When Shreyas took comedy as a challenge

Shreyas Talpade couldn't include his name in the list of the mainstream actors but successfully proved himself as a versatile performer over the years. His debut movie Iqbal not only won him applause from the critics but a good fan following as well.

Despite being appreciated for performing such an intense character, we rarely got to see him in any such roles later. Talking about the same, the Iqbal actor said in an interview, "There is an interesting story behind me switching to comedy movies. There was a senior filmmaker who saw my audition for one of the movies and said, tera Iqbal wala image itna strong hai ki log tujhe comedy me accept nhi krenge (people won't accept you in comedy roles as they are under the strong influence of that serious image of yours in Iqbal). It struck me hard and I took it as a challenge. With the intention to prove everybody who carries the same perception wrong, I signed Golmaal Returns and fortunately, it worked. People really loved my performance and wanted to see more of it."

He further adds that though he enjoys doing comedy, as an actor he wants to experiment with other genres and do challenging films like Iqbal in future. The actor didn't deny that he did few films just out of the need of money or because a senior person from the industry asked him to work in it. "But then, 90% of the choices I made in my career was because they appealed me. It's very important that you love what you do in order to be successful."

Revealing his mantra of sustaining in any industry, he says that one needs to stick to their basics and that's all. "My guru used to say that if you want to make a century, the basic thing you need to do is to stay on the pitch. There are going to be a couple of overs where you will feel that the other person is playing better, and you are not really scoring. But you will get your chance. You will get all those loose balls which you can hit for fours and sixes. Just be there. You need to work on your craft and skills and make sure that when you get the opportunity to prove your potential, you should be ready with something new and better. So, I am trying to follow that rule. Probably, that has helped me to stay strong even amidst such a tough competition.

Sharing his experience of directing the movie Poster boys starring Deol brothers, Shreyas says that he felt like cheating on his first love, which is acting. "I immensely enjoyed directing the movie. It is that kick which any filmmaker can get because you get involved with every aspect of filmmaking thereby broadening your understanding capacity. Also, working with Sunny and Bobby and the entire process of moulding them was another challenge. But altogether, it was amazing to work and bring out something interesting for the audience."

Since the actor is highly influenced by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, he feels that the element of humour will always be an integral part of his storytelling.