‘People Want To Kill Me’

‘My wife was disturbed. She didn’t know how to sleep next to me. It was traumatising.’
‘I remember having a frankie at a roadside stall, and a lady came to me and shouted, ‘Oh my God!”
‘I said, ‘No, no, no… I’m just an actor’.’

Akash Makhija is finally enjoying the spotlight after 14 long years of struggle.

His chilling performance as the rapist and murderer Babu in the series Raakh, has earned him praise from audiences as well the industry, making him one of the show’s most talked-about actors.

But the journey to this moment was far from easy. From travelling every day from Ulhasnagar, a far-flung suburb in Thane district, to Andheri, in northwest Mumbai, for auditions and voice-over jobs to survive, to facing countless rejections, Akash has seen the unglamorous side of the industry.

“Whenever I go out, someone asks to get a picture taken,” the 32-year-old actor tells Patcy N/Rediff after Raakh began streaming on Amazon Prime Video. “I didn’t get any of this when I first came. It took me 14 years.”

How has life changed after Raakh?

A lot has changed even though I have been working here for 14 years. But the greatest performances work only when the show does.

I got a call from Rajkummar Rao, I got a message from Arjun Kapoor, Karan Johar shared our work…

I remember having a frankie at a roadside stall, and a lady came to me and shouted, ‘Oh my God!’

I said, ‘No, no, no… I’m just an actor.’

Whenever I go out, someone asks to get a picture taken.

I didn’t get any of this when I first came.

It took me 14 years.

Since your role is so negative, are people upset with you?

I think everyone gets angry before getting a picture taken.

When I open Instagram, half the DMs are full of abuse because people had an emotional connection with the show. That’s appreciation. I did my job, and that’s why people are hating me.

Is it true that you’re getting death threats?

People want to kill me. When I open Instagram, I get DMs saying, ‘Kahi mil mat jaana, tujhe maar denge.’

I understand that they are saying it with emotion.

Death threats don’t mean they’ll kill me tomorrow. But everyone wants to kill me.

‘It was the most difficult audition in my 14-year journey’

You didn’t get this role on your first attempt. There were 800 auditions. Is that true?

Yes. 14 people were in the final shortlist. Out of those, three got selected.

I wasn’t the first choice for Babu. Someone else was playing Babu, but he had some problem, so I got the role.

It was the most difficult audition in my 14-year journey; and I had to do it multiple times.

‘Acting is all about pretending; you don’t have to live it in real life’

How did you prepare for Babu, who is such an evil character?

I’m not close to Babu in real life.

I have never smoked in my life, but had to do it for the show.

Acting is all about pretending; you don’t have to live it in real life.

I grew up in a boys’ school, and have seen brutal things in my life. I have travelled by local train for 13 years. People say you don’t know a city if you haven’t used its public

Whenever I approach a character, I work on their mentality. I felt Babu is not a transport.

filmi villain. He is a part of society. People become scared when his unpredictable nature comes out.

I kept that quality in my body language; he goes through three different emotions in a single moment.

The other thing is that he is a mixture of many animals. He is a lion, a snake, a horse, and a cow. He doesn’t have a human mentality. If a lion is hungry in the jungle, it won’t come and ask, ‘Can I eat you?’ It will just eat you.

He has no morals.

I kept Babu aligned with the director’s vision and my own understanding of the character.

‘My wife used to tell me that I had become very irritated’

Did you feel that you had imbibed any of Babu’s traits?

Yes. My wife used to tell me that I had become very irritated.

The way Babu looks, I didn’t even realise that I had started staring at people.

I used to use a lot of abusive words.

The good part is that immediately after that, I did Gram Chikitsalay Season 2, and my therapy happened on those sets.

Tell us about your interactions with Ramandeep because both of you are together throughout the series.

I think I’ve spent the maximum amount of time with him on set.

Our vanity vans were next to each other, so we would go through the lines together. He would get annoyed because I would talk to my then fiancée on the phone.

