A veteran actor with a decades-long legacy, Chetan Hansraj is renowned for defining villainous and powerful roles across Indian television and cinema. From his iconic portrayal of Sasha in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii to blockbuster films like Bodyguard and Shootout at Wadala, his career spans daily soaps, reality TV, and feature films. He currently leads technological transformation in entertainment as Balaji Telefilms’ Head of AI.
In an exclusive chat with IWMBuzz.com, Chetan opened up about what excites him about playing negative roles.
He shared, “Playing an antagonist is always more exciting for an actor because it allows you to completely put yourself out there. The best part about playing a negative role is that you have no restrictions.”
“When you play a positive character, there are a lot of restrictions in terms of what you can do, what you can say, and how you need to behave on screen. You have to constantly think about being likeable, correct and morally right. But when it comes to a negative character, the boundaries are much less.”
“A negative character has much fewer limitations. You are free to explore the darkest and most complex shades of human emotions. You can actually play the character to the fullest without worrying about being judged. That freedom is what makes it so thrilling for any performer.”
He further added, “I also strongly feel that every story needs a conflict to move forward. Without a conflict, no story is actually a story. A story becomes interesting only when there is a hurdle, a challenge, or a clash. So, if you are the person who is creating that conflict in a story, you automatically become the most interesting part of that story. Being the conflict gives you more layers, more drama and more scope to perform, and that’s what excites me the most about playing antagonist roles.”
