Mumbai: Model-actor Rahul Bhat says he had to adapt a harsh lifestyle to prepare for his role of a struggler in Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Ugly’.
Rahul, who is returning to big screen after the gap of a decade post ‘Nayee Padosan’, said the dark and intense drama required honesty in performance.
“My role was very difficult because I have never been in such situation in life. For my role, I needed dark circles throughout. I always had an angry face in the film.
“I didn’t sleep three months for the film because my character demanded that. I was not living in my house and shunned all the comforts of living and took to alcohol. My character required a very honest performance,” Rahul told PTI.
‘Ugly’, releasing Friday, is about a girl who goes missing. The kidnapping brings out the conflict in her family members.
The Srinagar-born actor said Anurag offered the role to him because they have known each other since their early days in Mumbai.
“Anurag and I know each other from our struggling days. We used to stay in the same locality. He is a very interesting director to work with because he comes up with unique subjects. However, it was when he met me two years ago that he said he has a script for me. It was a challenging role and I immediately said yes,” he said.
Rahul, who was seen in a double role in his last release, has been away from the silver screen for a long time because he was not getting good directors to work with.
After ‘Ugly’, the actor would be seen in Sudhir Mishra’s ‘Aur Devdas’, a political take on the Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s love tragedy.
Rahul would be seen playing the titular role and is excited to step into the shoes of actors including Dilip Kumar, Shah Rukh Khan and Abhay Deol, who played Devdas earlier.
“I am happy to play Devdas and it’s a tough role which our legends like Dilip Kumar sahab and Shah Rukh have played it before. I am trying to play it in my own way. This time the character is edgy and it’s a challenge for me,” he said.
The last leg of ‘Aur Devdas’ shooting is due next month and the film, also starring Richa Chadha and Aditi Rao Hydari, will hit theatres mid next year.
PTI
