Ajith is like Aamir Khan: Pradeep Rawat
Pradeep Rawat, the ruthless villain(s) in Ghajini, is reprising his ruthlessness in Aasal [Asal]! On a scale of 1 to 10 [10 being the worst], Pradeep insists his villainy and vile nature in Asal gets a full ten! “I am as bad as it gets! Worse if possible,” laughs Pradeep, who is not quite the villain in person! In fact, he will make you laugh two minutes into the conversation! Being such a fun guy in reality, doesn’t it bother him that people look at him like he is an insect that needs to be killed? “Not at all! In fact I love it! If people hate me because of the roles I play, it only spurs me on to do more such roles! Their hatred is the success of my role and my acting,” quips Pradeep.
So how great was it working on Aasal [Asal]? “It has been a fabulous experience. I know no Tamil and I am not very sure about audience taste in the South. So when everyone who saw the rushes during dubbing told me the movie was fabulous, I was not sure whether to believe them! Everybody who went in for dubbing before me told me the movie was superb. It seemed quite unnatural! But when my good friend and fellow Aasal [Asal] villain Rajiv Krishna told me the same, I felt that there must be truth in it,” laughs Pradeep. “But I must say, I have had a wonderful time working in this movie. Ajith has been a fabulous colleague. He is such a humble man, it’s quite hard to believe he is a super star! But his involvement with everything about the movie and the way he encouraged everybody to give their best, reminded me a great deal of Aamir Khan. I have worked in two movies with Aamir and he is one guy who will oversee everything in his movie. Ajith is exactly like that.”
And even before we could ask him about the producers, he began his praise. “I do not know much about producers here. But I know actor Sivaji Ganesan. There is nobody in India who does not know him. So the moment I heard that the producers were his sons, I was sure that the movie would be great. Sivaji Productions indulged us and spoiled us! They treated all of us, the actors, the technicians, the assistants, everybody, like super stars! Even in the coldest places in France, they provided us with authentic Indian food! They did everything to make us happy!” Great movies and great food, that is their�claim to fame�after all!
