When Rahul Sharma bagged the Student of the Year 2 project, he realized that it’s always good to believe in yourself and your potentials. Today, with a handful of big banner projects in hand, the 29-year-old actor feels content and is happy that he did everything possible to make his dream come true of becoming an actor. In Rahul’s opinion, success comes when you start analyzing your strengths and weaknesses and work towards improving every day. Rahul still does the same and thinks learning is a never-ending process. In a detailed conversation with TMM, he looks back at his journey.
When did you decide to take acting as a career?
I was a backbencher in school and every time someone asked me, what you want to become in life? I simply used to say, “Main to hero banuga aur Mumbai jaunga”. From school to home, it sued to be a matter of laughter, but I had made up my mind to be an actor. Like every small town guy or a middle-class boy, I had big dreams in my eyes, but I have noticed that with time people forget their dreams, but I was exceptional. I never forgot my dreams and did everything possible to polish my dancing and acting skills. When I was in 9th standard, I had joined dance classes and became a choreographer in my hometown city Panipat. I choreographed for almost 4 to 5 years because that was the only thing I could do at that time in my city. And my motive was to take the routes of dancing and slowly move to acting and become a full-package and also set the mindset of my family that I am going to be an actor soon. After that, I went to college and my journey to theatre started in Delhi and I used to travel to New Delhi from Panipat after attending college. After a few months, I shifted to Delhi and completed my theater course. I did plays and street plays and got to know my capabilities and talents, worked on myself, and then in 2012 I decided to move to Mumbai to live my dreams and later my dream turned into reality, and here I am!
With so many shows, advertisements, web series, and big banner movies, what has been the biggest learning in the acting world till date?
The biggest learning in the acting world is that you got to know about yourself, your capabilities, and your talent limits. Because as an actor, I have worked everywhere and I have realized that you need to know your strengths and weaknesses, to grow in the right direction.
How did you bag the Student of the Year 2 project and how was the experience of working under the mentorship of Karan Johar?
One of my friends told me about the audition of SOTY 2. He said there’s an audition going on and he pushed me to go for it, but somewhere my conscience didn’t allow me. I thought let me wait for a casting director to call me for an audition and very soon I got a call from a casting team for SOTY 2 audition and I gave the audition and got shortlisted. Later they called me for the final look test and after sometime I got a call from the production house and they told me that you are finalized for the featured cast and I was super happy and excited to work with Dharma production and Tiger Shroff. It was a lifetime experience to work with Tiger Shroff, Aditya Seal, Punit Malhotra sir, and the action direction Shyam Kaushal sir. I remember when we were shooting in Dehradun and there was an action sequence, where Tiger hits me and I fall right at the centre of a wooden bench. Initially, I was scared to do this, but then Shyam sir gave me a boost and it was shot in one take. Everyone was so happy, right from Punit sir to Shyam sir, they all appreciated me for my perfect shot and it gave me a boost too.
What is the most interesting part of being an actor that pushes you to perform better than before?
Foremost, I am living my passion and hobby as a dream job, which automatically gives me a kick. Apart from that, the whole idea of building a character and then living it for a period of time, excites me, and somewhere I learn something new about myself with every new project and character. There are characters that are not easy to live, but then I push myself and say ‘Common man you can do it,’ and things become easy for me.
What’s your favourite genre of movies and any specific director you wish to work with?
I love action and romantic movies. As a person, I am very romantic and when I read romantic scripts, I always end up imagining my wife and my performance enhances and I guess all this happens because of pure love between us. And as far as action movies are concerned, if I get a chance to do action movies, I will definitely do. For me, every director is equally talented and hard-working, so any sort of exposure is good to build the castle of success that I dream of.
If you have to choose between movies or web series, which one will you pick and why?
Of course, movies, because you know the aura and fame behind movies And since childhood, I have grown up watching movies and got inspired too. I also feel that movies extend a positive impact on society and give a meaningful message to the audience. But, if I look at the trend, I can’t ignore web series, because the youth and younger generation are now addicted to them. As an actor, I feel the best thing about web series is that a lot of actors are getting a chance to showcase their talent to a larger audience.
What are your future plans in the acting industry?
I‘m the next big thing in the entertainment industry. Chahe vo Bollywood ho ya phir Hollywood!!
RAPID FIRE
Three words that define you: Prudent, honest, and diligent
Social media for you: I can promote myself and get updates from the world
Fitness for you: My everything
Love for you is: My wife and son
Favourite holiday destination: Kedarnath and Maldives
The most used app on your phone: Facebook and Instagram
Favourite food: Punjabi
3 things you can’t live without acting, family, and Mahadev ki bhakti
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