Actor Rajniesh Duggall became an overnight sensation with the music video 'Chhod Do Aanchal' by Bombay Vikings, and then went on to star in films like '1920' and 'Wajah Tum Ho', among others. He will be next seen in Randeep Hooda's much-anticipated 'Inspector Avinash', wherein he'll play a cop.
In an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, Rajniesh revealed how being an actor was never a part of his plan and that he was always into cars and sports.
"It all started when I bumped into a leading choreographer at a wedding in Delhi. He told me that I should be in the entertainment business. At that time, I had not even thought of acting or modelling as a career. I was always into studies and sports, and I was looking forward to pursuing an MBA. But then, I did one show for him, and throughout the year, I ended up doing a lot of them, and I really enjoyed it," he shares.
He continues, "I then bagged my first music video in 2004. It was 'Chhod Do Aanchal' by Bombay Vikings, and that's when I realised that I wanted to be an actor. We had never even imagined that the video will be such a hit. I then started actively learning acting and I trained a lot with theatre veterans. I was also learning on the job."
Rajniesh marked his Bollywood debut as a male lead in the 2008 horror drama '1920', and since then, he has played a wide range of characters across genres. "Post my debut, I dabbled with theatre, films, and reality shows and took up every opportunity that I got. I even participated in 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 5' and won the season. So I have worked in television, movies, and now the web too, and it gives me more of a 360-degree space as an actor," he states.
The 'Ek Paheli Leela' actor is all set to be a part of Randeep Hooda's next titled 'Inspector Avinash'. In the series, he will be seen playing the role of a Special Task Force officer. Delving into the details of his role, Rajniesh says, "It's not a plain black-and-white role, but rather there are different shades of grey to my character. I have worked on my dialect, my body type, and overall personality to do justice to the role. The story is based on true events from 1998 and we have worked hard to recreate the era on screen."
The actor reveals that his grandfather was a cop and his uncle was a lieutenant colonel. "My maternal side has always been into defence services. So even though I couldn't carry on their legacy off-screen, I am happy that I could at least play it and feel the thrill and sense of responsibility with 'Inspector Avinash'," he avers.
On a parting note, Rajniesh states that he wants to play more grey roles going ahead. "I enjoy playing an anti-hero or a 'villain', as they call it, and I believe it gives you a lot of scope to perform as an actor. I also want to do projects which are sports or defence-related, and work with maverick filmmakers who offer stories which are relationship-based," he concludes.
