Rahul Khanna, who was in Kolkata recently to shoot for Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s new film Lost — costarring Yami Gautam and Neil Bhoopalam — was excited to return to work post the pandemic. We caught up with the actor — known to be reclusive and fiercely private — who spoke to us about everything, from the factors he considers before taking up a film project to how the pandemic has changed the industry. Excerpts:

It is sooo exciting! I have been interacting and rehearsing with Aniruddha via Zoom for several months. We met for the first time in person only recently. It was the culmination of all these months of work, and we were finally able to kick off this project. Meeting Aniruddha was like meeting an old friend I had never met! Given the Coronavirus situation, we are on a really tight schedule, trying to make the most efficient use of time.

I definitely feel there is more work now. In fact, there is a broader spectrum of work for actors. But I am reserving my comments on the quality. There are some high quality pieces on OTT and stuff that is not really of the same standard. I feel there is a lot of scope for quality correction in everything. I understand there is a demand for content and I do understand that people are rushing to get more films out there quickly. The pandemic has set everyone back and there is an economic factor at play here. But, yes, there is probably some space for better quality.

There are several factors that work for me. The role and ultimately my connection with the material and the people working on it. I need to have that connection and respect for the people who are making the project and their vision. Finally, I need to have enough confidence in the director and the producer that they are going to stay true to that vision. It is my safety cocoon. Once I find that right connect, everything falls into place.

Aniruddha shared some research material with me, some references to YouTube clips. We watched a few Iranian films because he wants to achieve something similar visually. I hadn’t seen Pink, so I watched that, too. I also watched Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk and Nayak.

We are all trying to regain some level of composure after what we have been through. But the pandemic is not over by any stretch of imagination. Now is the time to be respectful of the situation by not being cavalier in our attitude towards safety protocols. We have to move with extreme caution.