00:00If people recognize me, it's my role as Senior Inspector Rajat in CID.
00:06Although I was only there for a year and a half.
00:08Abhijeet Aditya Srivastav was my inspiration.
00:12Manoj Bajpayee, Shah Rukh Khan.
00:14Working with them, you get to learn a lot.
00:17ACP Pradyuman is almost a fatherly-like figure.
00:21He was the most senior there, but the most energetic.
00:30Don't you feel that you have become a typecast or an inspector or a police officer?
00:40My initial 3-4 roles were all as Senior Inspector.
00:46When I was on Ishqiya's set as a dialogue coach,
00:50Yash Raj called me for an audition for Powder.
00:52Director Atul Sabarwal saw me performing in a play
00:58and he was impressed.
01:00He must have given me a name.
01:02I was called there.
01:04I was cast there.
01:06Of course, I was a co-actor.
01:08It was a good role.
01:10It was a brilliant script.
01:12I did it. It was fun.
01:14Again, not many people saw it at that time.
01:17But those who saw it, liked the work.
01:21Then Khote Sikhe was the lead role.
01:23I started getting doubts from there as well.
01:26When I played one senior inspector,
01:28the other senior inspector said,
01:30Khote Sikhe is too much.
01:32I thought I should do it.
01:34Since then, I used to doubt every project.
01:38Then they said, no, he is the lead.
01:40There was a supporting cast.
01:42It was Yash Raj's show.
01:44I was told that Aditya Chopra wanted it.
01:46He has seen the audition.
01:48He liked it a lot.
01:50He liked my work in Powder.
01:52So, I had to do it.
01:54There were other things to be done.
01:56As they say,
01:58Yash Raj's shows,
02:00Powder and Khote Sikhe,
02:02were way ahead of their time.
02:04If they had come now,
02:06it would have been a different reception.
02:08When they came on TV,
02:10they might not have got an audience.
02:12That's why,
02:14for many reasons,
02:16they might have stopped it.
02:18Yash Raj's television wing.
02:20So, all our work stopped.
02:22Khote Sikhe's season was yet to come.
02:24The season we see now in OTT.
02:26Then I got many calls,
02:28from the cop type cast.
02:30I kept refusing them.
02:34It was a very good lead role.
02:36Till then,
02:38there was nothing like
02:40Damodar Deshmukh in Khote Sikhe.
02:42It was a very well written part.
02:44We did it well.
02:46After that,
02:48I didn't feel like
02:50calling a cop in a serial.
02:52So, I kept refusing.
02:54Then I got a call from CID.
02:56Whoever I was trying to refuse,
02:58I didn't follow CID.
03:04But of course,
03:06it was such a big and popular show.
03:08There were fans at home.
03:10They said, no, we have to do it.
03:12Powder and Khote Sikhe came on Sony.
03:14It was Sony's show, CID.
03:16From there,
03:18they said, no, you won't regret it.
03:20It's a very good show.
03:22It's a dynamite show.
03:24I did it and I don't regret it, of course.
03:26In fact, if people recognize me,
03:28then it's the same senior inspector Rajat
03:30who played my role in CID.
03:32Although, I was only there for 1-1.5 years.
03:34But,
03:36I was lucky that
03:38some very good stories were made at that time.
03:40Some very good work was done.
03:44When I was there,
03:46I used to make eccentric episodes.
03:48I used to take personal stories
03:50on one officer.
03:52So, I got a chance to take part
03:54in 3-4 such stories.
03:56So, yes,
03:58I took some,
04:00I mean,
04:02the grammar of CID,
04:04acting,
04:06and some of mine,
04:08everyone does it very well,
04:10but in between,
04:12I took my own,
04:14and that's why
04:16I still remember it.
04:18Although, I was only there for 1-1.5 years.
04:20The other artists of CID,
04:22be it Inspector Abhijit,
04:24or Daya,
04:26or C.P.Sahab,
04:28or Mr. Pradyuman,
04:30how was the work with them?
