Harshavardhan Rane’s message said: ‘ Satrah ko shaadi hai .’ That was good enough to set people thinking the actor is getting hitched. But the actor who claims to be single, laughs, “That’s my Bollywood debut. It is a John Abraham production and I was lucky enough to get a call for a role,” he says.
The movie is about an Indian wedding and the chaos that go around the moment a wedding is planned. Harsh (as he likes to call himself) plays the ‘second lead’, he explains. For the moment Harsh has completed his shooting but is elated at a video promotion where John Abraham is all praise for the two boys in ‘ Satrah ko….. ’
Isn’t he rushing in to Bollywood when he is yet to make a strong foothold in the Telugu industry where he began his acting career? “No, I don’t think so. I didn’t go looking for a role in Bollywood. Nor was I in a hurry to land. Bollywood happened just the way Telugu movies happened to me,” he explains. Which is: “I was at Abbas Tyrewala’s office’s seeking his appointment; auditions for a Telugu movie were going on in that building. I landed at the wrong place at the right time and I was in Takita Takita. Similarly when I got a call from John sir’s office I was shooting for Neelakantha sir’s Maaya . I was in the midst of work and I said I cannot make it because of my commitments. But they waited and gave me time. That’s how I landed in the Satrah ko … team.”
Playing his role wasn’t hard, says Harsh. “I was playing the role of a boy who never refuses to help anyone; guys from Gwalior where I am from, always do that. I was basically playing the role of every other helpful boy I grew up with,” he laughs. And did his ‘goody two shoes’ look help? He laughs and says, “Hopefully it adds extra to the good boy role.” Satrah… is a comedy with an ensemble cast where Harsh is paired opposite a new girl.
In his forthcoming Maaya with Neelakantha, Harsh will be seen opposite three female actors. Does all this leave him with time for a ‘girl’ in real life? Harsh denies all alleged link ups with a badminton player from the city and says “These talks probably crop up because I am sportsman too. I play almost every sport except golf. Right now I have a career to make and I hardly go out to make it to the gossip columns.”
As an actor Harsh says coming up the hard way isn’t easy, “I have done all sorts of work to support my dream. Right from working in a telephone booth to playing anchor of a late night TV show where I was to host ‘guess the face contest’,” he laughs.
