Ashutosh Rana, the dependable actor who shines even in films that are duds

Bollywood actor Ashutosh Rana stands out for his powerful performances even in the most forgettable films of recent times that suffer from uninspired writing and characterization. Rana plays the insecure and desperate king Jayachandra of Kannauj in Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s period drama _Samrat Prithviraj_ (2022), which released in June and was promptly rejected by audiences for being utterly boring despite the huge budget and the opulence. In Kapil Verma’s action thriller Rashtra Kavach Om (2022), which released in July, Rana plays an intelligence agent named Jai Rathore who believes that his duty to his motherland comes before everything else including family ties and intimate relationships. Verma’s film hasn’t received flattering reviews or made a lot of money but things might change. The film has been in cinema halls for less than a week, so it might be too early to write it off. Dwivedi wrote the script for Samrat Prithviraj, based on Chand Bardai’s epic Prithviraj Raso. Raj Saluja and Niket Pandey are the screenwriters who worked on Rashtra Kavach Om. Rana has a strong screen presence in both these films, ensuring that the audience connects with the characters that he plays despite his limited screen time. This is an achievement, given the fact that the directors have chosen to focus on characters played by other actors – Akshay Kumar in Samrat Prithviraj and Aditya Roy Kapur in _Rashtra Kavach Om_ . Rana has been cast in supporting roles, which usually go to what Bollywood calls character actors. Unlike Kumar and Kapur, Rana does not get to show off his macho side in combat with lions, armies, and traitors. He gets to communicate what happens when the human mind itself becomes a battlefield. In Samrat Prithviraj, Rana plays a man who is upset with his daughter because she marries against his wishes. Her husband is his arch enemy. He cannot accept the fact that a young woman wants to choose her own life partner. Jayachandra is scalded by his own rage. He tries to hurt his son-in-law, and ends up losing his daughter as a result. In Rashtra Kavach Om, Rana gets into the skin of a character who suffers great personal losses while serving his country. His brother’s life is in danger. His son is killed. His nephew is attacked, and suffers memory loss. Jai Rathore rarely speaks of his own grief. He takes it in his stride, and prioritizes what needs to be done. He is a warrior in his own right. He does not let pain tear him apart. He uses it as fuel to train younger agents serving the country. In one film, he is mean and deceptive. In the other film, he is morally upright and generous. Rana communicates with his eyes, body language and dialogue delivery. Whether his acting makes an impression because of Dwivedi and Verma’s direction, or despite it, is difficult to tell especially because the other actors in these films end up showcasing mediocre work. No one is brilliant on their own. People hone their talent and pick up new skills while working with others. Rana’s excellence comes from having trained at the National School of Drama, and from having had opportunities to work with a variety of directors including Mahesh Bhatt, Govind Nihalani, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Tanuja Chandra, Ashwini Chaudhary, Shashank Khaitan, Mohit Suri and Vikram Bhatt. Rana has also worked in theatre and television. He has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and Telugu films alongside his Bollywood career. Later this year, he will be seen in Karan Malhotra’s film Shamshera, which has been written by Nilesh Mishra and Khila Bisht. In 2023, he will appear in the film Pathaan, written and directed by Siddharth Anand. Both these films are being produced by Aditya Chopra. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.