Why? You don’t want me to be associated with it,” questions Raghu Ram when asked about his continuous association with Roadies.
But soon adds, “Roadies is an addiction and an excellent opportunity to connect with the youth of India,” with a smirk as he settles himself for an elaborated chat with Metrolife.
In the City recently for the auditions of MTV Hero Roadies X1, Raghu gathered no less attention than the popular crooner Honey Singh and was quick to comment, “I hate the show when it’s happening but when I see it on-air, I love it. I have always attempted to go to rehab to get rid of this addiction!” His tone mellows and he reveals truth about his birth where “Doctors predicted a monster baby because they could find two heads but only one spine.” The result, however, was his twin brother Rajiv.
“When he attempted suicide in college, it changed my life,” Raghu speaks his heart out referring to certain chapters from his recently released book where he mentions how he was rejected by MTV initially, how political parties targeted him and of course his ‘Roadies journey’. “I was quite delicate as a kid and used to be bullied a lot. But now when I re-examine my life, I see how it changed my personality. Having been a victim of racism, I am intolerant and quite vocal towards it. I have even given out my love-life secrets in my book.”
While his written word is yet to be reviewed, it is his oral words which garner criticism time and again. But Raghu feels otherwise: “Adulation surprises me,” he says surprising the interviewer. “Those who criticize me don’t know me and those who applaud me, know me neither. Criticism is normal for me.” He says so after having encountered the time when he struggled with the ways “In which people reacted towards me and my work.
I quit and went to Himalayas then,” only to come back and proved his mettle to the world.
“I don’t regret anything,” he says with a clear conscience and strong belief that “there is a long way to go. I might have made a couple of mistakes but even if things didn’t work out, they have taught me something.” Does he feel the same in terms of his acting career? “Acting is not a career. I picked it up on the job but don’t want to say ‘no’ to it either. I have done two films and my Punjabi film Love You Soniye will release soon. The more experience I get, the better experience I have.”
The minute the talk diverts to Roadies contestants, he retorts, “I am not here to make anyone’s career. There is a lot of pressure on youngsters to be a part of the community since being different is not really welcomed. We are here to pull out individualistic personalities and expect the youth to surprise me.” Hope he gets oodles of it!