Rahul Bhat Interview On Kennedy │“Uday Shetty Was A Very Complex Character Which Took A Toll On Me”

Der aaye durust aaye (better late than never). One cannot keep crying about something and has to be happy and positive. Now, as it is releasing on a great platform, people will finally get to watch it. As long as the art reaches the people, that is the best day for an artist. I'm quite excited that the film is finally coming.

What matters is that the film has to reach the audience in the right way, no matter what platform it is on. Of course, one can’t deny that theatre has its own spark. But now, as it is coming to OTT, people should watch it and let’s see how it is received. I am just an actor, and these decisions are taken by studios and producers.

Generally, one film travels for one season in a film festival, but it’s a miracle that Kennedy kept going and kept travelling to several film festivals. It's unprecedented. So, in that way, we have been lucky that the film received a phenomenal reception in the film festival circuit around the world and remained valid and alive for such a long time.

Portraying these kinds of roles can take a toll on you and can lead to depression. They're very complex roles to play, and an actor has to sacrifice a lot. But I believe it's part and parcel of any actor's life.

It’s just some hard work (he laughs). It took a toll on me. Uday Shetty was a very complex character and difficult to play. I had to literally give it my all. My close ones and friends were fed up and asked me to get out of it. Even after we finished the film, it remained with me for a month or so because I had to change everything for this character, from my voice to language and also went through a physical transformation. Let’s see whether people like it or not.

I don’t know why directors write complex and grey roles for me. Yes, it is cathartic, but portraying these kinds of roles can take a toll on your personal life. It’s fun and a pleasure to play such roles, but they have repercussions. 

Of course, he plays the most important part in my career and the kind of freedom he gives to any actor is unprecedented. He's amazing and gives freedom to actors, which is a blessing. We trust each other a lot, and that’s why perhaps he looks up to me whenever he is writing these complex characters. Our relationship has been very interesting and hopefully remains the same. We will definitely work together on more projects in the future. 

The political scenario is never good. If you are making challenging films, it's always challenging, but people have been making such films from the past till now; it's not that we are only doing something amazing. There have been people who have made challenging films at very odd times. So that is also part and parcel of any filmmaker’s job. Sometimes you show the mirror to society by picking the current topics that are liked by some, while others criticise it. This has been happening for long. One can’t stop, but show courage by making such films. 

I hope so. I'm sure that it will be received well because it's a very quintessential Anurag Kashyap film, and his fans will definitely love the film.

An actor gets typecast when he plays similar roles. I am not that kind of actor. I am different in Kennedy and other projects. So, I don't think that I will get typecast. This year, there is a film with Dia Mirza that is coming. It’s a love story. It did Lost and Found in Kumbh which is a children's comedy. I did The Wives with Madhur Bhandarkar. So I have many films coming out this year.

In a longer format, you get an opportunity to work more on your character. Otherwise, acting is the same whether it is TV, OTT or film because at the end of the day, you have to be true to the character and be honest. In a longer format, you have more time to justify the character and have a longer arc. You can spend a lot of time on the screen, but in films, you have to quickly come to the point.