Rahul Bose wins Timely praise

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript" src="Config?Configid=43376741"></script></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="76.6%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><a href="javascript:popUp(&quot1;photopop?msid=96676&type=0&quot1;)"> <img border="0" align="left" src="/cms.dll/thumb?height=136&width=136&photoID=96676" hspace="12"" /></a></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">Click to enlarge picture</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: Hate him or love him, but you wouldn’t dismiss Rahul Bose -- not after <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Time </span>magazine’s Asian edition upheld him as India’s alternative hitmaker.The magazine may not be the true barometer of Bollywood’s talent, but then not everyone gets talked about in the same breath as Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Ram Gopal Varma. <br /><br />"I think that’s really stretching it," Bose says when you ask him if he is the next international star material after Rai, Bachchan and Khan. "I am not preoccupied by that at all."<br /><br />Bose’s unassuming manner is intact when you mention the flattering comments (India’s art-house icon, ubiquitous face of New Bollywood) the article heaps upon him. "They must have been thoroughly misled or they are talking of someone else," he jokes. In a serious strain, he says he’s happy his work is not half bad. <br /><br />This year has seen a steady flow of films starring the 36-year-old actor, who gave up an advertising career for acting. After <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Jhankaar Beats </span>and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mumbai Matinee</span>, coming up are Anant Balani’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Ek Din 24 Ghante </span>with Nandita Das and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chameli </span>with Kareena Kapoor. <br /><br />"My kind of movies are being made, that’s why you see me so often on screen these days."<br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br /> Also on the anvil is a film Bose will produce and direct with an all-American cast. He would not reveal the details of this project, but Bose says he has never focussed on making it in Hollywood. "Ninety percent of Hollywood is trash. The real energy coming out of independent movies is in Latin America and Europe." <br /><br />Bose sounds irreverent, but it’s the actor’s nonchalance that speaks. "I am not at all focussed on making it anywhere. I am very happy with what I am doing. If I get work outside India, it’s great. If I don’t, that’s also great."<br /><br />If there’s one thing he’s clear about, it’s that mainstream Bollywood is out. "This is pretty much it," says the actor, who still calls himself an outsider in the industry. </div> </div>