Randeep for avoiding `risk` of playing similar characters

Mumbai: Randeep Hooda, who plays a Sous Chef in his upcoming movie `Love Khichdi`, said he takes every effort to ensure that he does not repeat himself on screen. "I have played a gangster, a sharp-shooter, a celebrated painter, a romantic hero and so on. Similarly, playing a Chef in romantic comedy `Love Khichdi` too was a conscious decision on my part," Randeep told reporters.

"I decided that I have had my share of violent characters in the movies. So, I wanted to change my image and therefore decided to play Veer Pratap Singh, a Haryanvi Jat suffering from commitment phobia," he said. Randeep is upbeat about his new film which is scheduled for August 28 release. About his character, he said, "Veer is a Chef who wants to make it big in the catering business. At the same time, on personal front he, like others of his age, is confused between love and lust. It is through his eight different romantic escapades that he understands what real love is." According to Randeep, the USP of the movie is that everyone would be able to identify with at least four-five characters or situations in the movie. "The real-treatment and feel of the movie is very interactive," he added. Randeep said it is for the first time that in `Love Khichdi`, male fantasies have not only been explored, but also shown what women think of them. So, when asked how it was romancing with eight women including Sonali Kulkarni, Divya Dutta, Riya Sen on screen, he said "it was colourful and great." "At a time we were dealing with only two heroines. So there was no problem," he said. On the theatrical delay of his much-hyped Ketan Mehta`s `Rang Rasiya`, he said world wide release of the movie has been planned. Meanwhile, issues like recession, theatre closures have added to it. But the movie would be released very soon. When quizzed if he would like to join the long league of actors turning to the small screen for reality shows, pat came the reply, "No." "Once on camera, nothing remains real. There is always a certain degree of pretence. Instead, I am very happy playing fictional characters on big screen," he said adding, "I am also a very private person." After `Love Khichdi`, Randeep`s upcoming releases include `Rang Rasiya` and `Kusra Prasad Ka Bhoot`, a dark comedy. Bureau Report