Actor Rajat Barmecha, who made his debut with Udaan in 2010, is receiving praise for his role in Kacchey Limbu. Rajat plays a cricketer in the film. The film is currently streaming on an OTT platform. Free Press Journal caught up with the actor for an exclusive interview.
Sharing his experience of working on the film, Rajat gushes, “I had a great time. From my first meeting with director Shubham Yogi, I knew he had something nice to tell. I connected with the script also because the film is about a brother-sister bond. I have a sister so I understood that part well. The conversations people are having after watching the film have been positive and welcoming. That makes me happy. My experience has been great.”
Elaborating how difficult it was for him to prepare for the role, Rajat says, “The character is different from who I am in real life. While I'm an extrovert and outspoken guy, my character Akash Nath internalises stuff more. I had to learn about Akash. This being a cricket film, I had to prepare a lot because I had not played cricket in many years. When this film came to me, I knew I had to get my basics very strong so that when I'm playing cricket on screen, it should look legit. We worked hard with a coach for more than two months. I wanted my stance and my techniques to be flawless."
He adds, "For almost 10 months, I worked out in the gym to get the body structure right. Physical training for anything is tough because it takes up a lot of your time and energy. I have a lot more respect for cricketers now. Also, there was a lot of work to do with the emotional part of it. Like I said, the character and I are so different that I had to sit with Yogi, to discuss various things."
Rajat is all praises for his on-screen sister Radhika Madan. He says, "Working with Radhika was fun. I believe with each actor you work with, you learn something new and different. She has a great energy and our methods to approach the character might be different but we really bonded over the brother-sister feeling. I have a sister and Radhika has a brother so we both knew what that felt like. The love was instant and we knew how to get that right."
After making a notable debut with Udaan, Rajat's Bollywood career paused and the OTT space rebooted it. “My journey has been full of ups and downs but I needed that to be who I am today. After Udaan, I expected a different initial few years which did not happen. There was a pause but the OTT space was beautiful, it gave me a lot of stability. That made me even more confident that I could be choosy as my film choices have been very selective. I don't want to do 10 projects and make a lot of money. I would like to do maybe two and satisfy myself. So, I think I was too young and I didn't have the wisdom, patience and the characteristics to handle that success in that stage of my life. So I'm glad that it didn't happen at that point. Today, I think I'm in a much better place to handle success. Everything happens for a reason and it happens when the time is right,” Rajat explains.
Rajat, who did not have any connections in the industry at the time of his debut, calls Udaan his 'film school'. Opening up about his journey, the actor says, "I feel so grateful and blessed to have got Udaan as my debut film. It was such a blessing. I never acted before that and I never did any workshop or acting course. I didn't come from a theater background. I am from Delhi and have a completely non-filmy background. I always believed that Udaan was my film school. I learnt a lot from Vikramaditya Motwani. There has also been a personal journey. In these 13 years, I learned a lot about myself. I got into yoga and spirituality and these things have made me calmer and a much better human being. It made me realise how acting is a part of my life and it's a beautiful part. But it's still a part of who Rajat Barmecha is because I'm so much more than that."
On a parting note, Rajat reveals the roles he's looking forward to doing in the future. "I get very excited when I'm playing someone I am not in real life. There are too many things I want to do that can push me out of my comfort space as an actor. I'm a happy, fun and positive guy so I would love to play a psycho killer. I would love to get into that zone and bring that character to life. So, I needed these 13 years to receive the kind of response I'm getting right now. I'm in a good space and happy with the offers that are coming after Kacchey Limbu," he concludes.
