'Delhi Belly' shook viewers' minds, opened them: Rakesh Bedi

Mumbai, May 21 (IANS) "Delhi Belly" shook up the collective consciousness of the audiences, says Rakesh Bedi, who is active in films, TV and theatre. He added that although comedy is his favourite genre, he would love to experiment.

"The perspective of people has widened today. Things that people used to mind earlier, they don't now . Films like 'Delhi Belly' shook lots of minds and opened them up. In English films, we accept four letter words easily. But we don't accept it in Hindi. We apply double standards. These films shake up the collective consciousness of the audience," Rakesh told IANS.

With over 150 films, including "Chasme Baddoor", to his credit and several TV shows like "Shrimaan Shrimati" and "Yess Boss", Rakesh still enjoys doing comedies the most.

"My heart is in comedies. I love to make people laugh. This is my weakness. But one has to experiment. I am a theatre actor and we need to experiment. I like the change...It is more challenging for me...I have to work hard. In humour, the timing is fast," he said.

He is doing a serious role in Sony's show "Shubh Vivah" and added that "to play a father who has come of age, you have to control your emotions."

But for Rakesh, no life without funny roles, and he will be seen tickling viewers' funny bones as a professor in Kawal Sharma's upcoming flick "Delhi Eye".

"The way he (the professor) takes attendance and teaches is funny. This is the only comic relief in the story," he said.

After balancing television and filmdom for more than 30 years, the actor concludes that today both the industries have merged.

"The two industries are interdependent. One cannot survive without the other. There is a famous saying that if you are not on TV, you are nowhere. Even for a promo you need to be on TV. likewise TV industry also needs films all the time. It's always going to be like this," he said.