MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, who has played characters with varied shades in films like Mardaani and Force 2, says layered roles that have human flaws and yet hold something magically aspirational in the way they are presented on screen.

Talking about how he made a name playing the villain in Mardaani and Force 2, and how that helped him make a mark in the industry, Tahir said: "I've always followed the acting rule of never judging one's character. Whether Karan Rastogi in Mardaani or Shiv Sharma in Force 2, I have never judged a part on the basis of a set of rules that society has set. I play them only on the basis of their present reality in the script."

The actor currently has two films in his kitty -- "83", where he will play legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar and "Looop Lapeta", in which he is paired with Taapsee Pannu.

"The romantic lead (in 'Looop Lapeta') will be an exciting new turn that I look forward to exploring. Only in cinema do we divide attributes like romance, comedy, deception or manipulation into different segments. In reality one can be all of those things and more at one time," he said.

He added that the challenge is to play a romantic lead in a way that makes the character lovable, graded, stylised and yet be someone relatable.

Villain or hero, ask Tahir what kind of characters attract him?

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"The audience needs to be entertained by the conflict in the life of the part I'm doing. I love the saying that every villain is a hero in someone's story. It makes one realise how relative those definitions are. Parts that attract me are parts that are layered, have human flaws and yet hold something that is magically aspirational about them in the way they are presented on screen," he said.

Be continued: "I'm someone who lives in the moment. Today, I am loving the experience of workshopping with team of 'Looop Lapeta' for a part that is an all-out romantic lead in a heist film, with a hint of quirk. It's new, unchartered territory and that makes it incredibly challenging."

"Will I dabble with the part of an anti-hero? I'd say, for sure, never say never! A lot of the films I grew up watching; Baazigar, Rangeela, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa', Agneepath (the Amitabh Bachchan starrer) had leading men who could be categorised as anti-hero," he said on the idea of playing grey shades.

Tahir added that flawed protagonists are in vogue and it really boils down to the question of a script having the drama to captivate the audience's imagination.

" If the answer to that is yes, I'm on!"

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