I don't mind doing a Lagaan

He may not have got a runaway hit registered to his name yet but, he definitely has a carved a niche for himself. From English August to his forthcoming White Noise, Rahul Bose has left lasting impression on Indian minds.
“I did not start my career as an actor as English speaking actors are not paid well here, so I focused on advertising. Gradually the scene changed and English movies started getting made in India, I moved into the line,” he says.
In town for the promotion of White Noise by newcomer Vinta Nanda, Rahul Bose was definitely not his wisecracking self. “90 per cent of Hollywood is crap,” he says. “If you ask me to do a Terminator 3 in Hollywood, I won’t. I am willing to be a disco dancer and dance throughout provided I play a disco dancer. I don’t want to be policeman doing the disco dancer bit. I have done Jhankar Beats and the film has fared far beyond my expectations,” he says.
"In White Noise, I play the role of Karan, who wants to direct a big film some day but gets stuck being a film editor for a studio. He does not like his work there, but that is the only chance he has of his big break. Then a new girl joins the crew, Gauri. Karan can sense the damage in her and they two size each other up and heal each other,” he says.
“I have no favourites in any of the actors I have worked with. I have spent some very memorable moments with all my co-stars,” he says.
As a director though, there are some parameters that he has set. “I look for people who are qualities of honesty, vulnerability, intelligence, sensitivity, intuition and rhythm”. He could cast the entire star cast of Everybody Says I’m Fine at a snap of his fingers but, there are so many others “Naseer, Om, Irfan, Tabu and Konkana, of course and there are so many others”, but not Kareena Kapoor? “She is talented and has a great sense of rhythm, but she fits only some roles.”
Being a director is also a lot more challenging? “You can’t always give the cast the truth. It is important to be tactful,” says Bose.
His upcoming projects include a Bengali film being shot in October, a semi-art Hindi multi-starrer and an English psychological thriller. He is also working on the script of a film that he plans to complete this December and start working on soon after.
But Bollywood and White Noise are not the only things on his mind. “I am working with NGO’s for the cause of communal harmony and gender equality. Twice a month I visit some 80 Muslim girls of a very backward background and talk to them about making their way through life respectfully. It is about a social change that can be brought about gradually. Even I one or two among them can break away, they will make way for more to follow.”