In Aladdin, I play a genie, among various roles. How many patriarchal roles can I do? If there is variety, I would want to experiment and look at it as a challenge as an actor. I never got such opportunities earlier as I played leading men.

...and had the image of an angry, young man.

That's an image that has stuck for a long time. These are descriptions and epithets that the media creates. We don't believe in it. Whenever there was a Deewar, there was an Amar Akbar Anthony, for a Trishul or Sholay, there was a Chupke Chupke.

I consider myself fortunate to have got such diverse roles with a huge range of directors. Now that I can't play the typical leading man any longer, audiences should understand that I can't always play the good man. There is such a strong identification in the minds of the audience with the personality of the actor that they hate him doing something wrong if they love him for other reasons.

Do you feel restricted as an actor by such emotions?

I am beginning to feel that now. I hope it goes away. For me to grow as an actor, my creativity must be challenged. If I say today I am satisfied by doing a good job and nothing more as it will spoil my image, I would be sitting like John Wayne on a horse for the rest of my life. John Wayne never got off a horse in any movie.

Somewhere I would feel I have missed something. The audience needs to differentiate that this is not what Amitabh Bachchan is, but a character he's playing.

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