Actor Ranndeep R Rai on exploring new shades in Anupamaa, as he swaps his chocolate-boy image for a layered role
Ranndeep R Rai
It has been over a decade for Ranndeep R Rai in the television industry. While he has seen his fair share of ups and downs, the actor in him has only forged ahead with conviction, leaving the rest up to God, he shares. He became a popular name after his stint in Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai. He followed it up with Balika Vadhu 2 and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2, though both shows didn’t fare as well as expected. When Rai was offered a role in Anupamaa, he says he had no reason to say no, but plenty of reasons to say yes to the Rajan Shahi production.
“It was a grey character, something I had never done and no one imagined me doing. I was always cast in the boy-next-door or lover boy roles because of my soft looks. This was a chance to experience something new. Secondly, I always wanted to join Director’s Kut Productions because they have been known to deliver remarkable shows like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. And Anupamaa is the biggest show in the country right now, so I agreed to come on board,” shares Rai, adding that the production house didn’t really give him much time to make a decision as they wanted to lock the cast as soon as possible.
Ask him if he was concerned about being stereotyped, and Rai is quick to share that the image of chocolate boy is not something he concerns himself with as long as filmmakers and producers can envision him in different characters. The actor says, “People should have the vision to cast me in different roles like Rajan Shahi sir did. If only two or three more people think in that direction, [no one would get stereotyped]. Shahid Kapoor changed his image after Kaminey [2009] as he also had a chocolate-boy face, not that I am comparing myself to him, but I wish to point out that a cute face can also show aggression.”
On the sidelines
While auditioning for different roles, Ranndeep R Rai has made plans to produce a show for YouTube. The actor shares that before Anupamaa came his way, he had been working with content creators and writers to work out a show for the content-sharing platform. However, Rai has put things on hold until his cameo in the Rupali Ganguly-starrer is wrapped up.
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