04:32Very good, very good.
04:34The atmosphere there is very good.
04:38A.C.P. Pradyuman,
04:40you know,
04:42he is the most fatherly-like figure.
04:44He was the most senior there,
04:46but he was the most energetic.
04:48If you shake hands with him,
04:50you will know how strong he was.
04:52And the way he used to walk,
04:54his body language,
04:56even in CID and outside.
04:58Abhijit, Aditya Srivastav,
05:00he was my inspiration.
05:02Manoj Bajpai, Shah Rukh Khan.
05:04So, working with them,
05:06you get to learn a lot.
05:08The way they approach television
05:10with seriousness,
05:12and the chaos that happens
05:14in the daily shoot,
05:16he tries to bring some sense
05:18to that chaos.
05:20Daya is such a big star.
05:22Undoubtedly, he is the biggest star
05:24in the CID team.
05:26But very humble,
05:28very good actors,
05:30all of them, very good people.
05:32Very good, well-oiled machinery.
05:34Shah Rukh Khan, Tariq Khan,
05:36the main cast of CID.
05:38So, I was there for a short time,
05:40but I got very good opportunities.
05:42And whatever I could do,
05:44I did.
05:46I am very thankful
05:48that I was a part of that team.
05:50And because of that,
05:52there is a certain viewer base,
05:54which is audience based today.
05:56Today, I do some Arya,
05:58some Kala Pani.
06:00So, some people also come
06:02who want to see what Rajat is doing.
06:04Sir, if we talk about your early days,
06:06your father was a doctor.
06:08And you did your MBA.
06:10And then you turned to acting.
06:12So, in Bihar and UP,
06:14our state,
06:16after the age of 12,
06:18the child either becomes a doctor,
06:20an engineer, or prepares for UPSC.
06:22So, instead of becoming a doctor,
06:24you chose the option of MBA.
06:26And after doing MBA,
06:28you came to acting.
06:30So, how did you decide?
06:32Where was this turning point?
06:34Actually,
06:36since childhood,
06:38like it happens here,
06:40you follow your father.
06:42My father was a doctor.
06:44He was a very successful doctor.
06:46Especially,
06:48among the poor,
06:50I also wanted to become a doctor like him.
06:52And everyone also thought
06:54that I would become a doctor
06:56because I was very good in studies.
06:58And a very good boy,
07:00who is studying hard,
07:02who is doing his work on time.
07:04You know, a disciplined child.
07:06So, no one thought that
07:08he would do something else.
07:10But till I reached 10th and 12th,
07:12my interest started increasing.
07:14The circle started expanding.
07:16I studied well in Dharadun.
07:18So, there was a little more exposure.
07:20Of course, in Bihar, it is a little limited.
07:22Doctor, engineer, or IAS.
07:24Now, it is a little open.
07:26So,
07:28when I
07:30dared to talk in my house,
07:32that I want to do something different.
07:34I had seen a lot of theatre.
07:36I saw Dilwale Dulhaniya
07:38by Shahrukh Khan.
07:40Rangeela had come
07:42just a month before that.
07:44So, I really liked both the films.
07:46And some of my friends said,
07:48you are also like that.
07:50I don't think so.
07:52Like in Rangeela,
07:54Aamir Khan was a little mischievous.
07:56The way Shahrukh Khan talks,
07:58maybe he was like that.
08:00So, I thought,
08:02I misunderstood.
08:04I thought,
08:06they are very cool people.
08:08They have a cool life.
08:10At that time, I didn't realize
08:12that it takes a lot of hard work
08:14in this profession.
08:16So, anyway,
08:18as an Indian,
08:20I was interested since childhood.
08:22I have been a fan of everyone
08:24since Amitabh Bachchan.
08:26He didn't discourage me.
08:30He just told me to study.
08:32Initially,
08:34I wanted to do MBBS for 5 years.
