Rajesh Kumar opens up about moving to OTT from TV, taking up ‘Yeh Meri Family 2’, the nostalgia of the 1990s in the show, working with TVF, his massively popular character Roshesh from ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’, whether the 3rd season of ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’ will ever come and lots more.
Rajesh Kumar has been one of the most popular names on TV for the past two decades. In the past few years, he has slowly and steadily moved onto OTT. He recently came up with the second season of the massively successful ‘Yeh Meri Family’ on Amazon MiniTV.
Talking to Prateek Sur, Rajesh Kumar opens up about moving to OTT from TV, taking up ‘Yeh Meri Family 2’, the nostalgia of the 1990s in the show, working with TVF, his massively popular character Roshesh from ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’, whether the 3rd season of ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’ will ever come and lots more. Excerpts:
You’ve done a few shows on OTT. What was that thing that prompted you to take up ‘Yeh Meri Family 2’?
The simplicity of the show was enough to say yes. The nostalgia it was going to create or it created on the script level only had us. Plus, the attachment to the 90s. And, you know, we have lived that and we are reliving it. That whole thought of reliving prompted us to say yes to ‘Yeh Meri Family 2’. Also, because it's a TVF show. So, nothing can go wrong there. So that's the reason.
The first season was a massively popular one. Had you seen it back then when it was released? Or did you catch up on the first part when you started having talks to play the father’s part in the sequel?
I had seen it back then only when it got released. And it was great. It was great. I mean, that was one of its kind and you will never get to see something like that and that really needs to be put in. I mean, you have to put in so much effort to deliver something like that. So, definitely, you have to be an audience to a project like this, then and there itself.
The show brings the nostalgia of the 1990s. What are your personal memories of the 1990s? Is there any striking event in your life that happened in that decade which you remember even till today?
The 90s were full of nostalgia because the 90s was when I did my 10th and when I did my 12th. Then I did my graduation.
The show focuses on the simplistic life in the 1990s and the bonding between kids and their parents in a small-town set-up. Did you see glimpses of your own childhood in some scenes of the show?
Yeah, obviously the Fiat car. Though we did not have one, but whoever had a Fiat car or ambassador at that time. Getting a ride on that and having a feeling that it's the biggest car on this planet. That kind of memory just comes back. Like the way I learned my cycle ride. It was way back when I was like 7-8 years of age. How did I learn pedalling and all those things that those memories. It just strikes you so a lot of scenes were there were that glimpse of getting caught while playing truth or dare. When father was walking in or a mother walking in and there is complete quietness and you feel scared. You remember those things that are so strongly existing within you that it's like it's there in the physical memory or and the mental memory of us. You cannot avoid it and you cannot go away from it.
The show’s come up on Amazon MiniTV, which is one of the popular OTT platforms in today’s times. How do you look at this OTT boom in India? Are you getting better offers or better scripts now than what you used to get before?
Yes, it's the most popular OTT platform right now. It's a great time for all the creative people, not only for the actors, but great content in the air these days. You cannot escape writing anymore. You cannot escape bad performances. You have to be very good. You have to be always be alert. So, it's more at a war level right now that everyone has to be alert, and everyone has to deliver. So, there is no chance of you falling or lagging behind with anything. So, it's a great time for all the creative people around. And so yes, I am getting good offers. I'm getting good scripts. Thankfully, a couple of them are not only OTT shows, but films for OTT also. Those kinds of offers are on and you will see me more often now and see me in different avatars.
You have been a massively popular star on TV ever since you did ‘Ek Mahal Ho Sapno Ka’. But since the last 2-3 years, you’ve been away from TV. I think after ‘Excuse Me Madam’, there wasn’t anything that you did on TV. Are you consciously trying to move away from TV and maybe into OTT or films?
Wow. This is like another nostalgia of 90s. Yes, conscious decision. ‘Excuse Me Madam’ just happened otherwise, for last five years, I was consciously aware. I was exploring the world of real creativity that's farming, working with the farmers for the soil, and for the future generations. So that also needs time that needs a lot of focus. That project is still on it and has given shape to it. And now it's on autopilot. So now I have come back to this world. But ya, television has given everything name, fame, everything. But creatively today, I feel that the kind of age we are in continuous 30 days of shoot of a television show might not excite me that much than just shooting for 20 days for a project and then switching on to different and then switching onto different one. So it's amazing time. So, I'm just trying to explore it and always be open to all the medium. So definitely. Good work is happening on OTT and good offers are coming in. So, nothing to say like nothing to feel bad about not doing television. So, yes, always open to all the ideas.
Can't leave you without asking about ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’. Do we get to see more of Roshesh?
See I purposely moved away from Roshesh for some time. I gained a lot of weight for people to see me in different light because during Corona, Roshesh suddenly got revived, and I could not imagine. I could not get good work and good offers when I wanted to. So, I purposely gained weight just to break that image of mine. And so, whenever the production house feels, whenever the OTT platform feels, whenever all the actors are free enough to do ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’, we will definitely request them to at least have a closure Season 3. But it not yet confirmed because everyone including Rupali, including Ratna Pathak, including Sumeet Raghavan – Everyone is busy in their own world. So, this is the time. I don't think it is going to happen soon. Sorry to disappoint you (laughs).
What would be your biggest takeaway from a show like ‘Yeh Meri Family 2’?
A small family with so much simplicity and the best part, where I will tell you that I'm being very selfish about it, is the actor side of me which can just not do anything and yet you convey everything. That thing I have learned in ‘Yeh Meri Family’. I did not have to perform too much, I just had to restrict myself by emoting too much and just be simple and be natural. So, I have tapped that side of me in as an actor. So, I'm taking that away and that will give me base to other projects and all.
What next can we see coming from a lot of projects?
There are 4-5 films lined up, and a couple of more OTT shows are lined up. So, you will be seeing a different avatar more often now.