It's up to the audience now to decide the fate of

Powder, one of the Yash Raj shows that launched on January 1 on Sony,is being largely noticed. The fast-paced crime thriller has caught the attention of most viewers and is likely to help Sony gain some lost ground in the GEC space.

If you talk about Powder, there is no way you can miss Mahendra Ranade. The fiery intelligence officer, who was born and brought up in a slum where crime was the source of income for most, has hit the right note with most viewers. And Rahul Bagga, the actor who plays Ranade seems to have arrived on the TV scene!

Excerpts from an exclusive interview with the actor from Delhi.

Growing up
I was born and brought up in Delhi. I graduated from the Delhi University. Frankly, I never really wanted to be an actor and was living life like an average Delhi-ite. Only after I joined college did I get interested in acting and theatre.

It all started when I met N K Sharma from Act One, a Delhi-based theatre group. He introduced me to theatre and has taught me everything about acting. I have done more than 250 stage shows since then and have been passionate about it for the last seven years. Since our group (Act One) had strong Leftist leanings, we would never get sponsors for our plays so it was a perennial struggle for funds.

After many years of such struggle, I decided to move to Mumbai in 2007.

Journey from theatre to television
After moving to Mumbai, I got the opportunity to meet Abhimanyu Ray,the casting director of Yash Raj Films. When I met him, I wanted to grab a meaty role in a good movie. Though I was aware that my looks won't permit me to become a hero, I did not want to take up a trivial role of the hero's friend either!

That is when he told me about YRF's TV venture and said that he might have a good role for me. Initially I was very sceptical because I did not want to do television, but once he narrated the story, I readily agreed. Interestingly, I was first offered the gangster's role. A few months later I was offered Mahendra Ranade!

Struggle in Mumbai
I am from a middle-class background and had moved to Mumbai with the hope of making it big. When I got the offer from YRF, it was like a dream come true. But the whole process of the show seeing the light of the day was taking some time, so to make ends meet, I started doing commercials. I did quite a few good ones including Tata Tea and Idea.

I got a few TV offers as well, but did not take them up because YRF was looking for a powerful actor, not a good looking one and had selected me for that very reason. I just did not want to let go of that opportunity. I stuck with YRF. Today I am thankful I did.

Role in Powder
Mahendra Ranade is an inspector in the Narcotics Control Bureau. He is born and brought up in Dongri, the haven of drug peddling in Mumbai. Right from his childhood, he was exposed to the world of crime and could have easily become a part of it. But he chose to be different and became a cop to eradicate crime from the society where he was brought up.

Though my character is not that of a woman hater, Mahendra strongly believes that a lady cannot become a police officer. This, despite one of his colleagues being a woman!

Preparing for Powder
Most people think of NCB as a department of Police. But let me tell you, the kind of independence and power an NCB officer gets is equal to only a RAW agent or a Special Investigation Team member. I came to know about this and many other interesting facts about NCB while researching for the serial.

NCB officers are expected to look and behave like normal citizens so that they can mix with them and get information from various sources. Since Mahendra Ranade was born in Dongri, he is aggressive compared to the other characters. To portray that, I observed many people and picked up the right moves.

The shooting locales
I have been in Mumbai for the last two years. But shooting for Powder has taken me to places like Dongri, Darukhana, Cotton Green, Lakda Bazaar, Ray Road --- you name it and we have shot there! There is not a single shady place in Mumbai where we have not had a shooting for Powder. In fact we have also shot in Chamba and Dubai!

In short, we have shot in all the real locations where such crimes take place.

Expectations from Powder
I think it will be a big hit. Most people are comparing it with CID. But I think it's not right because they are two different shows. The storyline, the production, the execution– everything is different. The way YRF has handled it is exemplary. I hope no one dislikes the show.

What's next?
We have shot 26 episodes. It is up to the audience to decide the fate of the show now. I have kept my eyes and ears open – if I get good roles, I will grab them.