It is quite expected of any actor to be on cloud nine after debuting in a series like Adhura, which is currently one of the chart toppers. However, actor Rijul Ray says he has ‘been pretty calm’ about it.
“It’s been a long time that I have been working on it. To be specific, since the time I was 18 years old. A lot of people have found this role to be a meaty one. But I’ve been pretty calm because I’ve been waiting for a while – it has tested my patience,” says Ray.
Adhura is a supernatural thriller which is set in a boarding school. Ray plays the role of Dev Pratap Jamwal, who comes from an influential political family. “Dev came to me. It was nicely fleshed out by the writer and director of the show. It is an interesting and layered character to play with,” says Ray.
Coming from a school like Kodaikanal International School, his experience from those days turned out to be the primary research for Dev. “I looked at the character Dev as a bully and a victim. I remember joining the school in 2007, soon after returning from Dubai. I joined in the year when quite a few new students were accepted. So I faced a lot of resistance. The older students gave us a hard time. The intimidation
was real,” says Ray.
The show is based in Ooty and Ray had lived in Coonoor for quite some time. “The show was majorly shot at Lawrence School in Lovedale, which was a completely different world in itself. Sometimes I forgot I was a local. There were times when people would have a doubt and I would just keep quiet and then they would look at me and say, ‘Rijul, you’re from here’,” he laughs. He further adds, “I took my co-star Ishwak Singh on a night safari which I am guessing he won’t forget.”
Having spent his college days in Bengaluru, Ray mentions he started his theatre career in the city. He was part of Jagriti theatre, then moved to Chennai and later, Adishakti in Pondicherry before eventually moving to Mumbai. “I’ve been a BTM layout boy since the early ’90s. I felt at home once at my doddappa’s home or my maternal grandparent’s place when I went to their house in Hyderabad. That city and Bengaluru have been my summer homes since I was a kid,” says Ray, adding that the sound of vegetable vendors screaming ‘soppu soppu’ still lingers in his ears.
Coming from a theatre background, the deviation towards movies happened due to necessity. “People need to understand, especially the elite circles, that in India theatre doesn’t pay its artistes enough. It is very hard to make a living from doing theatre alone, which is why thanks to a gentleman in Bengaluru, I got an offer for my voice-over career. And after a lot of auditioning it eventually led to acting in a project”, says Ray, adding that he was very clear that he had to monetise his passion. Ray’s next is Sitara, which also stars Sobhita Dhulipala.