It has been 25 years since Sangharsh (1999) hit the screens and actor Ashutosh Rana won acclaim for his portrayal of the twisted antagonist, Lajja Shankar Pandey. To this day, he deems the psychological thriller one of the highest points of his filmography.

“Very few things in life have such a long journey. Every actor wishes for at least one such movie. Generations have passed. If a film stays in your memory for this long, it’s a blessing for any actor,” he tells us.

Recalling how he thought filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who co-wrote the film with Girish Dhamija, initially signed someone else to play the role, the actor says, “I was shooting in Hyderabad. I left it and came running to Mumbai to meet him. I asked him how he could sign someone else. Either he should take my audition and then reject me, or just say I didn’t do justice to [my role of a sadistic killer in] Dushman (1998).”

To Rana’s surprise, it was all just a practical joke. “Bhatt sir laughed and said since he hadn’t met me in a long time, he was playing around. Because if he hadn’t, I would’ve never come. This role was written for me,” he asserts.

Rana, who played a religious fanatic in director Tanuja Chandra’s Sangharsh, admits that it was not a mainstream film at the time. But he’s glad that over the course of 25 years, the genre has gained acceptance and popularity. “To have that conviction of taking the risk back then is worth applause today,” he shared, calling it “one of the finest films.”

At the time of the film’s release, his character became a massive hit among audiences, particularly for its dreadful cry. “The look and mannerisms were a collective design by Bhatt sir, Chandra and me. Bhatt sir wanted a signature something for the character. I thought for Lajja Shankar, every spirit is evil who comes in his way. I did it [the cry] without any rehearsal. It had such an impact,” the 56-year-old reveals.

With so many years gone by, there’s one thing Rana would tell his 25-year-old self. “It’ll be magnetic to meet that version of myself today. Uss Ashutosh ka josh aur iss Ashutosh ka hosh. If I ask him for his energy and tell him to take my experience, it will be an out of the world combination. Then both of us will be at our best,” he ends.