Despite his modelling background, the handsome Freddy Daruwala often gets roped in to play the villain rather than the quintessential hero in Bollywood films. The actor, who’s been appreciated for his villainous acts in films like Holiday: A Soldier Is Never Off Duty (2014) starring Akshay Kumar and Race 3 (2018) that featured Salman Khan, is looking at exploring much more, but he’s consciously not thinking too much about it. “The thing is that everyone in Bollywood is ambitious and everyone is working hard to do their best. There are days when I look at other actors and feel ki, ‘Arrey, iska toh yeh project ho raha hai, mera kyun nahi?’ All this leads to anxiety. There have been times in my life when I’ve been depressed because of work. However, with time I’ve begun to understand the business better.”

Freddy adds, “I have realised that as an actor, I might work for just 100 days and be free for the rest of the year. The industry is teaching me that you have to eventually be happy and accepting in order to lead a healthy life.”

The Commando 2 actor also believes that luck plays an important part in the success of an artiste in showbiz. He explains, “Unlike most other professions, luck plays a major role when you have a career in showbiz. We all know that Ranbir Kapoor was the original choice for Band Baaja Baaraat (2010). He turned it down and Ranveer Singh was roped in. Look at Ranveer now! Ek pal mein sab kuch badal sakta hai idhar.”

Looking back at his personal experiences, Freddy reveals, “When I was offered Race 3, I was told that it would be a small role and so it didn’t interest me. I didn’t even pay attention to the narration and turned it down. It was then that the casting director Mukesh Chhabra informed me that I would be pitted opposite Salman in the film. I was also told by the film’s producer Ramesh Taurani that since I am the main villain I’ll also get a poster. So you see, this film was meant to be mine. Even after turning it down, it came to me. Likewise, I auditioned for Commando: A One Man Army (2013). I didn’t get the part, but seeing that audition the same team approached me for Holiday.”

The actor admits to being heartbroken at losing out on roles. He shares, “I was angling for the role of the main villain in Force 2 (2016), but at the time the makers were keen on having Imran Khan as the baddie. He turned down the part at the last minute. When the team tried to reach out to me for the role, I had already taken off to the US, assuming that the role had gone to someone else. I felt devastated for losing out on that role.”