‘Never wanted to be an actor’

Radio jockey-turned-actor Abhilash Thapliyal opens up about his journey as an actor and more

Shashank Nair

In an exclusive conversation with The Free Press Journal, Radio jockey-turned-actor Abhilash Thapliyal speaks about his journey from radio to acting, being part of 

Aspirants and Kennedy, and more. Excerpts: From being an RJ to becoming a full-time actor, was this always part of the plan, or was there a moment when you realised you wanted to pursue acting?

No, I never wanted to be an actor. My whole objective in coming to Mumbai was that I wanted to be a part of The Kapil Sharma Show. That’s why I came to Mumbai. But it just so happened that The Kapil Sharma Show didn’t work out; instead, I started doing a lot of television shows like Comedy Circus and Entertainment Ki Raat. Eventually, Aspirants happened in 2021, and that’s when acting began. Although I had already worked on a film with Taapsee Pannu and Saqib Saleem called Dil Juunglee, which didn’t do well, I then completely moved into the television non-fiction space.

When you first decided to quit your job as an RJ, were you worried?

I actually became an established actor and then decided to quit. I had already done two seasons of Aspirants, SK Sir Ki Class, and Maidaan had been released. I had played the antagonist opposite Taapsee Pannu in Blurr, worked with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari on Faadu, appeared in Paatal Lok with Navdeep Singh, and worked with Aanand L. Rai on Raksha Bandhan. So, I had already done a lot before 

deciding to quit radio. It was not like I suddenly thought, “Okay, now I’ll do acting, so let me leave radio.”

How did you approach your role in Kennedy?

When it comes to Anurag Kashyap, whether it is Gangs of Wasseypur, Ugly, Dev.D, Kennedy, or Black Friday, it is never an actor’s film, it is an Anurag Kashyap film. Kennedy is no exception. When I asked why he chose me, he said no one else came to mind while writing it. That was a huge compliment. As the shoot approached, we discussed the character in detail. My character represents Kennedy’s inner voice. Whatever thoughts are in Kennedy’s head, my character expresses them. During the screen test, I tried something very different, but Anurag Sir told me, “Just be yourself.” He even scolded me for talking too much to Rahul Bhat while he was in character. My role is that of a ghost, a mirror to Kennedy’s emotions. As always, I followed his direction completely.

(Visit the FPJ website to read the full article)