Freddy Daruwala: I would rather play a villain than the second or third lead

Actor Freddy Daruwala is among those very few actors who don’t worry much about getting stereotyped and typecast in just one kind of role. And this is evident because he is clearly not hesitant playing a negative role on screen repeatedly. Holiday (2014), Force 2 (2016), Commando 2 (2017), and now the upcoming films Race 3 and Telugu film Touch Chesi Chudu — the actor has convincingly played the lead antagonist in all these films.

“I don’t know whether to feel lucky or unfortunate that I keep getting these same characters to portray in films. I feel the whole nature of films has changed over years, and so have the villains,” says Freddy.

The actor feels that there’s a very fine line between negative and positive roles. “And that’s why I’d rather choose to be a villain than play the second or third lead or a character role. [Also] Even though I’m reading more scripts, I haven’t come across anything that I would love to jump into. If there is a good script, there is no proper presentation involved. So, I feel it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he maintains.

Freddy points out that unlike in the past when “baddies were known only as villains”, things have changed now. “Earlier, nobody knew Pran saab, Amrish Puri ji, Ranjit, or Prem Chopra sir in real life. All of them have been fantastic human beings, so soft spoken and respectable. But no fans knew about them because there was no Instagram or Twitter or Facebook. But now, I am very much on these platforms and girls follow me. They want to see my style and lifestyle, and how I am a cool guy in general,” says Freddy, adding that “none of the villains is a real villain in real life.”

The actor adds that when fans see the real side of villains, the line only gets blurred. “They (fans) know that in real life, this guy is much more good looking, heroic, stylish, and in shape than what he is being shown on screen,” he shares.

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