Ashutosh Rana: I don’t read the original work; it limits imagination

Sitting in a comfortable room of a fivestar Ashutosh Rana dressed in black kurta jeans and a stole looks ready to tackle any question coming his way Having been in the industry for over two decades there is no role the actor cannot do Yet you would find Rana doing odd roles that donrsquot exactly do justice to his talent Murder in Mahim then comes as a fitting addition to his resume In the JioCinema series based on Jerry Pintorsquos book of the same name also starring Vijay Raaz Rana displays his inner strength as an artiste as he portrays an exjournalist in pursuit of a serial killerEdited excerpts from the interviewHow do you choose a role from the plethora of offers that come your wayI donrsquot look at the length of the role I look at the characterrsquos importance in the subject If the character wasnrsquot there would the story move forward I had two releases Ranneeti Balakot amp Beyond and Murder in Mahim where I play two distinct characters In Ranneeti I play a suave and overpowering ISI Chief In Murder in Mahim my character Peter Fernandes modelled on the author is subdued but he has tremendous inner strength In one you get to see power in the other strength I have never played such a lowkey character When I play Peter I notice the characterrsquos body language the walk the way he talks and looks If a character forces me to break my mould and not carry my traits forward itrsquos a winwinApart from the script how much of the characterrsquos creation is your own doingPick any character and you can never know all its traits We can write a characterrsquos main traits you have to explore the rest as an actor Before knowing a character you have to know yourself well first you have to know how yoursquod react to a situation and then change the reaction to suit your character This is an ongoing process and I take it quite spirituallyTell us more about Peter FernandesHe was a journalist but took early retirement because he was fed up with where journalism was heading However when his son who attended a gay parade is a person of interest in the killings of the LGBTQiA people he goes back into investigative mode He has to fight against powerful people to prove his sonrsquos innocenceDid you read the book or meet the authorWhenever a story is adapted I try not to watch or read the original unless I am done with my act Else it will impact my performance it will limit my imagination After finishing the show I read the book and interestingly the series is shot exactly how the book describes the story I had not met the author but my motherinlaw is his good friend Through her I learnt that Jerry is happy that I played the characterYou say that you look at your characterrsquos importance when choosing projects But so often talented actors are wasted in films like you were in FighterItrsquos a pain an actor has to go through Sometimes you have to do it out of respect and affection for someone I have done films with Siddharth Anand like War 2019 and Pathaan 2023 He didnrsquot ask me he simply said that I was his lucky mascot and wanted me in his film He said that I have two key scenes and I have to portray everything in those scenes instead of adding four extra scenes to establish the fatherdaughter relationship between Deepika Padukonersquos character and me Sometimes it hurts because while we may imagine a story in a certain way it doesnrsquot pan out accordingly The only problem is when other filmmakers feel that since I have done a special appearance in Siddharthrsquos film Irsquoll do it for everyone Itrsquos a risk but you have to find a way around it The other problem of saying no is that you have to wait a long time to find your next role