Bollywood146;s Slickest Sidekick

Rajpal, however, begs to differ. 8220;The last few roles have shades of comedy, but what of my work in Chandni Bar, Jungle and Company? I believe in doing multi-dimensional characters because that is how the real world is. With all due respect, I8217;m Rajpal to my audiences, not the new Johnny Lever,8221; he says, staring out at the Nehru Centre lawns in Worli.

You had better believe it. Rajpal now has a movie lead role opposite sex kitten Antara Mali in Varma Corporation8217;s Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon.

He8217;s tight-lipped about the role, but concedes, 8220;I8217;m in the right place. I don8217;t see myself as Hrithik Roshan with Preity Zinta in Switzerland,8221; he says, 8220;But I want roles that have their own conflicts 8212; drama, laughter and tears. Audiences should take something back home when they see Rajpal perform on the big screen.8221;

It8217;s far from the boy in dusty Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, whose first role was as a proprietor in a play staged at its Coronation Art Theatre. 8220;When I was in Lucknow, I never knew I would come to Delhi to study at the Bharatiya Natak Academy. Then in 1997, I just landed up in Mumbai,8221; he says.

Rajpal8217;s first role was the daydreamer in Prakash Jha8217;s TV serial Mungeri Ka Bhai Naurangilal. But he broke into films when Ramgopal Varma noticed his small take in Shool. Now his roster includes Rajat Mukherjee8217;s new thriller Love In Nepal, Priyadarshan8217;s entertainer Hungama and Shyam Benegal8217;s biopic Netaji where he plays freedom fighter Bhagat Ram Talwar.

Despite all his phlegmatic claims, Rajpal dreams of playing a Hitler-type character one day. 8220;A dictator who has all the nine rasas rolled into one temperament,8221; he says.

Not surprising if you know that the first film Rajpal ever saw was, Charlie Chaplin8217;s The Great Dictator.