Rishabh: In the very first film with Hrithik.

- 'Now I want to try my hand at comedy, as I am very comfortable doing such roles. I have done that in theatre. I think my comic timing is good.'

With the advent of the OTT medium, along with the content in films, the vocabulary has also changed. Now in the industry the villain has got a slightly higher name like 'Negative Lead'. Debutant Rishabh Sawani is making headlines by playing the negative lead opposite Hrithik Roshan in Siddharth Anand's successful film 'Fighter'. The character of Azhar played by him in the film has been appreciated. The actor had a few formal talks with the media, who have now reached out to pat Rishabh's back for his first big screen success.

During the interaction Rishabh was first asked that what preparations did he make for his role of Azhar in 'Fighter'? The actor responded by saying, 'Actually, the makers were looking for a newcomer like me, who hadn't done much. It took my lottery. Siddharth sir told me that during the shoot you should think that I am Thanos (the hoofed villain of the superhero multiverse). I had to look big and tall like Thanos. Being a fitness model before becoming an actor, I have a background in body-building, so playing Azhar was physically easy for me. In addition, I also engaged a personal trainer and a nutritionist. Also, I did workshops with acting coach Rachit Singh. He asked me to be a little crazy. He instructed me to watch nothing but ISIS documentaries. Not only that, Rachitji kept me silent for days. I also got help because of my styling in the film.'

Now another question from the media. After 'Pathan', Siddharth Anand has reached a different height as a filmmaker. How did he feel going to the sets of his film as an actor? Rishabh laughs a little, 'To be honest, I was very nervous. I have seen all his films including 'Pathan' so I knew about the scale of the film. I myself was a casting director for two years and I had to meet many directors, but none of them had the stature of Siddharth sir, but I fought for one. I remained as I am on set. I am done in that.'

How did it feel to pair Rishabh, another natural face of journalists, with a big starcast like 'Fighter'?' The bodybuilder actor enthuses in response, 'It was really great. As an actor, it was my dream to play an important role in such a big film. I didn't believe it for a while when I was included in the cast. Playing a negative role opposite Hrithik Roshan was a big deal for me.'

But Rishabh never wanted to be a male hero in his debut film? Says the actor, 'Sir, every actor loves to be the hero of the film, but I have already been attracted to negative roles as their larger than life characters are always presented very stylishly on screen, so I had no fear of being the villain. Secondly, after the advent of OTT, the formula of the role system has completely changed.'

One last question. 'What does the fighter (thus Molly) want to do after success? Rishabh says his wish without any hesitation, 'Now I want to try my hand at comedy, because I am very comfortable doing such roles. I have done that in theatre. I think I have comic timing.'