Villainous roles lack variety, says Mukesh Rishi

New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) After working in movies like "Sarfarosh", "Gardish", "Koi... Mil Gaya" and "Run", Mukesh Rishi has shifted base to the south because he felt Bollywood didn't offer him much scope to showcase his talent.

"The problem is that I'm being offered negative roles only. I'm doing them because I don't have an option. But I would like to do other kind of roles. I did a role in 'Run' which had a comic touch. I would love to work in movies like 'Black' and 'Eklavya'. There is no variety in our roles as villains," Mukesh told IANS.

In the south, he has become one of the busiest actors and has worked with stars like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Mahesh Babu. Mukesh has done 22 Telegu films and many other south Indian regional ones.

Now he is making a comeback in Bollywood with a cross-border film "Lahore".

"It's a story about India and Pakistan and cricket. This movie is humble but a strong move to bind the chords of friendship between the two countries. It's a story which will touch the heart of an ordinary person."

The cast is a mixed bag. "They are introducing new stars in the lead roles," said Mukesh. "You will also see Nafisa Ali, Farookh Shiekh, Nirmal Pandey, Ayub Khan and Ashish Vidyarthi in the film. It's been a good experience working with them, though we've only shot a small part of the film yet."

How will he manage both the southern and Bollywood projects together?

"I won't take up too many projects - just three-four movies in the south and the same in Bollywood," he said without hesitation.

His other projects include "Hote Hote Hogaya" and a Punjabi film "Varisha", in which he is doing the lead role. "It's a story about a poet," he said.

Aamir Khan and Salman Khan are Mukesh's favourite actors. "I like Sunny Deol too. I have worked with him in movies like 'Ghatak' and 'Arjun Pandit'."

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Sarfarosh