$DreamRKCCRajeev(RKliciousLand(invitedOnly)19thRK - Page 90

Three years after he impressed audiences with a compelling performance in "Aamir", Rajeev Khandelwal is back ' as a DJ in the upcoming film "Soundtrack". He has just had a release in Bejoy Nambiar's "Shaitan" where he played a cop. Ask him about the sudden activity after a quiet break, and pat comes the reply: "With me, it is never about the count. Even when I was in television, the number of shows and the money I was making was not comparable to the variety I did. I have never been smitten by money, and that approach stays in movies as well."

Rajeev's association with the director of "Soundtrack" Nirav Ghosh goes back two years. Nirav had approached him then and had a go-ahead for a film tentatively titled "Kal Ki Taaza Khabar". "That never took off as around the time we were thinking of it, a couple of films in the same zone were released. Last year, Nirav latched on to 'Soundtrack', which I thought was a very different and commercial film to make," says Rajeev.

The film, a remake of the Canadian film "It's All Gone Pete Tong" suitably adapted for Indian audiences, is the story of Rajeev Khandelwal who comes from a small town to become a music composer in Mumbai. His first job as a DJ gives him so much success that it goes to his head. The film talks about his degeneration as a human on the one hand and his battle with hearing loss on the other. The film also stars Soha Ali Khan and Mrinalini Sharma. Rajeev says he has deliberately kept away from watching the original to avoid getting influenced, and has instead watched a few clippings on the insistence of his director.

The film also marks a lot of firsts for the actor as he has never done intimate scenes and drugs-related shots earlier. "I would not like to sell the movie on its explicit angle; the explicit scenes are part of the narrative. In fact, I have refused several films because of intimate scenes, but when Nirav narrated them to me, I didn't bat an eyelid; I knew it wasn't just to prop up the film," says the actor, adding that he, and not Mrinalini (playing his girlfriend), needed mental strength to go through the said routine! "I am a middle class guy who didn't even know how to dope. Crew hands helped me get the scenes right, and I felt quite ancient and ignorant then!"

The actor says the film's opening montage ' when he lands in Mumbai and the sights and sounds of the city hit him ' was one of his most challenging scenes. "This man hears music even in the noise of the traffic, and there is music playing in his head throughout. We have played this wonderful track by Midival Punditz there, and it was difficult to bring those emotions on," he admits.

He has a film with Tanuja Chandra next, titled "Raakh". "It is a romantic film, but it is not your regular candy-floss fare. It is Tanuja's take on romance," says Rajeev, who intends becoming a director someday.