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Rajiv Thakur: Log ghar baith ke reject kar dete hain ‘arre nahi, yeh isse nahi hoga', don't even audition
Actor Rajiv Thakur talks about not getting meaty roles until IC814: The Kandahar Hijack, how he was stereotyped and more.
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Rajiv Thakur has finally got the acting breakthrough he desired through IC814: The Kandahar Hijack. He played the role of one of the plane hijackers, a stark departure from the comic image has carved for himself through the years.
The wait has been a long one, as he tells us, “I had done theatre in my college days. I keep telling people to audition me. Log ghar baith ke reject kar dete hain ‘arre nahi, yeh isse nahi hoga, yeh role iski image ko suit nahi karega’ I still insist ki audition toh karo, office mein bulake reject karo. I want to tell the casting directors- there are so many good female casting directors as well today- if someone like Mukesh Chhabra (casting director) can imagine me in a role like that in IC814, then why not you all.”
Read more: IC-814 The Kandahar Hijack actor Rajiv Thakur says ‘I had no time to prep for my role’
Commercial validation is seen as important, and an actor might sometimes compromise on the quality to star in a big ticket project. However, Thakur asserts that this show he did was as ‘masaledaar’ as it could get for him, and he didn’t want to wait.
“Main shuru se hi tadap raha hoon ki mujhe hero banna hai. But that doesn’t mean only the protagonist, it can be the antagonist . I just want to show my acting talent,” says the actor, who is most popular for starring in comedy shows alongside Kapil Sharma.
He goes on to add, “People didn’t know my theatre background. Comedy used to be our guest item, we didn’t take it seriously. If we would rehearse for a play for three months, for the comedy gags we would rehearse for maybe 10 days. Mera yeh aise baahar aana zaroori tha. Achhe platform pe bade logon ke saath debut karne ko mila, I am really grateful.”
