‘There was never any dream or intent of being a star’

The ability to move between mediums and stories is more important than chasing stardom, said actor Rajeev Khandelwal, who rose to fame on television and later made a mark for himself in Hindi cinema with films such as ‘Aamir’ and ‘Shaitan’.

The 47-year-old actor currently stars in the Ali Abbas Zafar-directed action thriller ‘Bloody Daddy’, starring Shahid Kapoor. Khandelwal plays a corrupt police officer in the movie, which is currently streaming on ‘JioCinema’.

“The word ‘star’ - I have no such word in my dictionary. There was never any dream or intent of being a star. In the commercial world, it is believed that everyone’s ultimate goal should be to be a star. Now, my ultimate goal is not to become a star. I’m already a star in my head because I’m doing all mediums,” Khandelwal told the top news agency PTI in an interview.

By mediums, the actor means the various platforms for entertainment - television, films, OTT and theatre - and Khandelwal said that he has done it all.

The Jaipur-born actor has a dedicated fanbase who have been following Khandelwal’s career right from his first role as Sujal Garewal in the popular TV soap ‘Kahiin Toh Hoga’ and later as Rajveer Singh Shekhawat in another TV hit, ‘Left Right Left’.

He has also hosted ‘Sacch Ka Saamna’ and starred in web shows like ‘Haq Se’ and ‘Coldd Lassi Aur Chicken Masala’.

“Give me a name who could do television, films, host a show, do OTT and who could also do theatre? So, for me, that is big. It may not be rated as big by industry standards because that’s a different world. There, box office numbers are bigger,” he said.

Khandelwal said that he already had ‘commercial stardom’ with his TV debut, which made him a household name.

“But I left it. And if the idea was to actually go into that zone, I would’ve immediately attempted another lover boy character because that is what was working big time for me. I never attempted that,” he said.

The actor recalled that his first film ‘Aamir’ happened to him because others had said no.

“When Raj Kumar Gupta (the director) approached me, I was told that the role was turned down by a couple of actors. And I said, ‘Okay’. I never thought I’m doing films. It was just another project for me. Immediately after that, I did ‘Sach Ka Saamna’ again on

television. So, if you look at my career, I have made choices not because I’ve planned or intended to become a so-called star.”

Among his fans, it is a common complaint that Khandelwal is not seen enough on screen and the actor admitted that he hasn’t ‘reciprocated’ the love he has received from his admirers.

“I would love to pay back all the love that I have been getting from people. But I cannot do things just because I should be doing things. If I get projects that excite me enough to kind of do back-to-back things, then probably I will,” he said.

It is often said about the entertainment industry that out of sight is out of mind for an actor, but Khandelwal said that he is not worried about being written off.

“I know that they will write me off, so please write me off. I want to start fresh. I want to feel that charge every time. Am I worthy of it? Am I good enough for me to kind of get back into their hearts? Every time you achieve that, you feel great. And when you fail to achieve that, you say, ‘Alright, next time’. Next time, try harder. It’s just a fun thing and that’s how life will pass, I guess,” the actor said. Next on the actor’s plate is a series called ‘Showtime’, which is backed by Karan Johar’s digital venture ‘Dharmatic’.