My role in `Lootera` was cut short: Adil Hussain

Panaji: Actor Adil Hussain says his role of a police inspector in `Lootera` was very significant when he signed on for it, but was taken aback to see that it did not reflect in the final cut of the film.

The Vikramatditya Motwane-directed film starred Sonakshi Sinha and Ranveer Singh in the lead role. "My role was much bigger. When I got the script, my character had many shades. Visually also I was there on the script. And that`s the reason I said yes to the role. Not just because of the screen presence but also the fact that I could explore a lot with my character. "But in the process of editing, which is the director`s prerogative, he chose to cut those out. I was a bit taken aback," Adil said in an interview on the sidelines of IFFI. However, the 50-year-old `English Vinglish` actor said he respects the decision of the director, who according to him is the "supreme boss" and has the final say in a film. " did feel a bit awkward. I was like `Oh those were beautiful scenes, Why aren`t they there? But then it is not my decision. It is the director`s! He is the supreme boss. I might disagree with it. But it is his film, it`s not my film. I have one microscopic presence in the film," he said When asked if he would be careful in the future when signing films, Adil said if he did that, he would become a dictator. "You cannot dictate the term on anybody unless you become a dictator, which I don`t want to become in any means. Film is a director`s medium. How much screen presence one person will have, would depend upon his vision. Once you submit to directors you should not back out," Adil said. The actor, who has starred in international projects like `Life Of Pi` and `The Reluctant Fundamentalist`, was also planning to make his directorial debut with an Assamese film in collaboration with Utpal Borpujari. The film would be based on a short story by fellow Assamese author Atulananda Goswami. But Adil said he has not been able to take the project up as he is busy with his film commitments. "I am becoming apprehensive about making it as I am finding it hard to get some time. One version of the script is written. But it needs a lot of polishing. We have producers in place. But if we want to make it in a bigger way, then we will have to look for international producers. It has a universal appeal. It is a story about two people and an elephant," Adil said. The actor has just finished shooting Academy-award winning Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanovic`s `White Lies`, which also stars Bollywood actor Emraan Hashmi. Adil is also playing the lead role in several international collaborations. "I have Partho Sengupta`s `Sunrise`, where I play the lead opposite Tannishtha Chatterjee. Then there is US-based director Raj Amit Kumar`s `Blemished Lights` and `Feast of Varanasi`, which is a small British film directed by Rajan Patel, who is born and brought up in England. "There are Assamese films and Bengali films and Bollywood movies. In the Bollywood front I have a film on Charles Sobhraj, I have a small but very interesting role in Subhash Ghai`s `Kaanchi` and a film on Gurunanak and his life," he said.