New baddie on the block

Actor Mukul Dev is a huge John Travolta fan. "I must have seen Saturday Night Fever around 40 times," says Mukul with a laugh.

And like his icon, Mukul also loves to experiment with villainous characters.
u00a0
The rugged actor, who has been busy playing baddie in the South and will now be seen in films like Jal and Vijaywada Gangsters (Telugu), talks to CS:



Grey boost
Post Yamla Pagla Deewana, things have been looking up for me. The fact that there is greater acceptability of grey characters in modern films has also helped a lot. I fit those roles better. It's good to see filmmakers veering away from the formula film concept. This opens up exciting opportunities for us actors. If a big budget masala film flops, the performances also go unnoticed, but films like Jal present an opportunity to rise above the commercial success or failure of a film.

Wet issue
Working on Jal has been a memorable experience. The film deals with the water scarcity in Kutch and has a science versus supernatural theme to it. I play a tribal lord with a rustic sense of humour and who harasses the hero (Purab Kohli) who possesses mystical powers. The place where we shot in Kutch was at the India-Pakistan border, so we met people of mixed ethnicity. Kutch is a colourful place. I had to study the locals and their behaviour to get into the skin of the character.

Wicked me
The best thing about playing a bad guy is that you can take the character to any extent. You can be as obnoxious as possible. And villains stay longer in people's memories. Actors who always portray good characters are stuck with the image. I have done a number of films down South and have noticed that people there can't accept their heroes in negative roles. A hero simply can't murder someone or rape a girl. As a villain, I don't have to worry about all this. Moreover, grooming takes a backseat, I can stay unshaven for a longer time (laughs out loud).u00a0

A mixed bag
Though I haven't been seen in Bollywood much, I was quite busy doing regional films. Till date, I have done around 15 Telugu films, one Bengali film, and two Kannada films. I just did a Bengali film, Abhisandhi, with Rituparna Sengupta. I think working across languages has made me into a better actor. Also, the South Indian film industry is a disciplined one; it teaches you professionalism.