Actor Anuj Rampal, who is a known face in the theatre world, made his OTT debut recently on Amazon Prime as the lead in Akkad Bakkad Rafu Chakkar. Directed and produced by the late Raj Kaushal, the show, which revolves around a scam by two friends, Bhargav  and  Siddhant, is garnering a lot of appreciation from the audience.
Talking about bagging the role and working on the project, Anuj says, “I have been doing theatre since 2016 and also gave auditions regularly. Even this role happened after a series of auditions. I got a call from the casting team to test for the character, Bhargav, but then gave another audition for the role of Siddhant. It was an amazing experience working with the team. I learned a lot from my co-actors and director. The vibe on the set was very positive and we all enjoyed the entire process. Our shooting happened in December 2020 after the first wave of the pandemic in Chanderi and Jabalpur.”
Originally from New Delhi, Anuj always wanted to become an actor since childhood but over time, he
got busy with his life and took up engineering. “My first tryst with acting was in class nine for a school play. Then as I was a decent student, I took up engineering and it changed my life. Staying in a hostel gave me so much exposure and allowed me to make my own choices. In college too I was part of theatre but sadly I couldn’t pass the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) entrance exam. After finishing engineering, I worked in Accenture for two years and that’s when I shifted to Mumbai from Madhya Pradesh where I was doing my college and focussed on acting in theatre,” shares Anuj.
Sharing more about working in theatre and a web series and the importance of audience’s appreciation, he says, “The basics of acting remain the same across all platforms like body movement and dialect. Only the technicalities are different. As artists, we all enjoy validation and appreciation. But I work more towards quality work and am receptive to what people who are close to me have to say.”
The actor, who wants to do a family drama and psychological thriller, is looking forward to working with his favourite actors and directors soon. “I have a whiteboard in my room where I have written down the list of people I would love to work with. They include Zoya Akhtar, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Shakun Batra, Shoojit Sircar, Rajkummar Rao, Hansal Mehta and Alia Bhatt,” concludes Anuj, who will be seen in two plays which will be staged in the coming weeks.

- reshmichakravorthy@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @reshmi190488