Raghav Juyal, actor and dancer, has had a career full of career opportunities that have been unpredictable. He gained fame initially due to his distinct dance skills on DID aka Dance India Dance. Thereafter, he became one of the most liked hosts of TV. But now, he has become an actor who doesn’t shy away from experimenting. After shocking the masses with his performance in Kill, his hilarious character in The Ba**ds of Bollywood, Raghav is now taking things in a different direction and trying his hand at full-fledged comedy.
Speaking to Hindustan Times in an interview during the promotions of his upcoming film Bhai Tera Star Hai, the actor talked about his entire journey, lessons he has learned in the last 15 years, his deep-rooted love for his culture and more importantly, why he believes that people connect with stories that are honest, rather than overnight successes.
The journey is what creates a star
Raghav Juyal believes that people support him because they have seen every part of his career, including his struggles. “I am a star because of my journey. People have seen my journey. They have witnessed the falls and setbacks, and then watched me rebuild, break down, and build up again. That’s what matters,” Juyal explains.
He also says that Shah Rukh Khan had the support of audiences and that they saw his journey from the beginning which made the megastar he is today. “And that’s how I think it happened with Shah Rukh Khan sir too. They have seen the journey. The journey makes a star. That is important”
This connection becomes clear whenever he meets fans during promotions. People, especially mothers and children, often get emotional when they see him. “When people cry, it feels like I am their child. I feel like the kid of every household. When I entered the industry, everyone treated me like their own kid,” he adds.
Moving beyond auditions and refusing formulas
Raghav Juyal acknowledges that success in Kill has definitely made a difference in his professional career. For many years he was attending auditions, now he finally feels that he can start picking the right scripts and stop proving himself. “I had been auditioning for 15 years,” he laughs. “Now I am saying, ‘Don’t take a kid’s life!’”
However, even with new opportunities coming into play, he has absolutely no intention of being trendy and repeating already proven recipes. “I am not against formula films. I never say, ‘Oh, this recipe helped somebody, let me use it too.’ I read my scripts very well. I analyse how powerful the story is, how much substance there is,” he adds.
According to him, all his projects have been picked very carefully. After comedy, people will see Raghav playing a character in Paradise opposite to Nani, an actor of Telugu film industry. Every time he wants to be different. He says, “In my lineup, there won’t be any project when people say, ‘This character was like this in the previous movie and this one is the same.’”
Staying grounded through his roots
No matter how hectic the schedule may be, Raghav Juyal always makes sure that he goes back to his hometown Dehradun every chance he gets. He says, “I think going back to your roots is very essential to keep yourself grounded. If you’re not being yourself and you are not able to live according to yourself, then you are not successful. Just because you have money does not mean you’re successful. More honest and truthful you are to yourself, the better it is.”
He thinks that spending his childhood in the mountains has made an impact on his personality and attitude towards work as well. He does not mind long shooting schedules and hard work, which he loves to do during free time as well. “I won’t get burned out. I have a lot of energy and I can shoot continuously for about two to three days and then immediately go on a trek,” he concludes.
Casting and release information
Raghav Juyal will be leading the upcoming film Bhai Tera Star Hai. In addition to him, the ensemble cast includes Sanjay Kapoor, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Niharika N, Niki Aneja Walia, Vikalp Mehta, Naser Al Azzeh, Vineeth Beep Kumar, Dev B Agrawal, Barkha Singh, Vivan Bhatena, Tina Desai and Parvathy Omanakuttan.
Recently, the makers released the new song titled Aankhon Se Tune 2.0 that is a remake of the song from the movie Ghulam starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji. Originally, it was sung by Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik. The song has been recreated and composed by Lijo George. Featuring singing from Dev Negi and Palak Muchhal, the recreated song has been written by Sameer Anjaan and Mohsin Shaikh and has been filmed against dreamy rain-soaked backdrop.
The film has been directed and written by Vivek B. Agrawal and Sudipto Sarkar respectively while the producers of the film are Avantika Hari, Sunil Rupani and Vivek B. Agrawal. The film arrives in theatres on July 30.