Many shades of Saurabh

From playing Kallu mama in Satya to judge Tripathy in Jolly LLB, Saurabh Shukla has been a Bollywood favourite when it comes to layered characters, and the actor says he feels privileged that filmmakers still consider him for such interesting parts.

Shukla’s last appearance was as a power-hungry politician in Raid and his upcoming is Sudhir Mishra’s Daas Dev.

He told PTI: “I find myself fortunate as I have played roles that were praised, loved and talked about, whether it was in Satya, Barfi!, Jolly LLB or Hey Ram. I have no regrets and complaints. I keep praying that good roles keep coming to me.”

The role in the Ajay Devgn-starrer was quite challenging, he said, as he had never explored the dark side as a performer.

“I am lucky to have got such a character. I am this dark, evil person. This was quite a challenging part as I have played grey characters earlier but not dark. I was excited and scared as to whether I would be able to make the mark or not,” he said.

Shukla also gets jitters while starting a new project “because I start from a blank mind”. He is now working on a film tentatively titled Democracy directed by Anubhav Sinha.

He plays a politician, but with a different shade.

He will also get back to direction with a political satire that will be produced by Nikkhil Advani. “The film is a comedy. It has shades of politics, it is more of human spirit, celebration of triumphs of human aspirations. I am still writing it and hopefully by the end of the year we will go on floors. We have not thought of actors and title for the film, it is all work-in-progress,” he said.