We had first met the class actor, Rajeev Khandelwal, a few years back, during his visit to the famous Aligarh Muslim University. The humble and soft spoken Rajeev and his polished manners had really impressed us. ''Yes, I cannot forget my visit to AMU!'' says Rajeev with a polite smile.
Having opened one of the most successful years for Hindi cinema (2013) in the dreaded month of January, with TABLE NO. 21, it has been a while that one of his film released. But Rajeev is back with the Rajshri venture SAMRAT & CO. ''True. Actually, I have learned to be patient. I go through scripts very carefully, and am lucky to pick the one that is not only unique but which I feel will somehow connect with the audience.''
Ask him if SAMRAT & CO. (where he essays the title role) is like a typical Hindi/English detective ( a la Ved Prakash Sharma or Agatha Christie) paperback, and Rajeev says,'' Yes, it has been designed to give that feel. There is very serious detective work in SAMRAT & CO! The film is set in Shimla and if you have been there you must have seen that despite it being the capital of Himachal Pradesh, people are rooted to their traditions and culture. The family values are intact. There is a head of the family, who everyone listens to and respects. It is as if time has stood still in Shimla. Since my character (Samrat) comes from Mumbai, he often wonders if these people are frozen in time!''
When we asked Rajeev Khandelwal if there is the special touch that he gives to all the characters that he has essayed (starting with AAMIR), and once again the actor smiles and says, ''I have (been) trained hard for a month and half. When Kaushik Ghatak came to me he already had the whole bound script and the character of Samrat was clearly and specifically etched out. During the acting workshop I just drowned myself into the way Samrat, walks and talks, I mean into the mannerisms. But let me add that I don't credit myself for that. I was like clay and Ghatak moulded me. I just imitated him. I would also like to praise Sanjay Masoom's dialogues that add to the impact and enhance the characters,'' concludes Rajeev Khandelwal.
The much awaited Rajshri Production Pvt. Ltd venture, SAMRAT & CO. hits the cinemas today, along with Subhash Ghai's KAANCHI and Tigmanshu Dhulia's REVOLVER RANI.
