It's easy to attain popularity in the era of instant gratification without much hustle, says actor Raghav Juyal, who believes such fame often comes at the expense of art and culture.
The 33-year-old became a household name after featuring in the reality TV show "Dance India Dance" season three and then hosted several dance reality shows. He recently received recognition for playing the antagonist in the hit action thriller "Kill".
Juyal, whose latest offering is the ZEE5 series "Gyaarah Gyaarah", also has films such as “Nawabzaade”, the “ABCD: Any Body Can Dance” franchise, and "Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan" to his credit.
"We live in a very Kim Kardashian world where you are famous, but you don't know for what. The spectrum has become wide. To be honest, when I was doing TV, the money was good and life was comfortable. There was not so much hustle. I’ve come into films because I want to satisfy myself creatively.
"But here till the time you don’t get stable, there’s not much comfort like TV. Today, youngsters want to do everything fast and want to experience everything quickly. That’s a loss for artists, and the art and culture of our country and society,” the actor told PTI in an interview here.
A world dominated by viral videos and memes, Juyal said, maybe be of value to a section of people on social media.
"The structure of the society has changed. Maybe it is beneficial to those who are not privileged to showcase their talent (online). But the negative side of this is, that anyone can do anything. The biggest loss is that during our times we do not have anything to preserve in terms of arts and culture," he added.
How will we convey the richness of the Indian cultural heritage to our grandchildren, the actor asked.
"I could say, 'We've had Sahir Ludhianvi, Ismat (Chughtai) aapa'. I’ve heard their stories and songs. Should I tell my grandchildren that the most famous thing during our times is ‘Kacha Badam’?" Juyal said, referring to the 2021 viral song by peanut seller-turned-internet sensation Bhuban Badyakar.
He may have transitioned from television to films for creative satisfaction, but the actor said he hopes to receive "financial satisfaction" too.
"I was famous (on TV) and every kid knew my name. I wanted people to spend money from their pocket to see me in the (cinema) hall, not think that they would rather watch me on TV. I want when people leave from a cinema hall, they take back something from my character," he said.
Juyal credits "Kill", which released in July, for breaking his nice guy image and said he wants to explore diverse roles ahead.
"I’m consciously choosing things and saying no to certain things... I don’t think I’ll get slotted because casting directors have supported me a lot in this journey so far, otherwise they would have offered me just comedy roles...
"Recently, I read a good script that came from a big producer. But when I read it carefully, I felt I was not doing anything (in the film), so I said no to it. I told him (producer), ‘Sir, I didn’t feel anything, I couldn’t connect with the character’,” he recalled.
The actor said he is looking forward to a string of projects, including one with Ranvir Shorey.
“There are a few things that I’ve done and they are in the can. There are two-three really good projects. I feel bad that you work so hard on a character, its appearance and then it doesn’t release. I’ve got a film with Ranvir Shorey, it’s an experimental film. (But) I’m not sure if anyone will take interest in it.”
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