Randeep hopes for turnaround in career after `Once Upon...`

Buoyed over the rave reviews he is earning for the portrayal of a cop in `Once Upon a Time in Mumbai`, Randeep Hooda feels the movie would give a fillip to his career.

Mumbai: Buoyed over the rave reviews he is earning for the portrayal of a cop in the gangster flick `Once Upon a Time in Mumbai`, actor Randeep Hooda feels the movie would give a fillip to his career in Bollywood.

"After `Once Upon...` I hope I get lots of roles...bigger movies. I want to be a part of good movies," Randeep told reporters. Randeep admits the response he has got for the movie though great, is totally unexpected. "The response to my performance has been stupendous. It is completely unexpected. I always expected a good response, but not this great. Everyone is liking it," he said. When asked about how did he prepare himself for the role of ACP Agnel Wilson narrating the crime events in 1979s` Mumbai, he said his experience of `Risk` came handy. "I did not have to do much for `Once Upon...` as I had done a lot of research on police and underworld while working for `Risk`. "Once Upon... was a great opportunity to showcase my talent and the role turned out exactly the way Milan Luthria (movie`s director) told me," he said. On why he was missing during the promotion of the movie, Randeep said it was a conscious decision. "It was a conscious decision. We wanted my character to be surprise package of the movie," he said adding it worked in his favour. "When audience first see me on the screen, we wanted them to say, Oh! is he also in the movie," he said. In a career spanning ten years, the 33-year-old actor has just done 11 movies. On his less frequent screen appearances, he said he had taken long breaks. His last release was `Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye` in 2009. "I was a bit confused and lost. I asked myself what was I doing and why I wanted to do it. Last, I had taken a two-year break. I rode horses and won medals." "It was then that I met Milan who was a part of the same riding club and offered me this role. And then I asked myself again, was in Mumbai to be a horse rider or an actor. Milan convinced me about the role and I started working again," he said. After `Once Upon...` the actor is now looking forward to `Bhiwani` and `Rang Rasiya`. "`Bhiwani` (which is a town in Haryana and is known as mecca of boxing) is directed by powerhouse of talent, Tigmanshu Dhulia. It is written by Abhishek Choubey of `Ishqiya` fame," Randeep said. "I am also excited about `Rang Rasiya`, the biopic on iconic painter Raja Ravi Verma. Things have been sorted out and I hope the movie would be released in October or November," he added. PTI