Ashutosh Rana doesn’t believe in glorifying his struggles

Ashutosh Rana, an alumnus of the National School of Drama, says people struggle to get the big ticket to the film industry but he is not among those who like to "glorify" the difficult phase in life.

His latest project – ‘Test Drive’, presented by Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films, is a story of a struggling actor who believes in himself and aspires to achieve success based on his talent.

Asked about his own struggles, Ashutosh told IANS over phone from Mumbai: "If you want to glorify your own struggles, you can build up your own story and say 'I did this and slept there'. All these things were done by everyone. You can't say that someone else's struggle is lesser than your struggle.”

"Everyone is struggling and they are fighting their own battles," he added.He feels fortunate enough to have landed the opportunity at the right time."Every opportunity that I got, I considered them to be big. I did not measure them and say that 'This opportunity is small'. I was ready to accept each and every role because of that," said the actor, who shot to fame with the 1998 psychological thriller ‘Dushman’.

The actor, known for playing negative roles, grabbed every opportunity that came his way, but in the process, didn't he feel like he was being stereotyped?

"If you look at my films like 'Dushman' or 'Sangharsh', there is no comparison between the two villains. After playing a rapist in 'Dushman', I didn't do the same role again. I have not repeated myself. Had I repeated my roles, then you can say that I am being typecast.

"I have done a variety of roles and I feel fortunate to have got so many opportunities to explore," said the actor, who has played a fight agent, a police official and partner of a porn-website creator and more on the big screen.

Apart from challenging himself by taking up different roles, he also likes to explore various mediums like films, television and theatre. He has now taken the digital route with ‘Test Drive’, a short film that released last week.

"Art can't be tied up to a medium. I think for actors, a medium should not hold any importance because acting and reaching out to the audience are more important.
"The good thing about the digital platform is that there are lots of new stories and talent but no resources to back them. Now, because of the digital platform they are able to reach out to the audience," he said.

Asked about social networking sites, Ashutosh said: "I am just on Facebook. When you are socially connecting with people, you should do it directly. I chose Facebook as there is no word limit, so the exchange of thoughts is better.

"I don't believe in imposing my thoughts on others. There should be discussions because it is not necessary that what I say, others will agree with me or vice-versa."

By Natalia Ningthoujam