‘Every Delhi guy has a huge SRK hangover’

Tahir Raj Bhasin shot to fame with the Rani Mukerji-starrer Mardaani (2014), in which he played the villain. The actor, who garnered appreciation for his performance, then went on to play a negative character yet again in Force 2 (2016). Now, the young actor has made his debut in the digital medium with a web series.

“Danish Aslam (director) came to me with a concept about a regular guy in his late 20s, going through a quarter-life crisis, and who is stuck in his job and marriage, and just wants to get the hell out of it. I quite related with the concept because so many of my friends and family members in their late 20s are going through this. It was different from the characters I played earlier. Plus, my character was named Rahul so the SRK fanboy in me said yes for it,” says Tahir.

Talking about his role model Shah Rukh Khan, he adds, “I think every Delhi guy who comes to Mumbai has a huge Shah Rukh hangover. He has been so good with the variety of roles he has played in his career. He started out playing dark characters. So there has been that connect too.”

Ask him if he is only offered negative or twisted characters in movies, he says, “My character in the web series is also twisted in the sense, it’s not a typical Bollywood story where a boy meets girl and they live happily ever after. It’s more about today’s day and age, although (story) told in an entertaining way. However, sometimes it’s difficult to play simpler roles than playing a negative role.”

The actor further talks about the perks of working for a digital show. “The digital medium gives you the license to talk about many things as compared to movies. It is quicker than shooting for a film. Films are also shot in different locations, and you may not shoot in a linear fashion. As far as web series are concerned, it was shot in 21 days. It’s the closest experience to theatre but on camera,” says Tahir.

The digital medium gives you the license to talk about many things as compared to movies. It is quicker than shooting for a film... It’s the closest experience to theatre but on camera. TAHIR RAJ BHASIN, ACTOR