Since 3 months the actor has shaved off his moustache; will appear clean shaven for the first time on screen for Dilli 6

It’s been three months since Atul Kulkarni shaved off his moustache. And the actor, who has not been seen without it in any of his films is now wondering whether to remain clean-shaven.

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra wanted him to remove it for his role in Dilli 6. “When we discussed the character, we realised that it was better that I let it go. It would provide more scope for expressions,” points out Atul who plays a character ironically called Gobar in Dilli 6.

The film set in old Delhi is a black comedy and has Atul doing a funny role and has a major track alongside the character of Laxman Prasad, played by Abhishek Bachchan.

Ever since his debut in Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram, Atul has featured with his facial fuzz in all of his films.

After Hey Ram, one project followed the other and he was stuck with it for all his films, which include Chandni Bar, Satta, Khakhee, Page 3 and Rang De Basanti.

“Now, till I complete Dilli 6, I have to retain my look. As a result, I have to appear in the same look for my other projects as well,” says Atul who will also be seen in debutant Faruque Kabir’s Allah Ke Bande, N Chandra’s Breaking News and Bheja Fry director Sagar Bellary’s next Kaccha Limboo.

Apart from his facial fuzz dilemma, Atul is currently on a high for the response to the Marathi film Valu (the wild bull). The film, directed by Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni and distributed by Mukta Arts, has names like Mohan Agashe, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Bharati Acharekar, Nirmitee Sawant besides Atul in the cast.

Valu opened at the Rotterdam Film festival and has been hugely successful ever since it opened last month. “Valu is a full-on comedy and the response to it has been more than heartening. Usually collections drop after a few weeks, but Valu ran to packed houses in its fourth week ,” adds Atul.