The Mast actor, Aftab Shivdasani, who is often remembered for his debut film and for his roles in sex comedies, surprised audiences with his recent film, Setters. Aftab played the role of a stern police officer, who is out in Benaras to bust a question paper scam. Quite unusual of the actor who otherwise is seen romancing girls or making people laugh through his comic roles.
“I always wanted to play a cop in uniform, and I thoroughly enjoyed playing the character. I got an opportunity to work with Ashwini Chaudhary, who is a fantastic director, and he really knows how to extract the best from actors,” says Aftab. Although Mast was a promising start, the actor slipped into the stereotype of being a comic hero, and his choice of films didn’t help much.
With Setters, Aftab hopes there will be a change. “Even though I started my career with Mast, the actual recognition I got was more for my second film Kasoor, which was a negative role. But some films work and some don’t, and people start identifying you for the films that have worked like Awara Pagal Deewana, Hungama and the Masti series, and people started slotting me in comedy. In Setters, I had to play a normal guy, and I look forward to playing more roles like these,” says Aftab.
Although he has mostly been a part of ensemble films and stories with love triangles, the actor has always managed to own his screen space.
A multi-cast was never an issue for Aftab, who says, “Actors usually get along with each other. I have never had any problem with anyone. I have enjoyed the synergy on sets. In fact, I also developed a great working relationship with my co-actors Riteish Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade and Vivek Oberoi.” Next up, Aftab will be seen in Kotigobba 3, a Kannada film with Kichcha Sudeep.