I got married recently, and he came for my wedding.

Your make-up was spot on.

All the credit goes to Kamleshdada and Joyce madam, the entire make-up and hair department, and the prosthetics department. The way they created the look was so realistic.

My character’s hand is burnt, so it used to take about two-and-a-half hours to do the make-up. Getting the bald cap ready took another two-and-a-half hours. So if I had a 6 am shoot, I had to wake up at 3 am.

When they would add the cuts and scars, I would start feeling like I was Babu.

How did your family react?

I think my wife’s reaction has gone viral.

On the first day, she started crying after watching the show. I started recording because I thought it was her first reaction after the wedding. After that, she abused me. The video I uploaded was edited. I can’t upload the real one.

She was disturbed. She didn’t know how to sleep next to me. It was traumatising.

My family has seen me working for so many years, so they understand. But their reaction was also intense. My mom said she cried a lot when Ali (Fazal, playing a cop) was hitting me.

Moms will be moms!

Are you afraid that you might get typecast?

Yes. But then, I have done Gram Chikitsalay too. That was a positive and optimistic character.

I have been working for 14 years, so casting directors know my calibre is not limited to this. We have seen many actors who have played negative roles and then they do completely different characters.

‘There were periods when I had no work’

Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in Ulhasnagar in a joint family of 10.

I did my schooling and initial college education there. Then, I pursued my Bachelor’s degree in National College, Bandra (north west Mumbai).

I started auditioning when I was 18.

When did you start acting?

When I was six, I had watched Hera Pheri and was fascinated by Paresh Rawal’s character, Baburao.

I used to imitate him in school. I was an extrovert. I never had stage fear. I wanted to become an actor since then. I used to perform stand-up skits in school.

When I won the Mr Freshers title in college, someone told me that auditions were held every day in Andheri. I used to leave home in the morning, and it took me around two-and-a-half hours to reach college. From college, I would catch a bus to go to Andheri for auditions.

I did a few episodes in Crime Patrol. There were periods when I had no work.

After one or two years, I started doing voice acting. I have dubbed for many actors and also worked on many animated shows.

I did an audio podcast with Amitabh Bachchan called Kaali Awaazein for Audible.

Were your parents okay with you wanting to become an actor?

They were excited! Like Zakir Khan says, ‘Parents are not against your dreams. They just don’t want to see you go hungry.’

I started earning from my acting gigs.

When I got my first acting job, I played a junior artist on a serial on Doordarshan. I was paid Rs 2,000. That was the first time I felt I had earned money.

You have done more than 100 ads…

Yes. I used to do whatever work I could get.

I even went to Radio Mirchi to become an RJ because I didn’t have work for a long time. But I could not take it up because I wouldn’t have been able to go for auditions.

‘You get rejected on a daily basis’>

Just how bad is the struggle to become an actor?

Very difficult. You get rejected on a daily basis.

People say they are looking for someone with good hair or clear skin. Initially, it hurts a lot. Then you realise that this is the nature of the field.

I remember when I got a Rajshri film, I received a message saying that my part wasn’t working because, after the interval, they needed the character to be more mature. They just sent me a message while I was on another set. I was speechless!

I had auditioned and gotten selected. I even did a six or seven day workshop with them.

For another project, I was told that our stars didn’t match. They had checked my horoscope.

‘I’ve spent many years sitting at home’

Did you ever want to quit?

Yes, every three or four months. But not anymore.

It’s important to keep working. Even being on a set for one day gives you confidence. Sitting at home doesn’t help.

I used to go for auditions without thinking about whether I’d get the role or not. Most of the time, I got rejected.

What’s next?

I’m getting a lot of calls, but nothing is on paper yet.

I’m waiting for good stories to come my way.

At the same time, I want to work.

I want to keep earning appreciation through my work.

I’ve spent many years sitting at home.

I don’t want to do that anymore.

I want to keep working.

Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff

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