Aparshakti Khurana: Don’t want to be stereotyped as an actor who does only comedy or serious parts

Aparshakti Khurana says it's important to do films that help an actor steer clear of getting typecast and he is confident his next release Berlin is a step in the same direction.

After a spate of hit comedy films such as Stree (2018), Pati, Patni Aur Woh (2019) and Luka Chuppi (2019), Aparshakti was seen in a new light after playing a servile Binod Das who later becomes film star Madan Kumar in Vikramaditya Motwane's web series Jubilee.

The actor will now be seen in Berlin, a spy thriller mystery set in the 90's, directed by Atul Sabharwal. The film premiered at the first edition of the Red Lorry Film Festival in Mumbai on Friday.

"As an actor, it's important to do films which are different from how you perceive them. The first eight-nine films of my career were back-to-back comedies. People had a goofball kind of positioning for me in their head. I wasn't trying too hard to break that positioning or trying too hard to prove a point,” he said.

"I don't want to get stereotyped as an actor who only does comedy or can only do serious parts. Hence, something like Berlin, which is absolutely opposite to my overall on screen and off-screen persona," Aparshakti told PTI on the sidelines of the ongoing film gala.

The actor, who started out as a radio jockey and made his film debut with 2016's Dangal, plays a sign language expert named Pushkin in Berlin.

Aparshakti said he underwent rigorous coaching to learn the language.

“It was a very alien world, but it was so beautiful. There's so much to be communicated through the eyes and in sign language,” he said.

Ishwak Singh, who also stars in the espionage drama, said Berlin was one of the most challenging projects to come his way. In the film, Ishwak portrays Ashok, a speech and hearing impaired man who is arrested on the charge of being a spy.

"It was really tough for me. The structure of sign language is different from the spoken language so it was a big challenge...” he said.

"I wanted to be so good with signs so that I naturally (switch) to sign (language) when I am shooting for this (film). I cannot discount the fact that I know that I can speak... I sort of manipulate the mind so it was about being so good with it," the Rocket Boys star added.

Atul, who showcased Berlin at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles 2023 and Mumbai Film Festival in 2023, said he was excited to be back to the "home turf".

"This is your theatre film crowd. I have seen a similarity in the audience everywhere, even if it was my short film ('Midnight Lost and Found') which was showcased in France and Berlin which premiered in Los Angeles. Every human has the same emotions,” he said.

"The moments of laughter, crying and applause remain the same and that is the fabric which binds us all across the globe. When you see the reaction of foreign audiences, you feel relieved that the message has reached them too. If our people clap, it feels good because they are our people,' said Atul, known for directing Aurangzeb (2013) and Class of '83 (2020).

Produced by Zee Studios and Yippee Ki Yay Motion Pictures, Berlin also stars Rahul Bose, Kabir Bedi and Anupriya Goenka.