New Delhi, March 16: Ask him when the much awaited film Paanch directed by Anurag Kashyap will see the light of the day and the actor lets out a long sigh. ‘‘All of us have our fingers crossed. Most probably next month,’’ is all Kay Kay Menon has to say. You’d never imagine that the calm, complacent tone belongs to Luke, the high-strung rock musician from Paanch, who believes that he is the desi reincarnation of Jim Morrison.

Incidentally, the man trips on Indian classical music in real life and doesn’t care much for the Lizard King. ‘‘It was completely Anurag’s sense of imagination and unless the character is of historic significance, I go by the script and instinct,’’ he admits. Who can be a bigger historic figure than the man who redefined rock? ‘‘But I don’t play Morrison. As an actor, I need to cater to the story as well,’’ he argues.

Smashing allegations that Paanch propagates violence, Kay Kay explains that any violence in the film is pertinent and precensored. ‘‘For example, I don’t know what effect an anti-smoking film would have when it doesn’t show a person smoking,’’ he says. But the actor steps into his own trap when he states that Paanch deals with the violence of the mind than physical violence. ‘‘Yes, it’s definitely scarier,’’ he admits in the same breath, adding, ‘‘But only in the sense that it exposes Mumbai’s underbelly. There’s no gore or vulgarity.’’

Kay Kay also maintains strong views on the fate of films. ‘‘For me, films are either believable or trash. All I look for is a good script and a good director. I’m just an actor who’s planted in there do my bit,’’ he says. And he’s not desperate to bridge the divide between the so-called offbeat and commercial cinema either. With stirring films such as Bhopal Express and Chhal to his credit, he’s all set to play the villain in Hansal Mehta’s Humrahi and Gaurang Doshi’s Deewar. Though Kay Kay relates better to protagonist and antagonist than ‘hero’ and ‘villain’. ‘‘Things still exist in black and white in Bollywood. But I believe that there is no one pure emotion and I’d rather play an anti-hero who is much darker than a villain,’’ says the man who will play the role of a jailor opposite the Big B in Deewar.

Having done stints with TV from time to time in crime series Bhanwar and horror show X-Zone to name just two, Kay Kay recently returned to TV with Ittefaq. Telecast on ZEE TV, Ittefaq is an action drama that revolves around two people and is a part of the Kambakth Ishq series. ‘‘It’s humanly impossible to do serials because the excitement soon fizzes on long running projects. The plausibility of one-off stories is very interesting, which is why I grabbed the role of Jai in Ittefaq,’’ admits the actor. The underlying sense of satire and humour was another reason why the script caught his attention. ‘‘I prefer humour to being funny. I think humour is palatable,’’ he says.

For now, the actor seems a contented man. ‘‘I’m not an idealist in search of the perfect script,’’ he says. Just someone who wants to look within himself and find shades of the character that he — be it a Pradhan Mantri or a Verma.