Actor Rajeev Khandelwal, seen as an antagonist in the film Bloody Daddy, says with some training he could very well be part of a Punjabi film

Mona

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Summer started with a bang for actor Rajeev Khandelwal. An ardent traveller, he was to make another trip to Ladakh but changed plans overnight realising one could get visa on arrival in Jordan. The next day he was off to his long-awaited destination enjoying the mud baths and floating in the Dead Sea!

Closer home, June saw the release of the film Bloody Daddy and his fans appreciated him getting into the antagonist’s shoes. Happy at the feedback, Rajeev reveals how he said no to the film when the director Ali Abbas Zafar first broached the idea. “I wasn’t sure if I was ready to play an antagonist. My fans have seen me in a certain mould. Ali insisted that makes the film a must for me because one should always do the unexpected.”

Tough going

Its wasn’t an easy ride though as right before an important action sequence, Rajeev tripped and injured his knee with the doctor recommending a surgery. “Since that was not an option immediately, I wound up in high knee braces to complete the three-day sequence.” While many see acting as a glamorous job, Rajeev insists, “Usually people think that actors sit in their big vanity vans and body doubles do the stunts. The reality is different though.”

Little before this he played Dr. Shekhar Tripathi in Salaam Venky, which he labels as another heartening experience. “It was a lovely role of a doctor, but in Bloody Daddy it is totally opposite. My next that comes out this year is entirely in a different league,” says the actor, who would be seen in a Dharmatic series next!

Twenty one years in industry, Rajeev has kept himself relevant through his stint on television, films and now OTT. “That is the way of life, every five or six years things change, as long as one has talent and is ready to put in effort it’s all good.” What amuses him though is the current social media bandwagon. “Earlier people’s work was seen, now social media followers have taken precedence,” he laughs.

Over with OTT binge phase, Rajeev keeps his cinema outings for special films. “I don’t watch many films, even lesser series now. I have been through my days of spending days binging on one series after another, and now stay away lest I be pulled in that loop again.”

TRAVEL BUG

Travel, however, is something he loves. Forty one countries ticked, his target is to complete a hundred. “I love going to different places, meeting new people, establishing bonds where no one has an idea who you are… That gives me a high! He is as fond of exploring India and has checked out almost every state. I love my time in Himachal. My best travels however have been to the North East part of our country, and Leh-Ladakh.” His another vice, or call it a virtue, is organic farming. He has a home in Goa with a farm, even in his Mumbai home he grows fruits and vegetables.

Rajeev also has a special connection with Punjab. His father being in the Army, he has done part of schooling from Chandigarh and Jalandhar. “We lived for a while in Chandigarh, our home was in Sector 38 then. In Jalandhar Cantt I spent three years of my later school years. I had friends who taught me Punjabi well. “With some training I could very well be part of a Punjabi film,” says Rajeev. Looking forward!