Rahul Bose is known for speaking his mind, and earlier this year, he stirred conversation when he referred to superstars as “bad actors with a lot of charisma.” Recently, he opened up about the humiliation he felt when, during the shoot of his debut film, he wasn’t even offered a chair, highlighting the hierarchical structure of the film industry. However, 30 years later, much has changed for him.
While he may not be headlining films anymore, Rahul has shifted his focus. In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, he shared his current approach to choosing roles: “I’ve done six films in the last year and a half, and I’m not talking about OTT projects. My only criterion now is, if you remove my role from the story, will the story suffer? If it does, that’s a role I should do. If it doesn’t, why should I do it?”
This philosophy explains why he had no hesitation about joining Bulbbul, a film led by Triptii Dimri, despite having limited screen time. In the supernatural-themed film, he played a dual role—a developmentally challenged man who rapes his bedridden sister-in-law and an aristocrat. “Bulbbul wasn’t one of the highest-paying films of my career. In the film, I’m absent for 45 minutes straight, but when people finish watching it, they’ll remember my character. That’s what matters,” he reflected.
For Rahul, the goal is to give audiences a memorable, unique performance every few years. “When I read the script for Bulbbul, I told my manager that playing dual roles would be incredibly difficult, but if I pulled it off, it would be a high point in my career. From English, August to now, I aim to be part of a milestone project every two to three years. After Bulbbul, it will be Berlin. I have no doubt about that,” he confidently stated.
When asked if it was hard for him to accept that leading roles were drying up, Rahul candidly replied, “Between 2010 and 2011, after I finished Onir’s I Am, and in 2013-2014 when we shot Dil Dhadakne Do, I realised I was done with lead roles in mainstream cinema. I knew I’d move into a different bracket or only lead in regional films like Bengali or Tamil cinema. I was 42-43 then, and I still play leads in Bengali films.”
The Jhankaar Beats actor continued, “There was no crisis. I just understood that you have a 15-20-year span to play the lead based on your age, unless you’re a superstar. After a certain age, very few roles are written for you. Outside of the top seven big stars, when you hit 45, it’s time to chill and gravitate toward something else.”
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