Tandav and The Empire changed the game for Dino Morea. The web series, which saw him as the villain, came as a refreshing change after a slew of chocolate-boy roles in forgettable movies. Now, the actor is enjoying building on the bad boy image. He will be seen as the antagonist pitted against Malayalam superstar Mammootty, and Akhil Akkineni in Agent, which releases today. The spy action thriller, helmed by Surender Reddy, marks Morea’s debut in Telugu cinema. The actor does not view it as a big shift.

“If the story is convincing, why not be a part of it? Even if the film is made in a different part of India, it is as mainstream as our Hindi movies,” he says, before quipping, “The Hindi film industry is buying rights to Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. I’m directly working with the source.”

Working with Mammootty has been an honour for the actor. “I loved the challenge of being at the top of my game when doing a scene with Mammootty sir. When someone like him says you did a good job, that means the world to you.” But learning Telugu for the film wasn’t a cakewalk. “Initially, I started with learning only my lines. Eventually, I got a hang of it.”

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He looked towards Telugu and Malayalam films such as Agent and Bandra (an upcoming project), respectively, when the going got rough for him in the Hindi industry. And actor Dino Morea says that difficult phase made him try his hand at other things, one of which was producing the comedy Helmet (2021).

The tough phase, which lasted right up to the point that the web show The Empire came along, had almost convinced him that his career was over. “Insecurity set in, I felt, ‘[Does] no one really want to work with me? Will I get good work? Will I have to find an alternate career?’ You really have to know your place and forget ego,” he quips.

The 47-year-old would reach out to filmmakers in the Hindi industry. But translate into work it did not, and Morea says: “Bollywood is a fantastic place, no two ways about it. If you do films or keep working, people will respect you and the work you have done. They will entertain you. Thereafter comes the business of cinema, which is a different ball game altogether.”

Every producer looking for only big faces for their films is a major obstacle, the actor laments. “The perception is that only certain actors can sell tickets, even though it has been proved time and again it’s not the actor — it’s the movie and the story. Films are like the stock market. When the stocks are up and the price is great, you are in demand. When the stocks are low, you have got to work hard to get the stocks up again. Bollywood is a great place to be in. But when it comes to work, you have got to make a place, fight for it,” Morea wraps up.