I’ve been a Casanova: Randeep

doweshowbellyad=0; Randeep Hooda. (TOI Photo) Enough of being introduced as Sushmita Sen���s ex! Such an identity can never be an ego boost for an actor who has six films in the pipeline, one of which (Ketan Mehta���s Rang Rasiya) has now taken him to the Cannes Film Festival.
There exists a Randeep Hooda beyond the clich��s that perpetually keep him time-warped by all things Sushmita.A man who plays the saxophone and the flute when he is high on life, who has had Naseeruddin Shah as a mentor, owns six horses at the Mumbai���s Mahalaxmi Race Course and has never been on a vacation in his whole life since holidays have been visiting home away from his hostel life, is expected to have a worldview that���s conventionally unconventional.
And this unconventional streak is manifested in his desire to portray Raja Ravi Verma in RR as a visionary and a Casanova. ���History usually sugarcoats icons. But I believe an artiste who appreciated the female form must also have been a very interesting man. Creativity comes with a flamboyance and if that doesn���t get reflected on screen, the character becomes very uninteresting,��� says Randeep adding, ���Casanova isn���t a negative term. He is someone who appreciates women and is able to cater to a larger variety without making them feel unwanted or taking them for a ride. He doesn���t promise eternity. Rather he finds eternity in the moment. Somewhere, I too have been a Casanova. There are different people within me and if I���ve been a Casanova, I have done it without hurting anyone.���
Ask him whether he, like Verma, also has a thing for voluptuous women and Randeep nods in affirmation. ���I���m not for size zero women. Bollywood might be devastatingly heading towards size zero, but I certainly don���t like a woman without curves in my arms,��� he chuckles.
Conversation soon meanders towards his role in Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye where Randeep is playing the ���ultimate ladies man���. So, does Randeep know what it takes to be one in real life? ���A woman wants a man who is encouraging, makes her laugh, understands and supports her dreams, is not overtly possessive and adores them all the time.
A man doesn���t need to look like Adonis to floor a woman if he has these qualities,��� he insists. And which of these attributes has Randeep found most difficult to cultivate? ���I think we often start counting and fall prey to our day-to-day ego trips. Sometimes, very rarely though, I���ve been able to have all the traits. On other occasions, I���ve just expressed one or two of them. But the most difficult part is to strike a balance between all the traits,��� he confesses.
As he continues, he talks about playing a ���testosterone driven young man��� in Love Khichdi who is out to experiment with (or rather discover) a variety of ladies! Quite a shocker for the prude Indians, to say the least. But Randeep isn���t keen on judging such men. ���I���ve a more understanding point of view. Young males suffer from a turmoil of hormones which sometimes manifest in aggressive behaviour or a sense of alienation,��� his voice trails off.
Having played such diverse characters, does acting seem a cakewalk to Randeep now? ���Acting isn���t a difficult job. It���s part of human behaviour. It���s either about projecting a dormant side of your own self or trying to emulate someone else���s behaviour. Acting is just about changing my point of view,��� he insists.
But is there a side to Randeep that he rarely gets to explore through his screen personas? ���Though I���m not a cry baby, I am much softer in real life than what I come across.��� Perhaps, that softness comes across when he just hints at not wanting to retaliate to reports that claim that he has said that his relationship with Sushmita has been a waste of time. ���I���ve moved on and don���t want to pay heed to what gets printed when I haven���t said anything of it.���