He bared his behind and masturbated on screen in “English, August”.
Being straight (no offence to those otherwise), I would have found such a shocking exposure quite sickening, in the normal circumstances. But the Dev Benegal adaptation of Upamanyu Chatterjee’s novel had me hooked from the very first frame. The narrative, the characters, the dialogues, everything about the movie was something different. This was one of the first Indian English films and in my opinion, one of the best too. As I got engrossed in the sordid tale of Agatsya Sen, I marveled at the manner in which Rahul Bose had managed to bring out the subtle nuances of this complex character.
A few years later, when his second film “Split Wide Open” was released, against all sane advice, I managed to coerce an obligated friend to accompany me. Once again it was Dev Benegal who directed the movie. Once again RB’s posterior was on ample display. But the diseased sleaze was not up to my taste and I abhorred the film. Even taking out RB’s role and performance, I felt that he did not quite fit in the role of a Mumbai tapori. The body language and the accent was just not right…. Or maybe, I’m so used to watching stereotyped characters a la Aamir in Rangeela, that an actor interpreting the role differently, doesn’t quite fit in my equation.
A foray into the mainstream Bollywood led him to “Thakshak” where he played a suave villain opposite the films hero, Ajay Devgan. This time he spared us the full monty but did strip down to tiny black swimming trunks instead. Some critics liked his performance as a villain which was supposedly different from the run-of-the-mill blockbusters. Since I haven’t watched the complete film, I cannot really comment on it myself.
Back to Hinglish films, he did a Kaizad Gustad (presently in custody) film, “Bombay Boys”. Once again, he presented a wild character to the Indian audiences in his own inimitable way. The movie was liked by most viewers for its rule-breaking trends.
After this however, RB had a few forgettable films like “Mumbai Matinee” and his self-directed “Everybody says I’m fine”, where the characters he portrayed were a trifle over-the-top and exaggerated.
He played along in a musical “Jhankaar Beats” which was a commercial success loved by audiences for its romantic storyline and endearing characters, as also with its chartbusting numbers.
In the off-beat “Chameli”, he played a perfect foil as a suited businessman to streetwalker Kareena.
But the role that I liked him the best (second only to Agatsya Sen) was that of Mr. Iyer aka Raja Choudhary in Aparna Sen’s “Mr. and Mrs. Iyer”. While co-star Konkana Sensharma walked away with the accolades earned by her for her outstanding performance as a Tam-Bram girl, I thought Rahul Bose’s character was quite understated in its expressiveness and hence slightly more difficult. And trust RB to essay it to perfection!
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Very little is known about his private life as he keeps it to himself. A bachelor still, in his late 30s, Rahul started out in the advertising arena and then made a shift to cinema. While he may not be a Shahrukh or Hrithik with hordes of fans, Rahul does have his niche fan following who admire his style and his films.
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What I like:
~ No pretensions
~ Knows his limitations
~ Guts to try out new characters
~ Goes into the depth of character
~ Innovative and expressive
What I don’t:
~ His anglicized Hindi accent
~ His inability to portray non-urban, non-westernized characters effectively
Finally, those who don’t know what I’m talking about, go grab a VCD of “English, August” and then come back!
Amen!
- Thank You! We appreciate your effort.
