JOIN US'Some of my better roles have gone unnoticed'
When I had decided to pursue acting as a career, I knew my success would be determined by the audience,” says actor-writer KK Raina, who is all geared up to essay the role of Nand Kishore Tiwari in the upcoming play Namaste Jaishree Krishna, which he has also directed.
The artiste, who has worked in movies like Gandhi, Delhi -6, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Tanu Weds Manu, is still remembered for playing Ajit, the Dr Watson-like sidekick, in TV series Byomkesh Bakshi.
On being asked how difficult it is for actors to get away from their on-screen characters, the award-winning dialogue writer says, “Ajit was just a role for me, with nothing dramatic in it. But since people loved it so much, even I started liking it.
However, there are times when you put your heart and soul into a role, and the audience does not like it. But as an actor, you have to live with it,” Raina tells Metrolife.
He continues, “I feel that I have done some better films and roles, but they have gone unnoticed. To name a few, I worked very hard and thoroughly enjoyed myself in films like Aks, Rann, D-Day and Rang De Basanti; but unfortunately you cannot tell people to like you in roles you liked doing.”
His upcoming play, which has been written by singer-actor Ila Arun and produced by Surnai Theatre and Folk Arts Foundation, highlights the discomfit between the older and the younger generation. It focuses on the new world, where barriers are shrinking, and traditions and social values are struggling to keep up with a new generation which is undecided on the path it must follow.
“The play is deeply rooted in the Indian tradition and culture, with the premise based on how some things have become redundant over the years, and should be taken out of the system. It shows how it is essential to realise that and find a middle way,” says the actor who will next be seen in director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Mirzya.
With an acting experience on all the three mediums — television, films and theatre — Raina says that since he is a trained stage actor, he enjoys it the most.
“However,” he adds, “after doing television and films, I realised how these mediums let you do what you cannot do on stage. But in the end, acting is acting and you just need to be conscious of the medium and its grammar.”
Presented by Old World Culture, the play will be staged at Sathya Sai Auditorium, Bhishm Pitamah Marg, Lodhi Road, on August 28, at 7 pm.