‘Some things and powers are just not in your control.’
Taaruk Raina is enjoying his OTT fame, thanks to several shows like Songs Of Paradise, Rangeen, The Waking Of A Nation, Mismatched and The Broken News.
He looks back at the one that’s challenged him recently, and tells Subhash K Jha, “When you read it (the Rangeen script) and you’re playing a gigolo, you’re a bit sceptical, but then you know that it’s not about that and the sensitivity it is made in.”
How do you view your journey so far?
My journey has been very interesting and an absolute rollercoaster.
It went from doing theatre to being a television host to doing YouTube to doing voice work to music to acting…
It’s like a massive melting pot of things.
It’s been very eventful and a massive learning experience.
What brought you to the gigolo’s part in Amazon Prime Video’s Rangeen?
What brought me to Rangeen was an audition call.
Then I had the pleasure of reading the script and was so excited by it.
It was such a unique story and especially the part I got to play.
When you read it and you’re playing a gigolo, you’re a bit sceptical, but then you know that it’s not about that and the sensitivity it is made in.
Were you nervous playing a sex worker?
Yes. I thought I needed to look a certain way.
I started researching on how they keep themselves, groom themselves, behave, what are the ethics and rules that they follow, what they are like.
Are they impersonal?
I started watching documentaries.
It was written in a way where it was dealt with a lot of sensitivity.
So your nervousness vanished?
Yes. It became incredibly fun to play this part, especially (coming) from the series Waking Of A Nation… I’ve been very lucky to get that opportunity.
I shot Rangeen almost a year and a half or two before Waking Of A Nation.
Both shows could not have been more different.
As actors, that’s our job. We’re supposed to get into different skins of different characters.
Getting into different skins and owning them and having fun, I feel like I’ve been blessed.
I’m very grateful to have gotten these opportunities.
There are a lot of people who haven’t been as lucky.
It’s a tough city, you know, and a tough industry to crack.
Some things and powers are just not in your control.
What do you seek as an actor?
I seek something different from every character I play.
Anything that makes the character identify with me is a lot of fun.
The more different parts I get to play, that’s what I seek.
I want to do more as an actor, play more characters and explore my range and improve it.
I just did an independent film called Songs of Paradise for Amazon Video Prime.
That apart, I have a lot of music coming out and am excited about that as well.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
