Tales of the angry young twins

It seems like they have a different personality on small screen. While on the telly, they are known for their intimidating nature, in reality, they are gentle and soft-spoken. 

Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman, the two presenters of ‘Roadies’, spoke to Metrolife on their journey so far. 

Often described as the ‘angry young twins’, the two sport a coat of many colours. With double the passion and energy, Raghu and Rajiv are completely excited about their new venture, ‘Monozygotic’, a creative space that will engage different brands. 

The two are best friends and even think they are alter egos of each other. So it is not a wonder that their last names are Ram and Laxman!  “We failed in college when we went separate ways. After that, we sat and studied together for a month in another university and passed with distinction,” recalls Rajiv fondly. 

Describing his twin as an extremely passionate person, he says, “We do share the same interest and passion and our method of working is similar on the whole but dissimilar if you consider the finer aspects.”  

Despite being criticised for the way they conduct the auditions and use abusive language, the two are determined. 

“It doesn’t affect me. They are reacting to the Raghu of ‘Roadies’. People who hate me, hate me and those who like me, like me,” says Raghu. 

Rajiv takes a similar stance and says, “I’m doing my work and they are doing theirs. We get a lot of positive and negative reactions for our work which we take positively.

However, the day people stop communicating with us is when we will be worried. We aren’t uncomfortable with hatred or anger because everyone has their opinion.” It was quite a shock to the public when they decided to move away from ‘Roadies’. However, they feel that this is a step forward for them.

Raghu describes the decade old journey as memorable. While Rajiv is not able to choose his favourite season or participant. He says that it is like choosing between his children while Raghu adds, “I like the different seasons for different reasons. Season one is one of my favourites because it was the first one and thanks to it, I made some friends for life. I liked the third season because of its intensity and the fifth season because it was the first time we went abroad. I liked the eighth season due to the story.” 

The two don’t have any criteria while choosing the contestants. “We look for diversity because no two people are alike. I may be impressed by the quality of one person and the same quality in another person may turn me off,” says Rajiv.

The duo chuckle when they are asked which is the real ‘them’. “There are actually three ‘Raghus’. One is the real me at this moment, another is the scared me and the last one is the ‘Roadies’ Raghu.” 

Rajiv sums up, “The Rajiv at this moment and the one at the auditions are both real. Only the context changes.”