He is tall, well-built and has a baritone voice. Actor Sharad Kelkar says while these factors usually work in his favour, they also become ingredients for typecasting among makers. “For any filmmaker, that’s my first perception — he’s tall, has got that voice, we can’t write a weak or petite character for him. It has to be a strong, well-built character. The one role that always comes to me is that of a cop and I refuse it every time,” admits the actor, who was recently seen in the film Har Har Mahadev (2022).

But the creative side of the 46-year-old doesn’t overpower the practical one. Kelkar, who was seen playing a cop in Rocky Handsome (2016) and Baadshaho (2017), adds, “I do one-two such roles (playing a police officer) in a year, as that’s my bread and butter. But I make sure the role is good. Unless there’s something different, I don’t take it up.”

Laxmii (2020), in which the actor played a transgender, allowed him to experiment to the tee. He cites other examples and says, “Darbaan (2020) was a different role altogether. I also did a Marathi film called Rainbow (2022). I try and choose roles in which people see me in a different light. That’s why you lose out on a lot of work, because you don’t want to repeat yourself. In the earlier days, it was a blessing if you were tall, muscular and had a heavy voice. It was a ticket to being the conventional hero. But that has changed completely.”