“If I had to succumb to the ways of the commercial film world, it would have happened long ago. I have been around for 20 years in this industry. I don’t think it is in my DNA.”

Rajeev Khandelwal took the audience by surprise with his recent outing as a baddie in ‘Bloody Daddy’. However, the one thing that has not changed from his journey starting with ‘Aamir’ (2008) to now, is his craving to stay away from clichés – in roles, movies, or just the way he wants to live his life.

“I don’t take myself or for that matter, life seriously. It’s meant to be lived and enjoyed to the fullest,” admits the actor. Rajeev sits down with us, for a heart-to-heart, by the sea at Marine Drive, pausing only to take in the light breeze. Excerpts.

While ‘Bloody Daddy’ has received a lot of appreciation, Rajeev almost did not do the film. He reveals, “I just could not see myself in the role of an antagonist, because years ago, a director friend of mine was in discussion with me for the remake of ‘Sleepless Nights’ (‘Bloody Daddy’ is an adaptation of the film), in which I was to play Shahid Kapoor’s character. I let go of the project as he wanted me to produce it, too. So, when ‘Bloody Daddy’ was offered to me, I wondered whether I would be convincing enough. I took that leap of faith when director Ali Abbas Zafar said that the joy of making me do something different is much bigger than having any actor who is an obvious choice for the character. So, it was not a planned move.”

‘A star is somebody who shines bright and is accepted across mediums. He has an audience waiting to see him everywhere. However, today it is usually an outcome of a PR overdrive. You are made a star’

‘It’s not only about visibility and grabbing eyeballs but also about satiating your creative hunger. I can’t agree to do a bad script just to become a part of a big setup, a camp or to be visible. I wouldn’t have left everything (the stardom he attained on TV) if I wanted to conform to the popular norm’

After the success of ‘Aamir’, the audience expected Rajeev to follow it up with multiple projects. However, he took up far and few projects. Ask him if he regrets it and the actor says, “Not many people know that after ‘Aamir’, I had signed a commercial film by a top filmmaker and even shot for the poster. It didn’t take off and I ended up wasting a year and a half on it. But I don’t have any regrets because it was my choice to stick around to do that film. Following that, I declined several commercial films because I didn’t like the scripts. I would rather be seen in a short film, which people find worthy of their 10 minutes and appreciate my work. It’s not only about visibility and grabbing eyeballs but also about satiating your creative hunger. I can’t agree to do a bad script just to become a part of a big setup, a camp or to be visible. I wouldn’t have left everything (the stardom he attained on TV) if I wanted to conform to the popular norm.”

‘I don’t see transitioning from TV to films as any kind of graduation for actors. The only aspect that separates the two is the box-office numbers’

Not the one to be swayed by stardom, Rajeev is known to be grounded. He says, “I had already tasted commercial success during my stint on TV, hence, I didn’t crave it. If commercial success means people recognizing, loving, whistling, and cheering for you, I had seen all of that with my TV show and I left it willingly. I could have remained a slave to this idea of success or moved on to new things, which might not get me the same amount of adulation but made me happy as an actor. I was craving something else which I got to taste with ‘Aamir’.”

‘I am not fond of too much attention. When people tell me that I am grounded, I feel that’s because they have come across 10 people who aren’t. So, I don’t read too much into it. At the end of the day, all of us are regular people trying to run our kitchens. I want adulation for the characters I play, and not for me’