Gajraj Rao is understandably delighted. An adman by day and actor by passion, Rao has won accolades all around for his role as Jitendra Kaushik in Badhaai Ho. After playing supporting roles in films like Bandit Queen (1994), Dil Se.. (1998), Black Friday (2007) and more recently in Talvar (2015), Rao naturally had concerns before signing on to play Ayushmann Khurana’s father, for the Dussehra release. “I couldn’t believe that I was being offered such a lengthy part. I was very apprehensive because I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. It’s a huge responsibility. There was homework and rehearsals involved. I’m an ad film director. I felt that spending a couple of months away from my production house [Code Red Films] will impact my company,” explained Rao. In hindsight of course, the actor is elated with the response to the film and his character. The actor admits that he would’ve regretted it had he not signed on to play the miserly-with-tips but generous-with-love, ticket examiner.
Not without you
Rao and Badhaai Ho’s director Amit Sharma are old acquaintances having worked together under veteran director Pradeep Sarkar over 20 years ago. Rao shared with us, Sharma and his partner’s conviction in his ability to shoulder the responsibility. “Amit’s partner, Hemant Bhandari came to the recording studio where I was recording for a TVF [The Viral Fever] sketch that I’d acted in and directed. He sat with me and sorted out all my apprehensions. He told me, ‘We are not making this film without you!’ I’m so lucky that I did [say yes], otherwise I would’ve felt really sad after watching the trailer!” exclaimed the actor. Rao had been inundated with acting offers ever since Badhaai Ho’s trailer hit the Internet. Instead he chose to wait it out, heeding his director’s advice to wait until the film’s release.
Digital revolution
A regular in TVF videos, Rao is popular among millennials as “Jeetu’s dad,” a character he has played frequently in comedy sketches that draw inspiration from real life, such as ‘Tech Conversations with Dad’. Rao plays a father perplexed by Twitter yet enthusiastic to be on the social media platform and actor Jitendra Kumar, who plays his son, struggles to explain its workings in this series, which has amassed millions of views online. “I was very apprehensive initially when TVF approached me because their budgets were very low. But within a few days after the first sketch, I was in a Crossword in Juhu when a 14-year-old kid came up to me and asked me, ‘Are you the same uncle in the video who asks his son how to use Twitter?’ When I said yes, he called all his friends and took pictures with me. The incident made Rao realise the reach of good content and YouTube.
Crediting TVF for their role in kickstarting the digital revolution in India, Rao keenly observed, “About three years ago, there were very few options for the younger generation — the audience in the age group of 16-25. They didn’t want to see what we were making, i.e., the regular formula commercial movies. Television is just stuck in a time warp even now so that was out of question. In that scenario, TVF came with their original content on YouTube, and their sketches started revolution of sorts. The youngsters started watching it as it was fiction that they were able to relate to,” the actor elaborated.
Relatable stories
Rao is all praises for actors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Vicky Kaushal, Rajkummar Rao, Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone for their courageous choices in films. “I have never seen a superstar wear pyjama and a baniyan on screen like Ayushmann has done! Also, a star doing a movie where the whole scenario is revolving around potty and an old man like Deepika Padukone did - we could not imagine it,” said Rao.
With relatable stories come real characters. A clear shift in the portrayal of masculinity has been observed in Hindi cinema with films like Khurrana’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2016), Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017) and Rajkummar Rao’s Newton (2017). The father figure has evolved from the strict and silent Ambrish Puri-like characters to Pankaj Tripathi in Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) and Gajraj Rao in Badhaai Ho. “In real life, you don’t see those masculine and macho fathers. They are regular people with thinning hairlines and a potbelly. Jitendra Kaushik is a regular father. Youngsters don’t want to see the same old portrayal and fake characterisation anymore.” Calling out the part producers have played in not exploring good writing, he said, “As soon as people start giving respect to genuine writers, that problem of cardboard characters will get solved.”
Wait and watch
Despite audiences lauding his portrayal in Badhaai Ho, Rao still remains cautious about his acting wish list. “With my age and my looks, I don’t think I will be getting anything bigger than in Badhaai Ho. Somehow because of the script and cast, the entire shooting experience was very positive. I’m keeping my fingers crossed to get a similar kind of set-up,” he chuckles .