"Getting waxed for the role was a torture for me. It was like being in a delivery room. I was yelling like a mad dog while I was getting waxed. Even my wife Deepti got scared. She was with me when it was being done," Shreyas said over phone from Mumbai.
"I told Paritosh to cover me completely for the part and that there shouldn't be any revealing clothes because I wanted to escape the waxing part. But he told me to get it done to avoid last minute goof ups. Though I got it done, it literally made me shriek like anything," he added.
The actor confessed that he was so freaked out by the "painstaking" hair removing technique that he has vowed not to play a woman for the "next four years".
"I was confident about Paritosh and that is why I took this role up. But now I'm not going to play a woman for the next four years. I can reconsider it only if they (the filmmakers) spare me the waxing part because that is the worst part of playing a woman," he said.
Produced by Subhash Ghai, "Paying Guests" is a slapstick comedy. The film also stars Celina Jaitley, Ashish Chaudhary, Vatsal Seth, Neha Dhupia, Riya Sen and Sayali Bhagat in pivotal roles.
This is not the first time that the 33-year-old is playing a woman on screen. He did so in Rohit Shetty's blockbuster hit "Golmaal Returns" last year.
"We started shooting for 'Paying Guests' before 'Golmaal Returns' and I kept telling Rohit that I'm already playing a woman in another film and let's not do it. But then he said it's just a small part and it'll be overlooked with the rest of the story, so I did it. But in this film, I play a housewife for 65 percent of the movie so it's a major thing," he said.
But Shreyas admits playing a woman is more challenging.
"Every actor wants to play a woman at some point or another because it is a challenge. We have seen our colleagues, seniors and other actors in the industry donning a woman's garb convincingly on screen," he said.
After "Golmaal Returns", Shreyas is teaming up with Celina again in the film.
"It was Paritosh's idea to cast Celina opposite me and I was extremely happy with it because of the camaraderie we share. She is a wonderful person to work with. No tantrums, no tensions, she is always enthusiastic and ready to work," he said.
Shreyas debuted with Nagesh Kukunoor's critically acclaimed "Iqbal" and later featured in films like "Dor" (2006) and "Welcome To Sajjanpur" (2008).
"Paying Guests" will hit the screens as soon as the producers and the multiplex owners strike ends. His other projects include "Click", "Aage Se Right", "Hook Ya Crook" and "Season's Greetings". He is also producing a Marathi film.
