Bollywood's 'bad man' Gulshan Grover says a good-looking average actor can get away as a hero, but an anti-hero ought to be an excellent actor.
"I believe that to be a hero, you can get away with good looks and average acting skills, but to be a villain, you have to be a fantastic actor," Gulshan said here.
On being asked about his favourite villain, he said: "Look at the names of great villains in Hindi films -- Pran saab, Amjad Khan saab, Amrish Puri... all of them.
"Villains are not going to do something you can't predict and yet they create an aura on screen. Therefore, it is very unfair to say any name particularly. I have learnt from all of them."
Gulshan is also set to star in a web movie called "BadMan", which will follow a fictional story of Gulshan Grover as himself, an actor who wishes to now be the hero and not the villain. It will be showcased on Voot, Viacom18's new digital platform.
A host of Bollywood faces including Rishi Kapoor, Farah Khan, Shoojit Sircar, Manisha Koirala have made special cameos in "BadMan", whose title track has been sung and composed by Vishal Dadlani.
The 60-year-old actor is also happy to see the successful transition of Bollywood actors to Hollywood nowadays.
"I am proud of the fact that I have led a mud path between Bollywood and Hollywood, but I am more proud to see that mud path is being cemented and followed by many actors also showing tremendous success. Priyanka Chopra, Irrfan Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher and many more. There will be many younger actors, who will be making this transition and making us all very proud."
Asked to pick one film that is dear to him, the "I Am Kalam" actor said: "Each and every film is dear to me. I put my heart and soul in every film. I do nothing half-heartedly. So I have given whatever I have got to each and every film."