Of playing a dark role in an RGV film

Born and brought up in Gurugram, actor and model Vikas Rao started his acting journey with a tiny role in the TV soap, Kaleerein, in 2018. Finally, few days ago, he marked his entry in films with Ram Gopal Verma’s 'D Company' that released on Spark OTT.

Based on the true story of India’s biggest underworld enterprise, the premise of D Company is a Mumbai-based underworld gang headed by Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar. Rao plays the role of Javed Fuqva. “Javed is a dark and intense character, who kills Dawood Abraham’s brother Saabir. I really enjoyed playing it and learned so much while shooting,” says Rao, 25, best known for his role in the TV show Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya in 2019.

Rao discloses that his character in D Company was something he was attempting for the first time. “Casting Director Girdhar Swami sir chose me for Javed’s role after going through different rounds of audition and look tests. I was really excited to get this project as I have watched Ram Gopal Verma sir’s movies since school days. It’s a dream come true,” adds Rao, who completed schooling from SDV School and engineering from GITM, Gurugram, followed by post-graduation from IIM Calcutta.

Attaining Javed’s look and getting in and out of character were the most difficult parts. “I don’t watch movies to get into that character and mimic the part. I usually only see the biopic and character briefs. But Ram Gopal Verma sir makes you so comfortable that you do it with ease. He is a magician in his craft. He is very professional on the sets, but entirely different after shooting, cracking jokes.”

Rao always wanted to be an actor. “I am such a big movie buff and big SRK and Salman Khan fan. Whenever I watched their movies, I would dream of working with them,” adds Rao, who studied acting from Barry John Acting Studio in Delhi.

He remembers how his first project, Kaleerein, came to him when moved base to Mumbai for work. “And after that, I never looked back. The role was very challenging, but it has been my favourite so far.”