Best remembered for his role in films like Hey Ram, Chandni Bar, Page 3 and Rang De Basanti, Atul Kulkarni will be seen next in Apoorva Lakhia’s upcoming remake film Zanjeer 2.0, where he plays a crime reporter. Atul who is a superstar in Marathi film industry, is also doing a Tamil film Vallinam and shares the details with Niharika.
Cinema for me is a story
Whenever I decide to do a film what I look for is the story. For me, the most important thing is story. It should appeal to me as an audience, and then of course my character in the film. The genre of the film, or the language of the film is always secondary.
Language no bar
For anybody it is certainly easy to work in the language that they know the best or that they usually speak in their day to day life. So Marathi, Hindi and English are quite easy. When I was in the National School of Drama in Delhi we did all the plays in Hindi, so it comes very easily to me. The Tamil-Hindi bilingual, Hey Ram was my first major film. Before that, I had done a Kannada movie. The language is sometimes a problem, but I’ve developed a technique for it, hence I am comfortable working in different languages.
Role in Zanjeer
My character is fresh and was not there in the original 1973 film, which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan in the lead. The director Apoorva Lakhia has etched out this new character for me. He has written the role himself. I am glad to be a part of an iconic film. That is all I can tell about my character right now.
About Vallinam
I am playing the role of a basketball coach who the players really look up to in the Tamil film Vallinam. The story revolves around the rivalry between Basketball and Cricket. Though I am not much into sports but still it was easy to play the role. I think when we are acting; we are trying to convince people. Acting is a craft. Hence, the rigorous training in sports was not required. What is important is the conviction. I consider myself lucky to have got an opportunity to work in this industry and I am thankful to Tamil audience for the appreciation and love they showered upon me.
Awards boost the morale
When I got the National award for the first time, it boosted my confidence because Hey Ram was my first Hindi film. With Chandni Bar I got it again. But, it’s not the award that determines your success but the films you do, the roles you play. If awards come by, good and if they don’t, no worries. I like acting. It is the only profession I know.