When being bad is good...

On screen, Abhimanyu Singh is a menacing man, terrorising men and women alike. He is a dream baddie of film-makers in the industry, bringing the screen alive with his booming voice and fearsome expressions. But off screen, he’s a mellow guy who just wants to be a great actor, something that he has been working towards since his debut.

This talented actor might not rate high on the audience’s popularity scale, but in most of his movies, he is the reason there’s drama and action. He’s the reason the story moves forward. Abhimanyu couldn’t have asked for a better debut film and director with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Aks. While the film itself bombed at the box office, it did earn its actors some critical acclaim. And Abhimanyu was one of them.

After stumbling through a number of films, Abhimanyu was finally ready to make a mark on the screen as Rananjay ‘Ransa’ Singh, a fearless prince, in Anurag Kashyap’s Gulaal. Soon, more memorable roles followed in Rakhta Charitra, Gabbar Singh, Goliyon ki Rasleela Ram-Leela, Jazbaa, and most recently, Mom, with Sridevi.

But did you know that Abhimanyu never really aspired to be an actor? Abhimanyu reveals, “I come from a middle-class family in Bihar. So, I always had the aspiration of becoming an IAS officer. I had seen quite a few seniors of mine taking up respectable positions in the society and I wanted to do the same.

But then, I realised the difficulties I would have to face if I chose that path: the bureaucracy troubles, dealing with corrupt officials and so on. It was at this time that I came to Mumbai for a fashion show. I used to do some modelling in my college days. Then, I went on to do a music video and also happened to catch a couple of plays in Prithvi Theatre.” Abhimanyu eventually went on to do plays for almost eight years before taking the big leap to Bollywood.

Popular down south

Playing the bad guy in movies has certainly turned out well for this actor. His fantastic portrayals of characters has also made him quite famous down south, especially in the Telugu film industry. Fans can look forward to seeing him lock horns with none other than Jr. NTR in Jai Lava Kusa soon.

Speaking about his experience in the south film industry, Abhimanyu says, “The film industry down south is very different from Bollywood. People are very nice here, very simple. They have very different work ethics. They start work early in the morning and pack up in time. They love creating characters with a lot of story behind them. They put a lot of thought into it. Here, your work speaks for you.

While the reach of the Hindi film industry is much bigger, the stars down south are more down to earth. So, it’s been incredible working in the south film industry.”

Abhimanyu is hoping to recreate the same level of success in the Kannada film industry too. After working with Puneeth Rajkumar in Chakravyuha, Abhimanyu is now gearing up to shoot with Upendra in Home Minister. His is a psychotic character who takes the film ahead, we hear.

Abhimanyu reveals his fondness for Bengaluru and says, “I love coming down to Bengaluru. People in the Kannada film industry are very nice. I like the vibes that I get from here. I enjoyed working with Puneeth. Let’s hope I get some more memorable roles here.”

Open to all roles

Looking back on his journey till date, Abhimanyu says, “The journey from Aks till now has been mostly a learning experience. All the hard work and all the mistakes have led me to a much better place. Today, I find myself to be a much better actor and a much more confident person.”

Since he’s become the quintessential villain in films today, I can’t help but ask if he feels stereotyped. His answer: “See, for an actor, every role and genre is a complete joy. And I enjoy everything. Be it a funny character, or one with grey shades, or even a common person, I cherish every role that comes my way. Yes, I do feel I am stereotyped. But that’s how it works in this industry. If a particular format works, people would want to repeat it again. You have to realise that the audience also wants to see you in similar roles.”

Even though he says he’s a director’s actor, Abhimanyu explains that he likes to contribute something of his own to every role. “Once I have heard the narration, I like to surprise the director. But in order to surprise the director, I have to surprise myself. For that, I bring in my own understanding of the role and experiences to the table,” he explains.

I prod him to reveal about his future projects and he says his fans have a lot to look forward to. Be it Jai Lava Kusa, or a Tamil film with Karthi (Theeran Adhigaram Ondru), Abhimanyu has lots to offer. Which leads us to the next question about his future aspirations. He states, “I would love to do a role in a biopic. I find that format quite interesting. Or anything inspired by real life, basically.”

Since he’s an outsider who’s cracked the code in Bollywood, what would he say to aspiring actors? “Find your voice, be yourself, and work hard. Personally, I believe actors are born. But they can be made great with some quality training. You just can’t create an actor out of anybody. But, there are so many examples of actors who have trained hard and made it big, and of those who are natural at their job,” he says.