Actor Atul Kulkarni may have experimented plenty with a range of performances in films like Chandni Bar where he played a gangster, a journalist in Page 3, a common man in Rang De Basanti and more recently as a con man in Chaalis Chaurasi, but he admits that the process of discovering more facets to his personality continues.

Atul, in Lucknow recently for a professional commitment, tells us, "Every profession has so many aspects and it's even more so in acting. I feel there are plenty of possibilities and opportunities still left for me to explore. It's an ongoing process."

At the same time, Atul is clear that playing a character well means much more to him than grabbing every 'different' character that comes his way. He explains, "My job is to convince the audience about the character I am playing.

At the end of the day I can't change myself. It's only different characters that I play. And in those it should not be me, Atul Kulkarni, it should be the character that is being played by Atul Kulkarni. I'd rather concentrate on making my character more convincing than trying to prove my acting prowess."

But isn't he considered an actor who essays mostly strong, dark characters, we ask. Smiling at that Atul says, "I agree. Most of my popular movies have seen me cast in serious roles. But then I am mostly offered such roles. Once in a while a film like Chaalis Chaurasi comes along which has shades of comedy too."

At the same time Atul doesn't really have a problem with being typecast. Refusing to blame filmmakers for offering him similar roles, Atul says, "Casting is crucial for any film. With so much money involved, directors seldom want to take a chance and cast an actor whom they haven't seen doing a similar role earlier. Isiliye Bollywood is so quick to typecast actors. But I don't let that happen to me.

After Chandni Bar, I must have refused hundreds of roles that asked me to play a character similar to the one I played there. So, the actor also has to be convinced about his capabilities and stand firm in his decision to refuse offers of doing same type of roles.

It's a vicious circle but I have tried that and been successful," says Atul, who will now be seen in a Hollywood film Singularity along with Bipasha Basu, Abhay Deol, Neve Campbell and Josh Hartnet. "It was really good working on this film. It's a prestigious project directed by Roland Joffe," informs Atul, who is also acting in Ram Gopal Varma's 26/11, Apoorva Lakhia's Zanjeer and KC Bokadia's Dirty Politics.

Talking of money Atul is fully in support of the 100 crore cinema. "Yes, I do believe in it. Films are being made with bigger budgets and are making more money than just 100 crores. So, why not talk about it. Pehle there used to be golden and silver jubilees, now we have the 100 crore club.

So, it's just that the name has changed, but the thing remains the same," says Atul. "In fact, I'm very happy with the way Bollywood is moving. We have at last started realising that there's space for each and every cinema. Be it a Gangs Of Wasseypur or a Jab Tak Hai Jaan, all have an audience here.

Interestingly, Atul doesn't rule out the chances of him turning a director. "I would love that, because cinema is what makes me tick. But that will come later. First let me prove myself as an actor," says he.

In the meanwhile, the two-time National Award winning actor is doing his bit for the environment. Atul and his cousins are in the process of converting a barren piece of land into a dense forest. "I had read an article about a couple who had developed a private forest in Coorg, and were working towards preserving it.

I wanted to do something similar and wanted to give something back to the nature from which we have stolen so much. So my cousins and I bought 24 acres of land and we planted trees in that. It's been several years now and has proved to be very successful. It was a barren land but is slowly converting into a dense forest. Hopefully more people will be inspired to do the same," signs off the actor.