Rrahul Sudhir: Had packed my bags to leave showbiz

Donrsquot go by his brooding persona onscreen because Rrahul Sudhir has a wicked sense of humour that his costars are probably still reeling from Kickstarting his career with the web the actor steered towards television and found immense popularity with Ishq Mein Marjawan 2 In a candid chat with midday Sudhir talks about how most scenes in the show crack him up as they defy logic and his personal boundaries as an artisteEdited excerpts from the interviewUsually actors graduate from television to the web You went the other way aroundI didnrsquot know there was such a stark difference between the functioning of the two mediums I was new when I started doing web shows I did not know there was a hierarchy of sorts where after doing web shows you transition only to movies I went with the flow and didnrsquot want to restrict myself to any mediumDoes living the same character for too long feel monotonousTelevision scripts keep changing and the characters alter over time The initial pillars that you build your character on get diluted in the ocean of changes One fine day you wonder what you have been doing We have to make do with our reality and ensure that the scene is believable at the end of the day even though we might find it funnyHelly Shah and Rrahul Sudhir in Ishq Mein Marjawan 2What was your reaction to the scene where Helly Shah accidentally gets locked in the suitcase It was the most talkedabout sequence in the entire showWe often laugh about it so that we donrsquot feel the humiliating aspect of it When I first read the scene for the first 10 minutes I kept rereading it to ensure I was reading it right Then Helly and I had a good laugh about it I had a blast when we shot the sequence where I am talking to the entire family while she is in the suitcase with only her finger jutting outWhile suspension of disbelief is one thing daily soaps often also feed into peoplersquos superstitions In one of the recent episodes a diya goes out and Hellyrsquos character fears itrsquos a bad omenWhether we like it or not superstitions are ingrained in our system People stop when a black cat crosses their path Superstitions are constantly playing in our head So when we show a diya going out and something ominous happening wersquore merely reflecting peoplersquos thoughtsAs an actor where do you draw the line in terms of what you will do on screenI can go shirtless but the woman should not expose too much At the back of my mind I know my mother will be watching this and I donrsquot want her to feel uncomfortable Also I will not do rape sequences on screen People look up to me If I portray such a scene they may think it is okay to force themselves on a woman Unknowingly I donrsquot want to mislead people You have to be responsible for what you do on screenBefore you soared to popularity you were on the verge of leaving showbiz What changed your mindRight before I was offered Ishq Mein Marjawan I was packing my bags to leave Mumbai I was contemplating what my next step will be once I head back home to Dehradun While I had faced dejection earlier too it had never left me defeated But this time I was sure I didnrsquot want anything to do with acting I went to Goa for a holiday when I got a call from the creative director for this show and I insisted on playing VanshHow did you convince your parents about your switch from engineering to actingMy father is a tough nut to crack He believed that acting meant doing drugs and womanising and considered it the most disrespectful profession I couldnrsquot tell him that it was art and that we sell dreams to people My mother saw that I was deeply unhappy at the corporate job in Delhi Seeing my unhappiness they finally said do whatever makes you happy Thatrsquos when I told them that I want to be an actor Their response was lsquoBeta haath se nikal gayarsquo But now dad believes I can handle this world