Inching closer to my dream of buying a house in Mumbai: Vineet Kumar Singh

Mumbai: Actor Vineet Kumar Singh says he has been living on rent for years in Mumbai, but with the success of "Chhaava" and "Jaat" up for release, he is finally closer to buying a home in the city.

"Chhaava", starring Vicky Kaushal in the lead, was based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj and turned out to be a major box office hit earning nearly Rs 600 crore in India.

Singh, who played the role of Sambhaji's close friend Kavi Kalash in the period drama, received a lot of acclaim for his performance in the Laxman Utekar directorial.

"I've been getting interesting work offers after 'Chhaava' but I’m in no rush. I’ll continue to do good work... The way things are happening, I’m inching closer to fulfilling my desire to buy my own house here; maybe I’ll buy a sea-facing house. I’m married, so I need a house. I’ve been staying on rent all these years,” the Varanasi-born actor told PTI in an interview.

Singh, who made his acting debut in a small role in 2002's "Pitaah" and found his big break as Danish Khan in Anurag Kashyap's "Gangs of Wasseypur" in 2012, has done memorable work in films such as "Bombay Talkies", "Mukkabaaz", "Ugly" and "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl".

"The biggest benefit of this ('Chhaava' success) is that people are not asking me my name. Earlier when I would go to public events, they knew about my past work, but they would quietly ask me my name," he said, adding that his aim has always been to be part of films that leave a “lasting impact” on audiences.

“Whenever you want to do good films, you have to compromise a bit (on remuneration). My idea was that if I do a good film, it will be remembered for years to come. I wanted to create my identity based on good films. I can sense that the route that I’ve chosen is correct because people are talking about some of the old films,” he added.

The actor has also received positive feedback for his performance in another recent release, “Superboys of Malegaon”. His impactful dialogue from the film, ‘Writer Baap Hota’ was a hit.

In his upcoming film "Jaat", which features action star Sunny Deol in the lead, Singh features in a negative role along with Randeep Hooda.

Singh said Deol is an actor whose work he has admired for a long time.

"My first scene was with Sunny sir, and it was a long sequence. When you work with an actor whose films you’ve seen for years, it means a lot. So, I had those emotions, but what’s also important is how that person makes me feel, and he (Deol) was like, ‘Be free and do it’. So, whatever hesitation I had, it all disappeared,” the actor said.

Deol was supportive during physically draining action sequences, he added.

“I can be rest assured that even if I’m blindfolded while doing action sequences with Sunny sir, I know I’ll be safe because even when he punches, it’s controlled.” Singh also praised Hooda's work.

"When you work with him, you learn a lot. You feel lucky.” “Jaat” also features Saiyami Kher and Regina Cassandra in pivotal roles.

Produced by Mythri Movie Makers and People Media Factory, the film is slated to be released on April 10 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.