Miilee’s other half

Rachna Parekh
Posted online: Friday, June 10, 2005 at 0000 hours IST

From the funny guy in the Fanta commercial to the happy-go-lucky Rahul in Miilee, Ajay Gehi has come a long way

Rachna Parekh

Rahul with his flamboyant personality, care-a-damn attitude and a girl-chaser might not fit the bill of the conventional good boy, but his funny antics, compassionate nature and love for Miilee makes him a boy you want to take home. What's more, Ajay fits into the shoes of Rahul easily 'cause he also belongs to an upper middle-class business family in Mumbai. And just like any other teenager, Ajay too aspired to own half the city by the age of 21. Consequently, when he was in the first year Bcom studying at HR College, he opted for correspondence course instead to make money. This was followed by a three-month job stint in Dubai of selling computers. But soon the job bored him so he decided to return home and pursue his passion. "Every time I switched on the TV and watched people perform, I would feel the pinch of not following what I am best at - acting. That is when I decided to come back and do something rather than crib. Since my school days I have always been more inclined to performing arts and anything that gets me applause and adulation. Be it elocution, competition, plays, singing competition, etc my parents always encouraged me to participate in them. Even my college life revolved around these activities," recalls Ajay. Back at home after making a back-up plan (diploma in software programming, course in diamond cutting and assorting, course in sub-broking at the Bombay Stock Exchange and graduation) to fall back on incase his acting career did not take off, Ajay got his portfolio clicked from a friend. Next, hee distributed his photographs to a few people. "One day, I received a call from the guys who were making a TV commercial for Fanta. They wanted a guy who could act like Jim Carrey. So I did the audition and the next thing they called to tell me I was selected but would not be paid much. To my surprise when I heard the money I fell off the chair. So that is how I got my first assignment in January 1998," says Gehi. After that, there was no stopping him - commercials kept happening along with hosting shows and parts in TV serials. He has done 100-odd advertisements, a small role in Raman Kumar's Raahein, hosted Mud Mud Ke Dekh, Double Mann Double Mazaa, Superhit Muqabla, done comedy show for Channel 9, a comedy serial Mamla Gadbad Hai, Kinare Milte Hai and a few more. But this lead to repetition. "Since most of the shows and ads I did required a funny bone, I was being offered only comic roles. So I decided to go on a two-year vanvas to avoid getting slotted. I would take work only if it excited me and meanwhile also try getting into films," explains Miilee's Rahul.

there are similarities between Rahul and me. We both love cars and flirting ... - Ajay Gehi

During that sabbatical, his four-year old association with Vishal Bhardwaj, the producer of the comedy show Gubare fructified. "He was making Maqbool so called me if I would be interested to play Guddu. I grabbed the opportunity. After that, I signed some projects but unfortunately they all were getting postponed. During that phase I got a call from STAR Plus people who were looking for someone to play Rahul in their new series. By any means, a role in a 9 pm slot serial is better than doing a mediocre film just for the heck of it. Today budgets are great and publicity is bigger than films, in fact films fall back on TV for publicity. So I decided to do it," tells Ajay.

It has been over nine months since Ajay has become a part of Miilee. Were there any difficulties doing the role? "None so ever because there aremany similarities between Rahul and me. Both are energetic, love driving fast cars, listening to loud music and flirting but unlike me, Rahul is more brash and carefree as he comes from a rich family and has never faced any tough situations. But he is your atypical next-door and lovable guy who every individual can associate to. Being an author backed role there was no problem getting into the skin of the character," he says. Having worked together for so long today Ajay says his rapport with co-actors is so healthy and rare that it complements his performance. "Be it my director or co-star Mona Vasu, we have reached such a level of understanding that we know how the other is going to react. Like my director knows exactly how I shall act out a particular part or Mona will know how to react incase I make extempore innovations. I feel it is very rare and fortunate to have a co-actor who complements you," he Two of his favourite scenes in the serial are - one is the episode where Miilee goes to Rahul's office to tell him sorry and another is a scene where he defends his mother in the boardroom. Being his big break, Ajay has got quite a few fans, girls to mothers to children. "Basically my character is so likeable that every one from grandparent, mother, father, sister, brother, friend or girl friend, would wish to have Rahul in some or the other form in their lives. And essentially he is a lover boy as a result I get a lot of appreciation from female fans. But I know they love Rahul and not Ajay!" he says realistically speaking.

With a prime time daily, modeling and film assignments, Ajay has his hands full but whenever he gets time he likes to watch movies, write scripts (which he plans to direct someday), sing (was in a band during college) or spend time with his wife and parents, "I hardly have time but this is what I have been waiting for all these years. I like being occupied with loads of work. In fact, my family thinks actors are lunatics and have given up on me." At the moment, apart from working for Miilee, Ajay is modeling and has signed two film projects as the main protagonist. Which means he is open to working in any medium that ensures him applauses. When quizzed what kind of roles excite him, he says, "It sounds very cliche'd but anything that is physically as well as mentally challenging. I want to play a role which is a complete contrast to the real me. For example play a complex character of a psychopath killer, lunatic, swimmer, etc. I want to play the kind of roles there were in Million Dollar Baby, Ray, Aviator, Mohammed Ali, A Beautiful Mind. Like in Monster, Charlize Theron had actually put on weight and done something to her face to look ugly. Similarly I want to do roles where I have to work on everything from mannerisms to body language to talking style to voice to looks," he says. Though Hindi flicks sans the love and melodrama are a rarity, Ajay is hopeful, "I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Black, which did not have the conventional hero, the quintessential love story or item numbers but still managed to touch hearts. When I see such films I see hope for actors like me." This does not rule out doing regular masala movies with unlimited quota of dances, fights, romance and drama. "Of course I would love to do movies where I have to dance like Govinda, play a romantic like Shah Rukh Khan, fight like Amitabh Bachchan, do action scene like Akshay Kumar. Personally I feel, compared to complex roles they are easier," he states. Finally Ajay says, "Initially my father was a bit hesitant about me joining films but as he saw my work he encouraged to continue my struggle and follow my ambition."

explains.

thanks for the article jingle👏but i think it's been posted before😕

yah have read the article before...but thanks anyways...👏