian cinema!

Life has played out an amazing script for Ashutosh Rana, a National School of Drama pass out, who set off for Mumbai in search of destiny, armed with an acting degree, and more importantly, a burning desire to act. Earning his stripes in a negative role in a popular TV show, Swabhimaan , he struck gold on the silver screen in 1998 with Dushman , as a psychotic rapist, stealing the thunder, even from Kajol. Hyderabad Times caught up with Ashutosh Rana, in town to shoot for his upcoming Tollywood venture. "I'm surprised you just kept me waiting for five minutes. I've had to wait longer for interviews," he replies to my apologies for turning up late. The traffic in Hyderabad can have a cascading effect on interviews, but I was glad this 'bad guy' came with a sense of humour. "I am here to wrap up shooting for actor Nitin's upcoming venture, which is yet to be titled. I'm playing the villain in this Ravi C Kumar directed film," he says adding that he is also keenly awaiting public response to his latest release, where he is pitted against Balakrishna. "Tollywood is an amazing place. I've done four films so far, and each time I am more in awe of the people and their ways," he adds. That there is nothing in his mannerisms or appearance that suggests that this is the same guy who terrified on screen with his portrayal of the vices of the human nature in films like Sangharsh, Badal or Shabnam Mausi. It sure must take a toll on your moral fabric with having to slip in and out of such vicious characters? Ashutosh thinks otherwise – "Perhaps that is where training comes handy. An actor lives in two realities. One is the truth of the moment, the character I am portraying; the second is the universal truth, the man that I am. Acting, like life, is a result of these intermingling realities," says Ashutosh in chaste Hindi. And how has he managed to have a TV career that inexplicably runs parallel to his movie career? "Well, for me there is no difference between film and TV. They are both platforms and I do not see why one should be in conflict with the other," he quips nonchalantly. After a heady dose of dvaita, the conversation sauntered to a more earthly realm as we asked about his upcoming ventures. With four releases it sure looks 2008 could be another monumental year in his chequered career. "Besides the Nitin starrer, I am also acting in Summer of 2007, Coffee House, Monica J and one more film directed by Pooja Bhatt," he concludes.