As Jaraj Saxena, a former star down on his luck in \u201cBa***ds of Bollywood\u201d, actor Rajat Bedi says he was reliving his own struggle of not getting work in the film industry for years but he never imagined that he would have such a comeback.<\/p>\n
The Aryan Khan-directed show marks Bedi\u2019s return to showbiz after two decades. The actor is best known for \u201cKoi Mil Gaya\u201d and \u201cJaani Dushman\u201d. His last released movie was 2007\u2019s \u201cPartner\u201d, which featured Salman Khan and Govinda.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m very, very grateful to the Khan family for considering me and getting me into the show, especially building this character around my original life. I\u2019m overwhelmed that it has been received so well. The whole audience is saying, \u2018What a comeback! Shah Rukh Khan has got you back\u2019,” Bedi told PTI in an interview.<\/p>\n
The actor, who began his career as an assistant on Shah Rukh\u2019s 1995 movie, \u201cZamaana Deewana\u201d, said Jaraj is a favourite character for not just Aryan but also Suhana, Gauri Khan and Shah Rukh Khan.<\/p>\n
He is now looking forward to be back as Jaraj in season two of \u201cBa***ds of Bollywood\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they want to see more of me. And you will get to see more of Jaraj Saxena in season two. The writing is going on, that will come with a bigger bang. It will happen sometime next year. It will be very exciting.\u201d After the show\u2019s premiere on Netflix, Bedi\u2019s IMDb ranking skyrocketed to the ninth place on the top ten list of most popular Indian stars from 954.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is looking beautiful. If you ask, \u2018Is there a line-up of work?\u2019, I would say, \u2018No, I\u2019m still waiting for those calls to come\u2019. But some big producers are considering me for their projects, but till it\u2019s not done, it\u2019s not done.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited now that at least people will look at me optimistically thinking I\u2019ve done good work, and I was part of a big project. I want to do things and be relevant and live up to people\u2019s expectations now. I\u2019m being loved and appreciated a lot. I\u2019m thinking, what now? I don\u2019t want this time to go away,\u201d Bedi, who moved back to Mumbai about two years ago from Canada with his family, said.<\/p>\n
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Bedi said a poured in his own pain to flesh out Jaraj Saxena\u2019s character in the show and he has received calls of appreciation from fellow actors from the industry, including Harhvardhan Rane, Angad Bedi.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have connected to that pain, and have appreciated it. There are some actors who messaged me because what I\u2019ve gone through, a lot of actors are going through. They are wanting a film to break through to move forward, and they\u2019re seeing that Rajat has stayed patient even though he didn\u2019t get work for 15-20 years in Bollywood. They\u2019re like we can also do it,\u201d the actor said.<\/p>\n
Citing the example of one of the scenes from the show where Bedi talks about his struggle of not getting work in the industry despite approaching many people, he simply said: \u201cIt has happened a lot of times.\u201d He met director Rakesh Roshan, casting directors Mukesh Chhabra, Abhishek Banerjee and gave numerous screen tests but nothing materialised.<\/p>\n
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Bedi recalls meeting Salman Khan while the superstar was shooting for the 2021 film \u201cRadhe\u201d and sought his help to get work.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor \u2018Radhe\u2019 they called me for a role through Prabhu Deva sir at Mehboob Studio. Salman bhai was there, and he was like, \u2018You\u2019re not going to do this one as it is not an appropriate role for you\u2019. I was heartbroken.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Sir, I\u2019m getting a film to do with you and you\u2019re saying \u2018I\u2019ll give you something better, wait\u2019. I said, \u2018Okay, I\u2019m waiting to work with bhai again\u2019.\u201d Bedi has some good memories too of his time in the industry, especially collaborating with David Dhawan on three films like \u201cJodi No.1\u201d, \u201cChor Machaaye Shor\u201d, and \u201cPartner\u201d.<\/p>\n
It was during his time in Canada that Bedi received a life-changing phone call for \u201cBa***ds of Bollywood\u201d, and the message was clear: Aryan wanted to meet you to discuss a role.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI was like, are you sure? Here I go to the industry and ask for work but I don\u2019t get it. Here\u2019s somebody who\u2019s looking for me, and that too SRK\u2019s son. It was a blessing in disguise. I was like, \u2018I will not let this (opportunity) go away, don\u2019t care if I get a small or a big character. It\u2019s his debut so it\u2019s going to be historic.\u201d He said he gave his nod to the show but on one condition: his son, Vivaan, will work as an assistant director on the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beauty was that Aryan had so much faith in me. He gave me a free hand. Like, he would give me a scene and say, \u2018See how you feel\u2019. Then I would tell Aryan, \u2018I\u2019ll do this and that\u2019, and he would be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n