@RK1610IsMe#HappyBirthDayRajeevKhandelwal with Latest update - Page 8

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ajeev Khandelwal started his career with television and made a smooth transition to films, but he is not as prolific as you'd expect him to be. Like many actors who don't want to be a part of the race, he is choosy about the kind of films he does.

In a tete-a-tete over a light lunch at the newly opened Destination One caf in Calangute, he spoke at length about his childhood, his career, his love for Goa and life in Moira where he owns a house.

"My love affair with Goa started about five years ago when I shot a film here called Peter Gaya Kaam Se. We shot here non-stop for a couple of months and that's when I fell for Goa. We shot in the non-tourist places and the hinterland, and discovered there is so much more to this lovely place than just the beaches", he says.

The film is yet to be released though it recently premiered at the Raindance festival in the UK. It will hopefully see the light of day in India soon.

After the film shoot, Rajeev started frequenting Goa with his friends and later, it was his wife Manjiri who zeroed in on the house in Moira while he was shooting in Switzerland. "She is more of a beach person," he says with a smile, "But she loved the house and when I saw it myself, with all the scenic beauty around, I knew this was the kind of place I always wanted."

Acting has always fascinated Rajeev, though he wasn't born to it; his father served in the army. "Like many children, at a young age I wanted to be an actor but didn't pursue it seriously. In fact, I was even selected by Jalandhar Doordarshan back then for a program but they needed two months of my time, which wasn't possible because of school studies. Because I missed the opportunity then, I was determined to prove that I could be an actor later."

After completing his education, he spent a fair bit of time understanding and honing the skills of filmmaking before taking the plunge into acting. Since he had no godfathers or connections in the industry, the breakthrough didn't come easily. "I auditioned for a television show where literally thousands of people had come to try their fate, but I was lucky to get selected", says Rajeev, who would probably have joined the army had his application form not reached late.

"My first instinct was not to do television because I wanted to do something bigger. But at some point I was honest with myself and thought it would be a good opportunity to prove myself. But it was a lot of hard work and I slogged a lot, as I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. It took some time and I think I was my confident best only towards the end of the series! We worked with some big names back then, like Smriti Irani, and AnuragBasu was the director", says the actor for whom Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat, the thriller series on television, was his first big exposure to the world of acting.

More television serials followed and later he also hosted the reality show, Sach Ka Samna. "It was a different ballgame compared to serials and very challenging because I had to be myself - the teleprompter wouldn't come to the rescue there!" he says. The nature of the show, where participants answer increasingly personal and embarrassing questions on national television meant that it was very taxing and draining. "It is easier to be a character on screen than to be yourself on camera - that's what I learnt from that show", says the actor, whose first brush with the silver screen came with the critically acclaimed film Aamir.

Television was getting a bit saturated for Rajeev when he started looking for alternatives. "Every show has a shelf life, after which you have to look at something else. Producers need to raise the bar for television programmes in India. Instead of stretching the programmes, it makes sense to give the audience a break and have seasons as they do in the west", says Rajeev, who was offered the script of Aamir, which had already been rejected by a couple of actors.

Considering the content, he instantly said yes' to the project, which also had names like Anurag Kashyap associated with it as creative producer. It was Kashyap and Vikas Behl (of Queen fame) who helped him sail through along with the director Rajkumar Gupta. "They were a great bunch of guys and many of us were making our debut, right from the director, music director (Amit Trivedi) and even the line producer." The film, about a young man being trapped by militants to carry out a bombing, was shot outdoors in Mumbai and many scenes were captured discreetly with cameras that were not so easy to spot. Rajeev was mentored by none other than Nawazuddin Siddique for the role. "One can write a book on how the film was made. Seeing my distraught face, people came to help me while scenes were being shot, not knowing we were shooting a film!" says Rajeev, who subsequently acted in films like Shaitan and Table No.21.

He also has a big fan following among women. During the course of our interview, a couple of families sat near our table and two fashionable ladies gave him that can-I-take-a picture-with-you look. Sure enough, they turned their thoughts into action after the interview.

Rajeev is married to Manjiri Kamtikar, who doesn't hail from the film industry. "The notion is that if you are an actor, it is easy to impress someone, but that wasn't the case when I met Manjirij; it was a lot of hard work convincing her!" The couple spends a fair amount of time at their Moira house.

They do organic farming and he likes to ride his bicycle around the village to buy groceries and run other errands. He has also formed a special bond with many of the senior citizens in Moira. "They are such lovely people; it gives me great pleasure to just spend time with them and share a drink or two. Although I've been living there only for a few years now, it feels like I've been a part of the village forever", he adds before we say our goodbyes and the fashionable ladies zero in with their cameras.