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I was unsure of playing Rajan: Raqesh Bapat
Actor Raqesh Bapat, who was sceptical of playing mobster Chhota Rajan, is now convinced that he did a decent job
When Raqesh Bapat made his film debut with Tum Bin in 2001, he was immediately slotted as a romantic hero. After that, he went on to play several similar boy-next-door and romantic roles on television and in films. So, when the actor received a call to play the title role in Rajan, based on the life of mobster Chhota Rajan, he was indeed sceptical. “To start with, I don’t look like him. I wasn’t sure of it during the narration too, however the director asked me to trust him. To be very honest, I wasn’t too kicked about it. In fact, I wasn’t convinced even on the first day of shoot,” says Raqesh, who locked himself up in the make-up room on day one of the shoot.
The actor was worried that if he is not convinced about the character, then it would definitely reflect on screen. “I shaved off my beard, put on the moustache and asked my makeup dada to tan me completely. I dressed up like an ’80s don and then walked out of the room. People saw me and said, ‘We have our Rajan now’. Once I heard that, I was happy.”
A self-confessed director’s actor, Raqesh admits that he enjoys switching on and off from real and reel life. “I leave myself to the director on the set. I don’t interfere as it is his or her vision and following that makes life simpler for everyone. I am not someone, who takes a character back home. I love the way I can switch on and off from a role.”
