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Friday, April 4::Rajpal Yadav, one of the lead actors in Krazzy 4, on comedies and why he considers himself a student of acting
Tell me about your role in Krazzy 4.
I’m playing 60-year-old Gangadhar, who loves his country. He is schizophrenic and at times thinks that the country is yet to get its Independence. Some of his dialogues have a double meaning and are loaded with messages.

Many of the films you are doing are by debutant directors. Why?
I love working with them. I was a newcomer once. I don’t consider myself a star or an actor. I consider myself a student of acting. The moment I start believing that I’m an actor, it means that I’m like a teacher who doesn’t have to do homework.

What kind of homework do you do?
(Laughs) I mean trying out new roles and practising them. I try to study characters.

How do you decide which director to work with?
Before finalising a film or hearing its script, I try to find out how confident the debutant filmmaker is. Then I try to ascertain whether his script would be able to carry off his confidence. I ask him why he wants to make this film and under what circumstances.

What do you think of Hindi comedies?
I don’t believe in classification of films as comedy or tragedy. I believe in entertainment. I feel those films that entertain the audience and do well at the box office should be given 100 marks. Those that fail get zero. No in-betweens.

How do you manage to pull off so many diverse characters in films?
If my career in theatre and film is taken together, I have 18-20 years of acting. If I have done 10 characters per year, it means I’ve played 180 characters in 18 years. Compared to India’s population it’s no ratio at all (laughs). There are so many shades to enact.

Who’s your idol for comic roles?
I have never done comedy. Neither did I learn them. I have only listened to my directors and played the character they have wanted me to portray.

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