Rahul Bhat: Taking a sabbatical was stupid; I don’t intend to repeat the mistake

Rahul Bhat as Sameer in the television serial of the early 2000s, Heena, instantly connected with the audience. The show had a successful five year run and as soon as it got over the actor joined the Hindi film industry with Yeh Mohabbat Hai (2002) and Nayee Padosan (2003). However, the actor then took a decade-long break before making a comeback with Ugly (2014), and followed it up with Fitoor (2016), Jai Gangaajal (2016), among others. Rahul, who will be seen next in Daas Dev, confesses that staying away from acting for so long was a ‘stupid’ decision. He feels he could have progressed a long way, career-wise.

“Being an actor, I understand out of sight means out of mind but call it my arrogance or stupidity I decided to take a break. I was not happy with the offers that were coming to me. Also, I was 19 when I did Heena. The show was a hit; I became the highest paid actor on TV and all that. Then I was offered Yeh Mohabbat Hai and then Nayee Padosan happened. The films were also moderately successful and I felt like ‘yes’ I have arrived. So I guess fame got into my head. I am from Kashmir; any actor from that part of the country who does well in showbiz thinks that he has become Amitabh Bachchan. I was no different,” says Rahul talking about what made him take a sabbatical in between. And the actor decided to make the most of his free time by turning a producer.

Luckily for him, according to the actor, offers kept coming. “Anurag (Kashyap) got in touch with me. I thought he was offering me Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and I told him I won’t do it. And he told me that it was for another film and also that if I am not doing anything right now then why am I rejecting it? I realised what he meant, after all working with directors like him is always interesting and decide to do Ugly…” he adds.

So does he plan to continue doing films? “Yes, it’s an interesting time to be a part of movies given the kind of work that is being done. Whatever I have done before was a mistake, I don’t intend to repeat it, if things go as per plan,” he laughs.

And what about television? “After Heena I did a lot of TV shows but then again, the offers weren’t exciting enough. But yes, I might do something on TV, work is on but I can’t reveal much. This time I am keeping my eyes and ears open,” he laughs softly for the second time. Rahul might also collaborate with Tigmanshu Dhulia soon.

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