LIVING HIS DREAM!
Rag Mayur shares his journey from IT to films
Born and raised in Hyderabad, Rag Mayur, after getting an undergraduate degree in Engineering, went to USA for his Masters and came back to India to work with an IT major in Bangalore. “But I felt something was missing!” he says. “My strong interest in dramatics throughout my academic career kept me inclined towards showbiz and writing,” he reveals, adding that this prompted him to join a theatre group (Bangalore Little Theatre) in Bengaluru. “I was part of several theatre plays and it made me understand the basics and approach to acting,” he shares.
Meanwhile his blogs on film and reviews enabled him to be a critic for a website. All this gave him the impetus to direct a short film in Hindi, but it didn’t give him any recognition.
“Since I was doing multiple things, thought it was time I turned my focus on one thing, and I decided to pursue acting seriously,” he explains.
Mayur was part of a short, Rama Kanavemira, that went viral. That propelled him to join a course in an acting school in Puducherry in 2017. Soon after the course, he gave hundreds of auditions but luck did not favour him.
“Then I saw a Facebook post for an audition for a film directed by Praveen
Kandregula. It was bankrolled by the renowned Raj and DK. Much to my delight, I starred in the film Cinema Bandi, which won great acclaim,” he says, adding that the rest is history.
After the success of the film, he quit his IT job to pursue an acting career. Mayur says while acting school made him discover his acting capabilities and shed his inhibitions, theatre taught him fundamentals like the right approach to acting.
The actor is living his dream! Mayur’s next, a web series, is titled Modern Love Hyderabad, a six part rom-com anthology, based on the weekly column of the same name published by The New York Times.
“It shows six diverse stories exploring different facets and forms of love rooted in the city’s unique setting. Venkatesh Maha directed my series,” says the actor. “These six heart-warming stories (to be streamed on Amazon Prime on July 8) bring out various shades and emotions of love through the eyes of Hyderabad,” he adds. Mayur plays an urban youngster who is sorted in his life. The drama unfolds after the leading lady (Komalee Prasad) and Mayur fall in love.
WHILE ACTING SCHOOL MADE HIM DISCOVER HIS ACTING CAPABILITIES AND SHED HIS INHIBITIONS, THEATRE TAUGHT HIM FUNDAMENTALS LIKE THE RIGHT APPROACH TO ACTING. MODERN LOVE HYDERABAD SHOWS SIX DIVERSE STORIES EXPLORING DIFFERENT FACETS AND FORMS OF LOVE ROOTED IN THE CITY’S UNIQUE SETTING