Rajesh Sharma, who’s been a regular fixture in the director’s recent films, discusses the beginning of their collaboration
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 7, 2019)

After acting in films like Parineeta, Khosla Ka Ghosla and Ishqiya, Rajesh Sharma hit pay dirt for his portrayal of investigating officer NK in Raj Kumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica, which had Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan as leads. For the actor, the fame came as a huge surprise as he had bagged the role quite unexpectedly.

“I was in Delhi for a show as I wasn’t doing a lot of films back then and I got an audition call for a film. I went in without any prep, met Raj Kumar’s assistant and auditioned,” Rajesh reveals, adding that on his first day of the shoot, Raj Kumar told him that he had fought with the producers to get the actor on board as the makers wanted a known face. “It gave me a sense of responsibility and brought the best out of me.”

Soon after, he reunited with the director for the Emraan Hashmi-starrer dark-comedy, Ghanchakkar. “There’s a back-story to my character in the film, which was conceptualised with a different actor as the story demanded someone in the age bracket of 65-70. Raj Kumar eventually got the age down to 45 years and cast. His faith in me is heartening,” the actor smiles.

Next up, Rajesh will pop up in the filmmaker’s Arjun Kapoor-starrer India’s Most Wanted, which chronicles the capture of a dreaded terrorist without a single bullet being fired. “Like many people, even I hadn’t heard of the mission and was surprised to discover that it took place in our country. It’s a stamp on the bravery and efficiency of our police, who are perceived negatively. This film proves that,” he asserts, adding that he plays Rajesh Singh, a senior Intelligence Bureau officer from Bihar in the film. “It’s based on a real-life character, but I’ve approached it in my unique style,” he signs off.