Being Bose

KOCHI: Rahul Bose who has long been the poster boy of Indian parallel cinema says industry norms have not changed his views about the kind of films he would like to be a part of.  “I genuinely feel that I am incapable of doing the ‘hero’ stuff and I don’t mind waiting for the right script even if it means professional impasse,” he says.   Rahul says a performer needs instinct and intuition in right measure to survive in the field. “Attaining an emotional sync with the character is important,” he says. He adds that he goes on an extremely intense prep session before each film to internalise the character, be it the meek and solitary Snehamoy in ‘The Japanese Wife’ or the cheeky urbanite in R‘Jhankar Beats’. For ‘Split Wide Open’ he lived in slums to get a first hand experience of Mumbai’s underbelly. Rahul reveals that his interface with the sprawling slum life was an eye-opener. “Discovering the ghetto reality through your own experience is something else,” he says.Rahul says that as an actor, he is open to all kind of characters and considers no role a taboo. He didn’t think twice before accepting the role in ‘I Am’ but he admits that playing  gay on screen came with its challenges. “I represented a character from the gay community, an immensely discriminated sexual minority in India. Romancing a man on screen and even kissing was not a big challenge. But bringing in the subtle nuances of the relationship was not easy. Moreover emoting the extremities of fear and shame required involvement of the highest degree,” he says.Though he has never been a candy floss hero Rahul says he signs an interesting mainstream project whenever he needs a break. “I want to test different waters. Art house is something I do all the time, so on occasions, I go for a romantic film or a musical comedy. But it’s not my staple. Mainstream is something I indulge in to change my taste,” he says. Also, he has a five-step screening process while selecting scripts. “My first priority is the story, then the director, co-actors, the character I am offered and finally the crew.” Though he maintains strong ties with the theatre world, Rahul says he prefers the celluloid. “It has been 11 years since I have done theatre, but maybe I will go back there one day,” he says.He has done three of his most notable films with Aparna Sen and Rahul says he shares a beautiful connection with the filmmaker. “She is one of the most wonderful people with whom I can chat and laugh with. We have a lot in common as fellow human beings. We share the same humanism and our concerns for the world are similar,” he says.Also the founder of an anti-discrimination NGO, Rahul says the activist in him sprang to life following his impassivity during the Mumbai riots. “As a 25-year-old I could have done something, but I was scared. And I lived with that shame for ten years. In 2002 when the Gujarat riots broke out I decided to work for underprivileged Muslim girls bound in deep social orthodoxy. The abuse and the violence perpetuated on the women during the riot left a deep wound in me. When the tsunami hit I spent two and a half years at the Andaman Nicobar islands, because nobody was going there,” he says.  As for his career, the actor is more keen on directing films now. His long delayed second directorial film is based on Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid’s novel ‘Moth Smoke’ “I see myself more as a director than an actor in the future. The most challenging part while attempting the script (‘Moth Smoke’) was to zero in on what to do away with and what to keep without mutilating the soul of the book.” He says he has been working on this project for quite a while. “The stroy line covers an entire spectrum of emotions. And yes, the film has drugs and sex in it,” he says.