His amiable disposition probably stems from a heady cocktail of academic and artistic sensibilities. If you wonder how an engineering gold medalist with an MS from Illinois can take a detour, Raghav smilingly assures he is a dreamer. “It was probably false bravado but I am ok with taking risks,” he says.
Interestingly for someone whose ‘big passion is acting', Raghav's first brush with histrionics was a result of his musical abilities. Director Vasanth who approached Raghav for a song in ‘Aei Nee Romba Azhaga Irukka' (Raghav composed ‘Kadhal Vandhucho') offered him the part of Shaam's friend in the flick. He shares a ‘good working relationship' with the director who also cast him in ‘Satham Podathey'.
There is a tinge of fatalism in Raghav's tone when he talks about bagging an opportunity in ‘Endhiran'. “Guess it was meant to be,” he smiles. Raghav muses over how Rajnikanth used to pull his leg during the shoot by asking him to deliver his lines. “After I uttered them with dead seriousness, he paused for a while and remarked with a laugh, ‘So, you know your lines by heart; I am sure you must have gone all over town reciting them'.
The suave performer fondly recalls his big break that came with legendary director K.Balachander's serial ‘Anni'. “My friend Raja and I had done music for KB sir's ‘Chinnathirai'. During a meeting, I gave him my photographs and expressed a desire to act. He didn't say anything then. Sometime later, I was called to play a role,” the actor recalls. Raghav is full of admiration for the auteur. “Balachander sir didn't want to tell me that I was playing a negative character. He broke it to me in a very gentle manner.”
Versatile Raghav put on his dancing shoes along with actress wife Preetha for the reality show Jodi Number One that made him a household name. “I am not a trained dancer. My only qualification to dance is being a Michael Jackson fan,” he chuckles. Prod Raghav on his tryst with anchoring and he says without batting an eyelid, “To make money.” The best thing about dancing, anchoring or judging shows is, it allows him to be real, adds the affable actor.
Besides acknowledging his parents' support, Raghav is all praise for his wife. “She is practical and gives me direction”. Raghav's next celluloid venture is ‘Nanjupuram' where besides scoring music, he is also playing the lead.
“I want to do more meaningful characters to establish myself,” he signs off.
