We have known him as a jaw-dropping dancer and a laugh-out-loud show host. Raghav Juyal, who ventured into acting a few years ago and also played a prominent role in Salman Khan’s Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan last year, has hit it out of the park with his negative act in Kill. The Nikhil Nagesh Bhat film, which has set a new benchmark for action films in Bollywood, is still going strong in theatres. Reason enough for The Telegraph to catch up with Raghav for a chat.

From its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year to holding its own in theatres even two weeks after release, Kill is a gift that keeps giving. What has the film meant to you?

Before Kill, I had never received so much love from the industry, journalists and reviewers. The other day I got a call from (filmmaker) Anurag Kashyap who said that I had broken a lot of conventions with this role. That was special.

The audience, in general, has been surprised because I have always been known to be a happy-go-lucky, fun person. I dance, I make the audience laugh with my jokes, I am a funny host. They have been taken aback by this psychotic, sinister side of me (laughs).

I am elated that the film is doing so well, purely on the basis of word-of-mouth publicity. It didn’t have a big budget and yet it is getting in audiences even when a huge film like Kalki 2898 AD is playing, which has names like (Amitabh) Bachchan sir, Deepika Padukone and Prabhas and has already made hundreds of crores. That Kill is still managing to get in audiences feels very special.

How did the film happen to you?

I was shooting a film in Varanasi with Ranvir Shorey sir and Sanjay Mishra sir. It is an independent, experimental film. In the middle of that, I got a casting call for Kill. Once that audition was done, the director (Nikhil Nagesh Bhat) called and said it was very good but that they needed me to do one more scene in Bombay. I did one more scene and then Guneet (Monga Kapoor, co-producer), Karan (Johar, co-producer) and the director said that it was really good... but that they were giving me another scene! (Laughs) I did another scene and then Guneet, Karan and the director said that this is it! It was then that Guneet told me that they had done at least a 100 auditions for the role of Fani before they zeroed in on me.

You have played a negative character in another project before Kill. But Fani is completely unhinged. Did you ever wonder why you were called for this role?

Yes, I did play a villain in a web series (Abhay on Zee5), but it didn’t get very popular. However, Kill has really reached far and wide. I have been getting messages even from outside the country since the film has also screened at a couple of film festivals apart from TIFF. I have even been called stuff like the ‘desi Joker’ (smiles).

In fact, I will again be seen as a villain in Yudhra (co-starring Siddhant Chaturvedi and Malavika Mohanan). That should release in a few months.

How hard did you have to work to get into the mindspace of Fani?

To begin with, I read the script at least 80-90 times....

80-90 times?!

Yes! I kept reading it over and over and over again. But every time I read it, something new would come up about the character. That is the beauty of the writing of Kill. Every time I went through the script, there would be something new about Fani, his behaviour, his psyche....

I also read up a lot about the gang of thieves in western Uttar Pradesh, who wear kachchas (underwear), rub oil on their bodies so that they don’t come within anyone’s grasp and then loot people, not even stopping at murder.

I also discussed about what makes a person a criminal with my father (who is an advocate). I asked him how do they behave, how does one recognise a criminal.... He told me that more often than not, unless that person is a seasoned criminal, it is difficult to say who is one and who is not. I thought that in my portrayal of Fani, I wouldn’t cross this thin line. I wanted to empathise with this character. Right from his childhood, he was referred to as a dacoit. When he grew up, he did what he had been taught. I felt like I understood where he came from.

I asked my director a lot of questions... even random questions like whether Fani was religious. One doesn’t know what one can get from an answer that could change or evolve the way one looks at a character.

Also, since this is, of course, an action film, there were months of very tough physical prep involved.

Kill is very different from the average Bollywood film. So much has been said and seen in terms of the action, the violence, the gore and also a strong emotional core. What were the challenges of making a film like this which doesn’t have an immediate reference point in Hindi cinema, at least?

I really salute the makers for this kind of an attempt. Karan Johar and Guneet Monga have gone all out and backed Nikhil Bhat’s vision. It is an R-rated film which immediately narrows down the audience base. Half the audience gets cut off automatically when a film is R-rated. But because it is well made with every department putting in more than their best, the film is getting in audiences every day.

The second challenge was the space. The majority of the film takes place in a very constrained space, which is a train. Our cinematographer Rafey sir (Rafey Mehmood) has done such a remarkable job. The action seems so visceral, the audience feels that they are in the middle of it.

And can you imagine a Dharma (Dharma Productions) film not having a single song? Or even an item number? When I first heard that Kill was a Dharma production, I was sure there would be songs... people singing and dancing in fields (laughs). But aisa kuch bhi nahin hua.

This is, honestly, one of the first genre films in India. From now on, Kill is a reference point for action in Hindi cinema. I loved what a critic said... that action in Bollywood can now be demarcated into the before-Kill and after-Kill eras.

You must be aware that in an industry that is quick to typecast, you will now be approached with a lot of negative roles. How do you plan to combat that?

I think I have already broken a stereotype by playing this character in Kill. Everyone only knew Raghav as a dancer on TV, as a comedian, as a funny host on stage... that I think has been broken with Kill.

I am getting calls for a lot of different kinds of roles from casting directors. They see something different in me, which is great. I am someone who can’t do the same thing... every time something gets monotonous, I shift. In fact, I play the protagonist in the next production of Dharma and Sikhya (Films, backed by Guneet). I play a policeman, a very righteous character.

And where does dance figure in all this?

Dance toh rahega. Ab Bollywood mein dance karenge!

I am a Raghav Juyal fan because... Tell t2@abp.in