The character of Fattu that Rohit Roy played in ‘Shootout…’ has got him the recognition he’s always yearned for.

Life seems to have taken a turn for actor Rohit Roy, who says playing Fattu in ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’ has got him the recognition he’s always yearned for.

Getting noticed

Rohit, who is also directing a short film for Sanjay Gupta’s ‘Dus Kahaniyan’ narrates a recent incident while he was shooting with Naseerudin Shah and Shabana Azmi. “We were shooting at VT station. I asked my security guards to be around Shabana Azmi whilst I sat in a corner. The crowd suddenly started yelling ‘Fattu Bhai!’ I’ve never such received recognition before,” he says.

Rohit, who has received considerable popularity on TV insists, “In films, the character is larger than life unlike in TV. When Sanjay Dutt said he liked me the best in the ‘Shootout’ gang, I couldn’t help crying like an idiot. I’ve done some big films, some small and even some inconsequential films. But I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s euphoric.”

Star talk

About his experience working with Sanjay Dutt, Rohit says, “I wanted to match up to Sanjay. I have always been in awe of Sanjay. His career- from ‘Naam’ to ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’-has been an unbelievable journey. I’ve already worked with him in ‘Plan’ earlier. He makes you so comfortable that you don’t feel you’re working with a big star.”

Shabana too bowled Rohit over. “I had a lot of convincing to do to get Shabanaji to sign the film. But once she signed on, her professionalism has been amazing. She plays a Tamilian in the film. She hired a tutor to learn the dialect. She went with the stylist to Matunga and shopped herself for all that she needed to wear in the film, including the nylon bags that South Indian ladies carry.”

Saying that he admires Raj Kapoor, Woody Allen and Feroz Khan the debuting director says, “I never thought I’d realise my dreams of directing a film so soon. My ultimate dream is to be in the same breathing space as Woody Allen. I think he’s a lovely director and a fantastic actor. But I’ll take it one day at a time.”

TV power

Rohit’s role in Viraasat was finally ended. He says, “I don’t want to exit television with a black spot. I would have done it two years back but I was scared. Manasi and I had many discussions because it’s not easy to quit something that gives you a lot of money. So far, it’s worked out fine. I’ve been the biggest advocate of television. The biggest stars have come from television like Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp to George Clooney. I hope the success of Shootout will pave the way for other talented TV actors.”

Recently, he has also signed up to be a judge on MH1’s dance reality show. The 26-episode series also has Sangeeta Ghosh as a judge and Sanober Kabir as the hostess. “Dance is a passion,” he says when asked why he accepted this TV offer.