Raghav Juyal has left his dancing days behind and is up for some serious acting, dealing in blood and gore in the film Kill that is now running in the theatres. The Dehradun boy, who had shot to fame on the Zee TV show Dance India Dance with his trademark slow-motion style, gets a tad embarrassed on being reminded of the name he had given himself — Crockroaxz, what he used to describe as a cross between crocodile and cockroach. t2 catches up with Raghav on a rain-swept afternoon in a Juhu beach hotel in Mumbai to talk about his latest outing Gyaarah Gyaarah that drops this Friday on Zee5.

Belated birthday greetings, Raghav. You may be 33 but in the industry, you are 13 years old.

Thank you, ma’am. Yes, I came in 2011 (in Dance India Dance Season 3).

Did you think you were getting typecast in dance shows, as contestant and then as host?

I used to think that way but more than me, it was people who thought I do only that. I am not the type of person who would keep himself boxed. Now everything has changed after Kill — the way people look at me, the industry looks at me. A new type of audience has started following my work.

Umesh Bist, the director of Gyaarah Gyaarah, was saying that whatever Raghav gets in his head to do, he makes a point to excel in and then he moves on.

You can aim to reach excellence in acting but there are too many shades and too many characters. That’s what makes acting interesting for me. I can’t have a monotonous career or life. I am an artiste and acting brings back my childhood when I used to play doctor, doctor with all seriousness. It allows me to tap all my facets, including my vulnerable side.

At what point did you decide to move away from TV after back-to-back shows for years?

My acting coach, Saurav Sachdeva, suggested that. He played Bobby Deol’s brother in Animal. He said: “You are too exposed. Show yourself less.” So I made a conscious choice — I took a gap of four-and-a-half-five years from everything. That worked in my favour. If the audience sees me daily, why will they spend money from their wallet to see me in the theatre? That helped me in Kill. There was a different shade that I got to play. People knew Raghav as ghar ka achcha bachcha. Suddenly…

…he is killing people and how!

Yes. That was very necessary for me. I could have done comedy on the big screen. But I did not want that. I needed to break the stereotype. I had made a conscious choice to take a break from everything.

Raghav Juyal in a moment from Gyarah Gyarah.

Your last TV show was Dance Plus. Then you played a negative role in Abhay 2.

I did not get much chance to prepare for the character or work upon it. I was still taking acting lessons. This was just after the lockdown. I had torn my ligament when the project came. I used the limp in my character. I still had not gone for surgery then.

Kill was also a challenging film to shoot, right?

It was a technical genius with lights to show a static train compartment as moving. It is being called a cult classic by many reviewers and it feels great that my performance is being appreciated. It is opening doors of directors and producers for me in the industry.

During Kill, you were also shooting with Salman Khan for Kisi ka Bhai Kisi ki Jaan.

Yes, I was doing double shifts. I just had to do both films. During that phase, I also got dengue. So it was a very tough phase for me. Both the films were from different worlds. Bhai (Salman) was very generous. He had to shift his dates for me. I still feel embarrassed to think about that. Koi aur film hota toh main chhod deta, par main Kill chhod nahin paya. Both films were close to my heart. Somehow I managed.

How was the experience of working with Salman?

It’s like working in an amusement park. You go to his farm, you enjoy. Shoot mein bhi dawatein chal rahi hai, tent mein party hoti hai. The shoot took place in Hyderabad and Mumbai. For two days, in between, I went to his farmhouse. He is a bit of a farm boy. I rode his dirtbike. He is very desi, wears normal clothes. That lifestyle matches with mine.

Gyaarah Gyaarah is set in Uttarakhand. You are a Garhwali boy. Did that help?

Yes! If you see my speech, I did make it clear because that is how it is there — baat karne ka tarika, kuchh slangs. Bahut kaam aya.

Dhairya (Karwa, costar in Gyaarah Gyaarah, with whom Raghav’s character communicates over time through a walkie-talkie) attended school in Uttarakhand, right?

Yes, he knew the feel of school life in Dehradun. It’s the best campus experience in the world. Inter-school fetes, dance contests take place — Welham, Doon… no one can beat Dehradun in school life.

The director was also saying that when he was checking you out for this role you had not come out of the Kill zone.

Not mentally, but physically. I had internalised the body language of that character. I believe in rhythm of a character. Once the rhythm gets into the muscles it takes time to get out of it.

As a cop, you would have a different body language in Gyaarah Gyaarah.

I do not believe in stereotypes. If you see the show, I did not let the cop part take over. I am a normal guy in Dehradun. He doesn’t act like a cop all the time. He has all the emotions any normal guy would have, like anger or irritation.

Would you accept a dance film if it comes your way?

If I do all kinds of roles and in between, a dance film comes, I will do it if it is a good role. I was one of the characters in Street Dancer and ABCD2. Now I would do only lead roles.

Your whole group from DID, Dharmesh, Puneet (Pathak), Shakti (Mohan) etc, are close buddies. What are they saying about your careergraph?

All are very happy. They say I have created a benchmark for television. My film is releasing in Toronto and God knows what other cities abroad! People are calling me from Norway, Sweden aur kahan kahan jahan Hindi film zyada release bhi nahin hoti.

Are you open to international shows?

Yes, I am open to international work now, be it a short film or anything to satisfy myself as an artiste.

Does it help to have a producer with international exposure like Guneet Monga Kapoor who has backed both Kill and Gyaarah Gyaarah?

Yes. Lionsgate, the makers of John Wick (the neo-noir American action series starring Keanu Reeves) are remaking Kill. Now I want the attention to shift to Gyarah Gyarah. You are as good as your next project.

Tell us about your role in the web show.

He is a very honest police officer, with a bit of sarcasm in his mannerisms. That is all I was told when I auditioned. There are such shades in the story that boggles the mind. When I saw it as an audience member, it felt crazy. People will love it. It is a crime thriller, with a sci-fi angle. There is mystery, there is drama. You will be engrossed. It does not give you a moment to pause.

What comes next?

I have signed a bunch of things but the announcements have not happened. It is all about getting the next step right now.

Do you rehearse dance any more on a regular basis?

I do for my own entertainment — move and sway my body. But there is no thought about competitions any more.

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