08:36After doing all this,
08:38I wanted to go again.
08:40So, I studied,
08:42but I didn't go in the medical line.
08:44I did my MBA, part time.
08:46And I joined the theatre.
08:48So, I told my father
08:50that for 3 months,
08:52Barry John,
08:54who was influenced by Shahrukh Khan
08:56and Manoj Vajpayee,
08:58was taking a workshop
09:00for 3 months.
09:02It was an acting school
09:04named Imago.
09:06TAG was inactive at that time.
09:08So, I did that course for 3 months.
09:10And I told my father
09:12that I will do this
09:14and see
09:16whether I am worthy
09:18or not.
09:20And if I feel that I can do it,
09:22then I will go ahead.
09:24Otherwise, I will give up
09:26the medical entrance.
09:30So, I started from there.
09:32I did well in the workshop.
09:34People appreciated me.
09:36So, I did acting
09:38and moved ahead.
09:40So, when you came
09:42to the actual field,
09:44what kind of challenges
09:46did you face?
09:48How many rejections
09:50did you face?
09:54It was a 3-month course.
09:56People do NSD for 3 years
09:58and then do repertory.
10:00I don't know how many years
10:02they give to the theatre
10:04in different groups.
10:06But if you do something
10:08small, then you feel
10:10that you have learnt something.
10:12I didn't feel that I know everything.
10:14But I had started.
10:16I understood 4 things.
10:18I came to Bombay.
10:20I was looking for a job.
10:22Of course,
10:24there was a lot of work
10:26on television.
10:28It was done regularly
10:30and in short time.
10:32So, I tried to start from television.
10:34But I couldn't.
10:36I was a diligent student.
10:38I used to take a pen and paper
10:40and write the name of the production house
10:42on each page.
10:44I used to write the date
10:46of the audition.
10:48I used to write the date
10:50of the audition.
10:52So, I used to follow up
10:54regularly.
10:56I did this for 6 months
10:58very diligently.
11:00People used to meet me
11:02randomly.
11:04I used to do it in an organized way.
11:06But I found that it didn't work.
11:08People used to say that the audition
11:10will be done.
11:12I used to say that the audition
11:14will be done.
11:16Or maybe
11:18due to some complexion.
11:20It is there.
11:22Whatever the reason was,
11:24people used to say
11:26that I am not fit.
11:28So, I couldn't get a job.
11:30But I continued.
11:32During this time,
11:34I got a chance to teach.
11:36I did that.
11:38I became an assistant teacher of acting.
11:40Then I got a chance
11:42to give a dialogue coaching.
11:44It gave a direction
11:46to my career.
11:48He is my friend,
11:50Hanit Rehan.
11:52He is the director.
11:54He has been
11:56Vishal Bhardwaj's assistant
11:58from the beginning.
12:00He was my roommate.
12:02He said that
12:04he was in a meeting
12:06with some friends.
12:08There was an assistant casting director.
12:10She was from Hollywood.
12:12She was shooting in Jodhpur.
12:14Usually, when a project
12:16is shot in a place,
12:18they hire local people
12:20in small roles.
12:22The story was biblical.
12:24They didn't want white people.
12:26They wanted English writers.
12:28They cast a lot of Indians
12:30from Bombay.
12:32They wanted someone
12:34who could speak English well
12:36and not sound Indian.
12:38They wanted someone
12:40who could speak English well
12:42and not sound British.
12:44My friend said that
12:46he had someone who could do it.
12:48He said that he had done it
12:50but he didn't know
12:52if he could do it.
12:54I gave him my number.
12:56He met me.
12:58He liked it.
13:00I didn't know
13:02what to do
13:04and how to do it.
13:06Usually, a foreign crew
13:08has a badge.
13:10It said Vikas Kumar Dialogue Coach.
13:12That's when I came to know
13:14that it's Dialogue Coach.
13:16And then I did it.
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