Shreyas is tired of being serious

Actor Shreyas Talpade wants to shake off the "serious actor" tag that filmmakers and the audience have given him. "Thankfully, Dor has broken that perception," he smiles. "My presence in the film was considered to be a relief from the otherwise serious content in the movie. I was like that oasis in a desert in the film," he laughs.

Incidentally, in his next venture which is Sangeet Sivan's Apna Sapna Money Money, Shreyas plays a serious character, although the film is a comedy. "My character is caught in circumstances that will make the audience laugh. I play a simple boy who is very possessive. He falls in love with a girl played by Riya Sen, and calls his cousin, played by Riteish Deshmukh, to help him out with his marriage. Thus, begins the comedy of errors," he tells us.

Shreyas says that it was important for him as an actor to explore the various aspects of his craft. "I would like to do all sort of roles, both serious and comic. I want to show my talent as an actor," the Iqbal actor explains. But didn't he and Riya Sen make an unconventional pair? "Initially, even I felt the same way," Shreyas admits, adding, "But Riya is apt for the script, and we make a good pair. That you will realise only when you watch the film."

What happened to Vishal Bhandari's The Hangman where he plays Om Puri's son? "I don't know why the film has not yet been released. You will have to speak to the producers for an answer. The Hangman was the film that I had signed and completed even before Iqbal. The film told the story of Om Puri who plays a hangman and does not wish that his son follow the same profession," he replies.

Shreyas was also supposed to do a film based on the life of noted painter M.F. Husain. The actor says that he is keen to do that role, but is not sure what is happening to the project. "Only time will tell," he says.