Raghu Ram on ‘Good, Unhealthy, Ugly’, working with Ajith Kumar and Adhik Ravichandran

Raghu Ram is ready for the discharge of his upcoming movie – Adhik Ravichandran’s Good, Unhealthy, Ugly – starring Ajith Kumar. His earlier Tamil movie, Physician (2021), starring Sivakarthikeyan, was acclaimed in addition to profitable. But it surely was launched through the pandemic-induced lockdowns. So, Raghu couldn’t be part of the promotions or watch it in Chennai. This time, it’s a greater venture. So, Raghu is ready to expertise the fanfare in Chennai along with his spouse Natalie Di Luccio, who has sung in Kadal and I. 

Raghu made his title as a tv producer and host with in style actuality reveals like Roadies, Splitsvilla, and Indian Idol. His first movie was Abbas Tyrewala’s Jhootha Hello Sahi. Of late, he has begun embracing performing as greater than only a facet gig.

“I take into consideration three years in the past, I used to be going by way of a transition in my mindset,” he says, over a name, “I used to be turning into extra fascinated with fiction and different points of creativity.” It was round this time that Keedaa Cola, a Telugu movie directed by Tharun Bhascker, got here his method, giving him the sense of path he had been in search of. Since then, he has taken on quite a lot of roles throughout a number of industries, culminating in his upcoming Tamil enterprise.

The Ajith issue

Raghu’s filmography spans a number of languages — Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu, and now Tamil — however it’s the southern industries which have intrigued him probably the most. “I actually loved working within the South much more,” he admits, “So, I used to be like, okay, we’ll do that now. I’m an actor now.” His background provides him a novel connection to Tamil cinema. Although he primarily lived in Mumbai and Delhi, he grew up in a Telugu family whereas attending a faculty run by a Tamil administration. “For me, Tamil will not be a overseas language. I don’t see myself as a random North Indian being solid in a Tamil movie,” he says.

One of many largest attracts of Good, Unhealthy, Ugly for Raghu was the possibility to work with Ajith Kumar. “All I can inform you about my character is that it’s nothing just like the one in Physician. That’s one of many causes it appealed to me — it’s very completely different from something I’ve executed,” he says. “However personally, what drew me to that is that it’s an Ajith Kumar movie, a Mythri manufacturing, and it’s by Adhik. All three points are very interesting as a result of I actually wished to do one other Tamil movie.”

His expertise working with Ajith was each enlightening and amusing. Used to the casual trade tradition of Mumbai, Raghu discovered himself in a peculiar scenario when addressing the star. “In Mumbai and Delhi, after I began out at 20 years previous, I used to be educated to name all my colleagues by their names. However down South, it may be seen as disrespectful.” Ajith, nonetheless, was pleased with the informality. “After I met Ajith Kumar, he mentioned, ‘Hello, Raghu,’ and I requested him, ‘Is it okay if I name you Ajith?’ He mentioned, ‘Yeah, positive, man, I might love that.’ However each time I referred to as him Ajith, the set would go silent. Individuals would cease what they had been doing and take a look at us.” Ultimately, he relented and began calling him “Ajith sir” for the consolation of the crew.

However what actually struck him about Ajith was his larger-than-life persona. “I began getting a bit in awe of him after I realised that he was driving his personal racing automotive. It’s like Bruce Wayne is so wealthy that he may rent somebody to be Batman, however he chooses to be Batman himself.” Past his stardom, Ajith’s outlook in the direction of life resonated deeply with Raghu. “The largest factor I picked up from him is to not let societal expectations restrict or outline you. He doesn’t have to show something — he simply is.”

Raghu Ram
| Picture Credit score:
Particular Association

The Adhik expertise

If working with Ajith was an expertise in trade tradition, collaborating with director Adhik Ravichandran was a crash course in adapting to a novel inventive course of. “I can confidently say that working with Adhik will probably be completely different from working with another director. It’s a novel expertise, and I’m positive it can by no means be replicated.”

Adhik’s strategy is very spontaneous, usually finalising dialogues on the day of the shoot. For a non-native Tamil speaker like Raghu, this added a layer of problem. “It’s okay for everyone else, however for me, it’s barely troublesome. I used to beg, ‘Please give me the dialogues prematurely.’ However Adhik would joke, ‘Sir, you’re not working right here; you’re on trip.’” But, Raghu acknowledges that this spontaneity brings a freshness to the performances. “There’s an power to his filmmaking. It jumps out of the display screen.”

The highway forward

As somebody who has transitioned from producer to actor, Raghu approaches his roles with a author’s mindset. “Writers have a special language,” he says. “After I speak to writer-directors like Nelson and Adhik, I take heed to cues about how they’ve written the characters. It helps me achieve insights into the position.”

His means to empathise with even probably the most unfavorable characters is a testomony to his dedication. “As an actor and a author, you can’t choose a personality. It’s important to empathise with them and discover their humanity,” he explains. This philosophy was evident in Physician, the place he performed a baby abductor. “We couldn’t simply play villains; we needed to discover the humanity in them.”

Raghu can also be venturing into screenwriting, drawing inspiration from the filmmakers he has labored with. “Each director can also be an actor in a method. Once they direct me, I choose up on their actions, their imaginative and prescient.”

As he waits for the discharge of Good, Unhealthy, Ugly, Raghu Ram is now not only a actuality TV icon or a reluctant actor. He’s totally embracing the artwork of storytelling — on and off display screen.