Rajeev, who is not the one to pick up conventional subjects, and repeat himself in any project, was completely blown away by the brilliant script of the show. The TV heartthrob, however, is unlikely to work in a regular daily soap again, especially the typical one which is stretched like a rubber band and has little meat. And he is sure about not participating in reality shows ever, because, well, he's simply not cut out for them. He is okay with the hosting part though, but it should be as exciting as Sach Ka Saamna.
The actor says he doesn't believe in resting in the glory of his past laurels. He would rather start with a scratch and woo over his audiences again and again than repeating himself. And that's the reason we see him only in a few projects.
He spoke to India Today Online about this and more in an exclusive conversation.
Excerpts:
ABOUT THE CHARACTER
"I play the role of doctor in this series-- Dr. Naushad Rizvi. He works in a children's hospital and has his own complications in life, his own turmoil. I wouldn't say he is complex, but it is his circumstances in life that have shaped his outlook towards life. Especially, looking at the circumstances in Kashmir, you will know what I am saying.
How his life changes after he meets certain individuals, especially Meher Mirza (Surveen Chawla) and what happens between them will be shown in the web series.
Rajeev Khandelwal in a still from Haq Se.
Haq Se is nothing like your regular TV show. It's based on a classic Little Women. In terms of story, it can be compared to the classics and in terms of shooting it was more like a film. And then Ken [Ghosh] introduces his own style. Since this is a very sensitive series, emotions are very raw and they have been captured very beautifully in the series. And in order to get it right, it was not possible for us to shoot ten scenes in a day, not even five. We shot three scenes a day considering the meticulous approach that is followed towards the characters.
We had to shoot more like a film. My character is a mix of both the worlds and all that I have done so far--it has a romantic side, the sensitive side, the complex one, everything."
HOW HE PREPARED FOR HIS ROLE
"We did workshops, in fact a lot of them in the course of 15 days to learn the fine nuances of our characters. This is not a series where you walk in and out of the shoot. We all used to meet up, play out scenes, fine tune the characters. One of the strong features of the series is its writing and that is mind-blowing. Since they had already set standards in terms of writing, we had to take it to another level. Then Ken gave it his own flavour."
WORKING WITH HIS KAHIIN TO HOGA CO-STAR SURVEEN
"As an actress Surveen has become much stronger. She was good even then. Back then, in Kahiin To Hoga, when we started working together, she had joined after a few months . At that time, we weren't really very concerned about the way our characters were shaping up as we had little understanding of it. We were newcomers, trying to get our act right. Now, I understand the smaller nuances of the characters, and writing.
As an individual, she is still the same--bubbly, vivacious, energetic. A little maturity comes when you have spent 10-12 years in the industry, so that little maturity in terms of approach...but she is a wonderful co-star.
We never had any differences, not even a disagreement. Because if that would have been the case, it would have required sitting on it and working it out, because she is an intelligent woman. But that did not happen with her. We didn't have to work hard on our chemistry because it happened on its own."
RAJEEV'S REAL SIDE
"The word would be ambivert. I am myself, very ordinary..there is nothing special about me. I believe in doing my own things at my own pace. I don't really borrow ideas. Whatever I am, wherever I am, I want to do it my way. I don't want to borrow support from any other source to help me achieve my things. I am not insecure in my head. I quit Kahiin To Hoga, and then I quit another show.
I don't bask in the glory of my previous shows and what I have done before. I start from the scratch and expect my filmmakers to be totally ruthless with me. I do not believe in getting concessions just because some of my previous projects have worked. I want to win over my audiences again and again with my work, in every project. My attempt--whether it works or not--is to win the love of the audiences afresh, with every fresh character.
It is a character written by my writers--whether in films, TV or whatever I did. A lot of charisma comes from the writing. I never say it's my contribution alone. There is a space for everyone. If any of my characters is liked and appreciated, it is because of the way it is written and then there is a bit of my contribution as an actor if I can take that imagination forward. At that same time, I am not someone who is given a scene and he just performs. I interact with writers, creative team, understand my character."
WHY DAILY SOAPS DON'T WORK FOR HIM
"Daily soaps don't work for me anymore. After a point, they go in any direction and the graph is not there. The culmination of a character is never written.
I don't have a wish list. Sometimes we hear something and that sounds interesting. I am not a writer, I don't want to limit my mind. I want to do something which is new either in terms of storytelling or content--something that has never been attempted before and that excites me. Whether we get flak or accolades for it, there is a sense of adventure to do something that has not been attempted before.
I don't get limited by thoughts of doing a certain kind of a project. With Haq Se, my first instinct was it was a good series, but let me read it first. But when I read it, I was completely bowled over. I was like how can somebody write something like it, and then of course I wanted to be part of it."
PARTICIPATING IN REALITY SHOWS IS A COMPLETE NO-NO FOR ME
"In terms of participation in a reality show, in 2006-7, when the reality shows were just coming in, I had made it clear then only, that I will never participate in the reality shows, I am not cut out for it. You have to be yourself to participate in such shows.
As about hosting, I have no problem hosting reality shows but then it has to be something as exciting and different as Sach Ka Saamna. After that show, I have set a standard in my mind that I have to host something as different, something that gives you different kind of exposure.
Like I never thought I would do a film like Aamir. After doing the film, I don't want to star in regular films having song-dance routine. My taste developed in such kind of films and I did Shaitan, Table no. 21. If I hadn't done Aamir, I wouldn't have done these films. Same with Sach Ka Saamna.
I don't think I want to participate in reality shows because I don't think there is anything special about my real side. Secondly, I can't compete for money."
I AM GOING TO SHINE
"You will not be able to ignore me that is for sure. The truth is in this series, you won't be able to ignore any character. Each character, be it father or the one that is played by Karanveer, every character has been written well. No character will overshadow the other and as far as I'm concerned, it is interesting and I have added my own thing to it. I don't know how, but I'm going to shine."
RAJEEV, THE ROMANTIC
"These questions should be posed to a wife or a girlfriend. I would like to believe that I am romantic in my own way. If somebody were to ask me I would say I am utterly romantic, but, it depends on what romance means to me. For me, it might not be a candlelight dinner, It might be waiting for someone at the airport for six hours or waiting to pick up somebody in a car for 4 hours. In the morning, before your wife wakes up, making her a cup of tea with your own hands, that's something which is my idea of romance. Coming back early from the shoot and things like that. So yes, I'm romantic and I like to make my woman very special."
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