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There is something about Rahul Bose’s eyes that filmmakers seem to notice almost immediately. From his appearance in Govind Nihalani’s Takshak to his latest outing in Aakash Kaushik’s Udta Teer, the actor’s eyes have repeatedly played a role in his casting. However, in his latest film, they become much more than just a striking physical feature; they are pivotal to his performance.
The Eyes Never Lie!
In Udta Teer, Bose plays a character who is temporarily paralyzed, leaving him unable to move or speak. What remains is his ability to communicate through his eyes. It is an unusual proposition for an actor, but one that Bose found difficult to turn down.
Interestingly, his eyes were also what convinced director Aakash Kaushik to cast him in the film. Recalling an early instance when a director singled out this feature, Bose tells us, “Practically every film I’ve done, the director has said something or the other about my eyes. I remember very clearly, very early on in my career, in my third film, Govind Nihalani ji was casting me for Takshak. And I asked him, like I ask all my directors, why have you cast me? He said, because you have the coldest and the warmest eyes I’ve seen.”
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Kaushik, meanwhile, had first noticed Bose in a game show where the audience had to identify and eliminate the celebrities they thought were lying. Bose recalls winning the show because the audience believed he was the only contestant telling the truth. The irony? “The fact is, I had lied through the entire show. So Aakash remembers seeing that and how my eyes deceived everyone.”
Rahul Bose On Playing A Character Who Has Neither A Voice Nor A Body
Bose admits that he was surprised when he received an offer for Udta Teer. The actor is primarily remembered for his roles in movies like Bulbul, Dil Dhadakne Do and even Berlin. So, imagining him in slapstick comedy is imaginative.
“With slapstick comedy, you have your body and your voice. With mime, you don’t have your voice; you have your body. In this role, which one of the critics said is the first time they’ve seen it in Hindi movie history, you don’t have your body, you don’t have your voice, yet you’re not dead. You’re alive, and you only have your eyes. So who can say no to something like this?” he says.
However, Bose was particular about one thing. He did not want his appearance in the film to become a fleeting cameo or what he calls an ‘item’. He wanted a proper character arc and a performance that contributed meaningfully to the story.
His character, Barman, begins as the head of the counter-terrorism unit, suspecting a mole within the organization. The narrative then takes him through action sequences, an unexpected turn of events, and five sequences in which he is paralyzed. Eventually, he recovers and plays a crucial role in restoring Ayushmann Khurrana‘s character to the opposition’s army.
Rahul Bose’s Unique Filmography!
One of the more interesting aspects of Rahul Bose’s career is the sheer variety of characters he has portrayed. From parallel cinema and critically acclaimed independent films to mainstream entertainers, the actor has consistently moved between different cinematic spaces.
“My filmography is entirely by design. There is no chance I have not taken in my career,” he says proudly.
Bose points to his early career as an example. After playing the lead in films such as English, August and Bombay Boys, he chose to play a villain in Takshak in just his third film. At a time when most actors would have been keen to establish themselves as conventional leading men, Bose was already moving away from that mould.
He subsequently explored Bengali cinema when it wasn’t a conventional destination for actors from the Hindi film industry. His first two Bengali films, Unishe April and Antaheen, enjoyed successful theatrical runs, with the latter also winning the Swarna Kamal. He later ventured into Tamil cinema, playing the antagonist opposite Kamal Haasan in Vishwaroopam, a performance that earned him a nomination for Best Villain of the Year.
The choices continued with projects such as Bulbul and Berlin, and now Udta Teer. “I think it’s a dream for an actor to be given Bulbul and then to be given Udta Teer. You can really, really explore your range. But yes, I knew I could do this,” he says.
Rahul Bose Wants Gen Z To Revisit This Film From His Career
With streaming platforms making older films more accessible and social media introducing younger audiences to underrated cinematic gems, we ask Bose whether there is a film from his career that he believes deserves rediscovery.
He says, “I think if my first directorial venture, Everybody Says I’m Fine, were released on OTT, it would do very, very well. It’s an idea. I’m going to start exploring that with Vivek Vaswani and see what we can do, because that film, everybody said, everybody still says that they remember it and that it was way ahead of its time,” he reveals.
Having revisited the film recently, Bose feels its production values and overall aesthetic still hold up remarkably well. He is now interested in exploring the possibility of remastering it.
Rahul Bose On Writing His Next Directorial Venture
While Bose has continued to explore different facets of acting, filmmaking remains an important part of his creative ambitions. And he is currently writing his next film. “So I’m writing my next film, which actually is a big action film. It’s got a lot of comedy, but more in the more relaxed Ryan Reynolds kind of style. It’s a lot of fun, and I hope to make it next year,” he says.
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