Rajesh Khattar inspired by young blood to create roles for himself

Rajesh Khattar is a multi-talented artiste who has explored diverse fields in his 20-year-long career.
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Apart from acting in plays, television and films, he is also a voice-over artiste and an anchor. The entrepreneur, who has produced and directed ads and brand placements in movies, says he is enjoying the most interesting phase of his career. He exclaims, “Rather than being bogged down by pressure, I am enjoying every bit of what I’m doing.”
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His foray into performing arts began in his first year of college.“After acting for four years, in five languages, theatre became my stepping stone to TV and cinema,” he recalls. He adds that working with a wide array of filmmakers and actors has helped him hone his acting skills. Rajesh explains, “I was fortunate enough to work with legends like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, Vijay Anand and Yash Chopra, and contemporary filmmakers like Farhan Akhtar and Karan Johar. While acting with Amitabh Bachchan, the legend of Hindi cinema, and superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar, I observed how they interpret cinema and make it an experience to cherish for their audiences.”
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He now wants to translate all the work that he has done in theatre to cinema. He enthuses, “Having played characters ranging from 18 to 65 years and making my audience go through their emotional journeys, I want to do that in movies too.”
Aware of the daunting challenge for any actor to not fall into an image trap, he asserts, “You have to strive to give your audience a different experience each time they see you. If I played a suave villain in 'Don' or 'Race 2', I also essayed a comical cop in 'Khiladi 786' and a spineless corporate employee in 'Manjunath'.”
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Though he hasn’t done TV for almost six years, he concedes he will ‘jump at the opportunity’ if an interesting role comes his way. Rajesh says he is proud of learning from young talent too. “My son Ishaan’s passion for movies and his exposure to world cinema infuses me with optimism. And if I don’t get the kind of work I want to do, then I will create it for myself,” he sums up.
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