On to a new stage

Jasmine Singh

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Sorry to say this, but unless you are not a Punjabi singer you can’t act in a Punjabi film. This is how it has been going in the industry,” rues Karanveer Khullar who makes his commercial debut with the Punjabi film, Rocky Mental.

A theatre artiste from Chandigarh, Karanveer has already acted in a Hindi and English movie before he took up Rocky Mental where he played a strong negative role. “This was a challenging role. I got bruised while performing the action sequences, in the end it has played off well.”

But does the fear of being typecast bother Karanveer? “Not at all, I am a theatre actor and I like to do roles that have substance, that give me a scope to act. So, I don’t think that I will make choices that will typecast me,” he shares. Well, then how about the choice of being the lead hero in a film. karanveer laughs, “who doesn’t want to play the lead, but I am good playing the antagonist till the time I get to act and define my role.”

And it is theatre that helps Karanveer understand and define his roles. “Certainly, I have worked with the Alankar group for a long time. Chakresh Kumar is my first guru, second being Jagdish Tiwari of Gumphan theatre with whom again I have done theatre. I owe my acting to the stage, and it is definitely helping me in the films.”

Looks like finally, Punjabi cinema is opening doors for new actors as well? “And this is pretty good. Rocky Mental has been able to break the myth that only singers can act. In fact, we were 3-4 artistes from the theatre background in Rocky Mental, and each one has done a great job. Also, I feel Punjabi cinema is also changing, from comedies or stories on drugs, directors are exploring new ideas and genres.”

And it is in this experimentation phase that Karanveer Khullar has managed to secure a space for himself too!