Meet the new kid on the block - Harsh Rajput

After playing one of the leads in the forthcoming musical Aalaap, 24 years old young actor Harsh Rajput has evolved as a better actor. In a candid chat with movie chakkar, Harsh reveals about his experiences on the sets of Aalaap and his future ventures. Let us talk about your character in the movie. I am playing one of the lead characters called Brijesh, an upper middle class boy from Chhattisgarh. He is an aimless boy having company of two other boys who are also spoilt and alcoholic like him. Then they come across a good guy Rahul, played by Amit Purohit and their lives got transformed. How was the experience while shooting? It was indeed a wonderful experience. I visited Chhattisgarh for the first time. Away from Mumbai, the hustle and bustle of daily life, I enjoyed the greenery and beauty of nature while shooting there. We were there for 55 days, we shot some sequences at Kanha Tiger Reserve. This area is very near to the Naxal-villages. Later, we came know from the local villagers that few Naxalites had come to see us in disguise. I was little afraid in the beginning. But the producers made such wonderful arrangements that we had nothing to fear. What will you say about the film’s director Manish Manikpuri? Manish is a very good director, you can hardly make out that Aalaap is his first movie. He is never confused; he just knows what he wants. He has very clear about things around him. How is the compatibility with co-stars? It was great. We were like friends working together. And there are veterans as well like Abhimanyu Singh, Murali Sharma, Vijay Raaz and Rituparna Sengupta. You see, when you are work with such senior artists, you evolve as a better actor as you are already going through a learning period. A little creative input from them beautifies the scene. It has been a big learning process for me. What about the music? Which is your favourite number? The music given by Agnee is great. My personal favourite is Pa Pa Ra Pa. Apart that Chadti Jawani enchants you with its Chhattisgarhi flavour. The combination of traditional and modern music is a deadly one. Is it your first movie? Let us know about your acting background. No, this is my second movie. I started with Mehul Kumar’s Krantiveer - The Revolution, a sequel to Nana Patekar’s Krantiveer. My next film after Aalaap is Shovana Seven Nights, directed by Sudipto Chattopadhya, also produced by Abhishek Mishra. Continue… However, I started my career with modelling and had acted in lots of ad films. I actually started with television. I played important roles in Prithvi Raj Chauhan on Star Plus, and in Dharam-Veer on NDTV Imagine. Later, I started my journey to enter the world of Bollywood.