Rajeev Bhardwaj on working with Subhash Ghai: ‘It’s my biggest breakthrough’

Mumbai : Actor Rajeev Bhardwaj, who is known for his stint in ‘Crime Patrol’, ‘Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev’, etc, expressed gratitude to filmmaker Subhash Ghai, and said being selected by the showman as his hero for such a powerful role, is his biggest breakthrough.

Rajeev is seen in Subhash Ghai’s first television show ‘Janaki’.

On working with the director of movies like ‘Pardes’, ‘Taal’ and ‘Yaadein’, Rajeev said: “Being selected by the showman as his hero for such a powerful role, is my biggest breakthrough. Subhash ji’s team had seen a lot of actors, their videos, and auditions but they were not getting what they wanted.”

“This role has a huge range of emotions. They needed a performer with a good understanding of emotions who could carry this lead role from a young age to old age. Then his creative team saw one of my women’s day Ad films and liked my performance. I got a call confirming if I am a theatre actor who plays Chandragupta in ‘Chanakya’, and I said yes,” he said. 

He went on to say: “They saw a few other video clips of mine, and finally, I was called to Mukta Arts office for a meeting with Subhash ji. Until then, I was unaware of what exactly the role was. There was suspense over it. That one-hour meeting, and long conversations with him, was one of my most enriching experiences ever.”

Rajeev said: “Basically, he wanted to understand me as a person, as he himself said, ‘A good actor should also be a good person; that’s our main requirement.’ Getting narration about the whole story and the role from Subhash sir was a very memorable experience.”

“Then Subhash ji asked me how I liked the story and this particular role. I was simply blown away by the variations and range of the character of ‘Ashwini Prasad’. I was so eager to play it. Finally, he revealed that Ashwini (Jaanki’s father) is our hero and you, Rajeev, fit this role perfectly. Welcome on board,” added the actor.

Rajeev shared that every big opportunity is also a big responsibility, and hence being selected by Subhash Ghai for hero’s role in his first-ever TV show was a very happy development for him.

Ghai’s compliments mean the world to Rajeev.

“It’s been a phenomenal experience. He is very clear in communicating his story briefly and what he wants from me as an actor and the whole creative team. He observes and likes honesty and dedication in work and gives open feedback. He has an eye for details. I was extremely surprised to know he has been watching every single episode before and after edits,” he said.

Rajeev added: “It was really heartening to know how much he liked my performance. He openly appreciated it, and complimented me in front of the whole unit for the range of emotions I portrayed for the role and the consistency in my performance. We have shot more than 120 episodes already.