Please don't typecast me as a comedian: Vinay Pathak

"I'm not just a comic actor. Please don't typecast me," says Vinay Pathak, whose first production venture "Dasvidaniya" is all set for release.

The talented actor, who won a million hearts with his inimitable humour in last year's hit satirical comedy "Bheja Fry", insists that he has played diverse roles in several films.

"Post -'Bheja Fry', I have made an effort to do what I haven't done already. I did films like 'Johnny Gaddaar', 'Khoya Khoya Chand', 'Aaja Nachle', 'Manorama Six Feet Under' and others in which I didn't play a comic role. So it's just a misconception that comedy is my forte. I have done much more," Vinay told IANS.

After his stint on the small screen as a veejay, Vinay started off with bit roles in films before getting his due in "Khosla Ka Ghosla".

"People have a burning sensation to label someone for something and I've been a victim of just that," he said.

Vinay has made conscious efforts to avoid being typecast.

"When I did the role of a foreign-returned cousin in 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', everyone offered me something like that. I was stereotyped then also. Then I played a guide to the hero in 'Jism' and I started getting similar roles. I kept refusing for the sake of not getting typecast.

"But after 'Bheja Fry', which became a major hit and was indeed a turning point in my career, I have got typecast. But I have received overbearing and humble compliments for my other films as well," the actor said.

Vinay admits "Bheja Fry" has given him "a platform to select roles" - something he could not do before.

He has now entered mainstream Bollywood production with situational comedy "Dasvidaniya", in which he plays the protagonist.

"I had registered my company Lemontea Productions four years ago and I always wanted to produce a film. My first production was an 11-minute movie titled 'Fourplay' and later I produced non-fiction shows for television," Vinay said.

Shashant Shah-directed "Dasvidaniya", which means goodbye in Russian, is a bittersweet situational comedy.

"'Dasvidaniya' is an original story. It is about a most common and ordinary Indian man, who has done nothing considerable in his life and then he learns that he has only three months left before he dies. He makes a list of 10 things that he wants to do before his life ends," Vinay said.

The film, which releases Nov 14, is a co-production of Vinay's Lemontea Productions and Azam Khan's One More Thought Productions.

For "Dasvidaniya", Vinay is back with his regular gang - Ranvir Shorey and Rajat Kapoor. Apart from them, the film also stars Neha Dhupia, Gaurav Gera, Suchitra Pillai and Sarita Joshi.

"Every role was well thought and not a deliberate or well-choreographed attempt to cast my friends. Otherwise, Konkona (Sen-Sharma) would have been a part of it," he said.

Vinay's forthcoming acting projects include "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi", "Oh My God!", "Straight", "Raat Gayi Baat Gayee", "Mumbai Chakachak" and "SRK".

"I am looking forward to doing a variety of roles," the actor added.

Last updated on Nov 4^th, 2008 at 09:03 am IST--IANS