By Subhash K Jha

Mumbai, Aug 17 (IANS) The season of Bollywood directors turning actors is upon us full-blast. After a full-fledged debut as leading men by Farhan Akhtar and Rituparno Ghosh and cameos by Sudhir Mishra in "Corporate", and Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap in "Luck By Chance", it is now Apoorva Lakhia's turn.

Unlike his colleagues, Lakhia makes his debut as a villain in buddy Sanjay Dutt's film "Knock Out". Ironically he plays the guy who wants to kill Sanjay in the film.

A source from the film's unit describes Apoorva's character in the film as: "A villain, a highly scientific and very precise killer who uses a combination of killer squads, sophisticated technology and razor-sharp mind to locate and liquidate Sanju (Sanjay). His character is volatile and unpredictable. He takes the audience to a gripping climax where he fights it out with Sanju."

According to sources from the unit of "Knock Out", Apoorva's is one of the best villainous roles since Mogambo in "Mr India".

But a source says shooting with Apoorva was not easy. Apparently the shooting got cancelled three times when Apoorva was to give his first shot for "Knock Out".

"There were rains, thunderstorms and strong winds every time director Mani Shankar tried to take Apoorva's first shot. Yes, the shooting got postponed three times, almost as if nature was conspiring to keep Apoorva off camera. Finally, the director decided to shoot the scene despite the bad weather. Although he had spent so much time behind the camera, it took a while for him to figure out how merciless a close-up lens could be. There were lots of intense off-camera discussions between Mani and Apoorva before every shot."

After the experience, Apoorva was heard telling the director: "Direction is so much easier."

Apparently Apoorva has done a splendid job as a villain. His buddy, Abhishek Bachchan, who played the antagonist in "Raavan" has competition in the best villain's category at the awards this year.

Incidentally Apoorva Lakhia's cousin Aditya Lakhia is an actor. He played the role of Kachra in "Lagaan".