Rahul Learns more in his Off-time!

Rahul, I mean, Rahul Sharma plays the lead role in the upcoming romantic drama Awesome Mausam releasing tomorrow. Rahul, like any aspiring actor, moved to Mumbai to accomplish his dreams. The best way to learn the technicalities of acting for him was being a part of theatre and wanted to be cast in one of India’s most famous stage plays, Piya Behrupiya. However, to his disappointment, the casting was already done for the same but his enthusiasm and dedication to be part of this stage enactment moved its makers and offered him to join as a musician for the play, given his musical background.

Rahul got the opportunity to play along with Anu Malik’s comedian and musician nephew Aadar Malik. He also learnt how voice modulations and expressions had to be delivered by actors. Rahul has traveled the globe being a part of Piya Behrupiya, which includes cities like London and New York. After returning to Mumbai, he was notified about the audition for the lead role for Awesome Mausam and his theatre experience landed him the role instantly.

The trailer of his film was launched by JP Dutta of Border fame, whose assistant for all these years, Yogesh Bhardwaj has directed the film. Rahul plays a Hindu boy who falls in love with a Muslim girl and fights with the orthodox societies of our country in an attempt to change their point of view on inter-caste marriages.
Tell us about your childhood.
I had a very interesting childhood. I was born in Ambala in a small town called Baldev Nagar and belonged to a typical middle class family where my father was a clerk at a government office and mother a housewife. Most of my childhood was spent in Chandigarh where we lived for almost 8 years before shifting to Bhopal. Being the youngest of the family I was always (and still am) pampered a lot and of course always had an upper hand in my fights with my elder sister (smiles)
Full educational qualifications?
My schooling was from various branches of Kendriya Vidyalaya according to the places we lived in, since it was easier to cope up with the syllabus. I graduated from the Bhopal School Of Social Science with a B.Com honors. My love for music and acting then pulled me and brought me to the real practical world and the city called Mumbai. I owe a lot to this place where I received my true education as an actor by practical learning. Theatre was the place which pushed me and taught me and hit hard until I stood on my feet.
You have been with the play Piya Behrupiya team as a musician. Have you been trained otherwise in acting?
Piya Behrupiya was a big break for me though I had worked with few productions earlier. I wasn’t acting in it but this is the place where my knowledge of music was appreciated and received recognition. Soon I was the main rhythmist of this musical Shakespeare play where I brought beats to life with over ten musical instruments played together at one go. Director Atul Kumar not only treated me as a musician but as an actor equal to the other team members. He saw to it that each one had an opportunity to hone their skills. And I was not an exception.
Bollywood field is so unreliable. How was your parents’ reaction, when you told them that you are interested in joining films?
Bollywood has been with my family in some way or the other. My father was the one who once dreamt of seeing me on the silver screen. It was his motivation, vision and backing that helped me reach Mumbai with his dream in my eyes. Though the others were a bit skeptical, that never stopped me from dreaming on!

Many girls have debuted from the South in acting and became popular there. Many debuted here and become popular there. Why there are no male actors from here, who did well in the south? We also do not have the vice versa. Why?
I also wonder about the same many times. Hoping to change the trend soon. (smiles)
Tell us about some incident connected to your debut movie Awesome Mausam.
The entire movie is a very memorable journey. The beginning itself was quite a blessing. I was auditioned for the movie 6 months before I was confirmed for it. I had completely forgotten about the audition and it took me by surprise when I got a call from the director. I was in disbelief that I actually didn’t mention it to any of my near and dear ones until the shoot began!
What are your other current projects?
As my roots lie in the theatre I have plans to continue with it for sure. My shows are already lined up in the coming months where we will be traveling to the UK, France, Chicago and the entire USA. Apart from that I am in talks with the same production for the next project. I am hoping to work with other production houses as well.
If you have traveled with the Piya Behrupiya team in the music department and at the same time acted in Awesome Mausam, how did you manage both together?
Since Awesome Mausam was shot over a period of 1-1/2 years, it was too long a time to be off theatre. I had already committed to be a part of many shows. This made it tough a couple of times when I had to travel internationally and shoot immediately the very next day which left me with no time to recover from the jet lag. But the excitement and love for my work kept me strong and going.

What do you do when not acting or working as a musician?
I love sleeping (winks). I catch up on it while I am away. I am a keen observer and I think hence practical learning is more important for me. I watch a lot of movies sometimes repeatedly to understand different emotions and actions. Apart from that music is my breath and soul. I am not formally trained by anyone. Since childhood I have observed and played on my own. My off time is more like a study time for me where I get a chance to drown myself in music and learn from it.