Tigmanshu Dhulia’s latest release, Milan Talkies, comes overstuffed with interesting supporting characters, from Ashutosh Rana’s angry patriarch to Sikander Kher’s alcoholic husband. One such oddity in the film is the character of Kaptaan Singh, a local Allahabad goon who routinely raids the sets of Annirudh Sharma (Ali Fazal), a film director, begging and beating for a role.

The amusing (if entirely slapdash) part is played by veteran actor Deepraj Rana, whose selected filmography includes Bullet Raja, Gunday, Singham Returns, Aiyaary, Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 among others.

“My character, Kaptaan Singh, is a small-time goon, who is funny. His dream is to work in movies with Salmaan Khan,” Rana said. “I am doing a funny role for the first time and it was great fun doing this character.” Hailing from Allahabad (also the hometown of Dhulia), Rana credited his familiarity with the environment for cracking the role. “It was easy for me to equip myself with the Allahabadi accent as I already connected with the character.”

On his long-term association with Tigmanshu Dhulia, Rana praised the filmmaker for his keen eye for casting. “I have done almost half dozen of films with him. He is one of the best directors our industry has. Earlier I did serious characters every time, but this time Tishu offered me a comic role and said you are going to fit it perfectly.”