New Delhi: He started his film career by playing most wanted gangster Dawood Ibrahim but Randeep Hooda, who will be next seen as painter Raja Ravi Verma in "Rang Rasiya", says he has "consciously moved away" from such films.

"It was a conscious decision on my part to move away from such roles. People still recognised me by that role. I take it as a compliment but no more guns for me," Hooda told PTI in an interview.

"The real Randeep Hooda is not like the gangster or the cop that he portrays on screen. These are the faces that I represent in films. I wanted to give something new to audience. They should not get bored," he added.

The actor has appeared in 18 different characters in recently released film "Mere Khawbon Mein Jo Aaye" like Zorro, Humphry Bogart, Elvis Presley, Amitabh Bachchan in 'Mukkadar ka Sikandar' and Dharmendra from film 'Shalimar'.

Hooda hopes that his fans will like him in the latest avatar.

"I have butterflies in my stomach before and after shooting a film but the sad part of being an actor is that once the film is released it is not in your hand. You can only expect that more and more people are going to watch your film and like your performance," he said.