Meet Chintan: The man behind Farooq’s quiet rebellion
CI always wanted people to recognise me. Even though I am happy right now, I want people to see more of me. CHINTAN RACHCHH, Actor
hintan Rachchh’s portrayal of the closeted gay man, Farooq, in the recent web series Class, has earned him rave reviews and admiration from the audience. And the actor isn’t taking this newfound popularity for granted one bit.
“I always wanted people to recognise and appreciate me,” shares Rachchh, adding, “I am not the type of artiste who says they don’t give a sh*t about people. When someone comes to me for a selfie, I make sure it happens.”
This kind of reception from the viewers, he says, has only fuelled his hunger to scale newer heights: “Even though I am happy right now, I want people to see more of me.”
Calling this a “dream come true”, the Gujarat-born actor says, “I always wanted to be an actor. I started dreaming about becoming one in class VI. This is why I got involved in theatre groups. I remember, I even did a play between my physics and maths exams in class X1!”
Farooq’s quiet rebellion in the show, he reveals, mirrors his own in many ways. For instance, when Rachchh dropped out of engineering and informed his parents he wanted to pursue a career in acting, he received the “silent treatment” from his father for three months. He did, however, go back to engineering to complete it. “It was in my third year, when I got the role of Farooq for Class, and it was truly a dream come true,” he recalls.
Overwhelmed by the response that the show and his character have been receiving, Rachchh adds, “I expected the reception to be good, but I didn’t anticipate this kind of a response. The number of people sending messages to the creators and asking for a Farooq-Dhruv (his love interest in the show) spin-off, is bizarre. I have an entire diary you can make a script of. It could become a prequel! I think the creators did a good job of adapting Elite (Spanish series on which the show is based) for Indian audiences, which is why people liked it so much.”