Rajesh Tailang never thought of acting as a ‘profession’. He equates his “incredible journey” as an actor with an “artist pursuing art”. He says, “Through the art of acting, I have seen myself evolve and achieve.”
The actor will be seen in a social drama film titled
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Rajesh, 48, made his debut in films with an unconventional role. At 26, he played a 65-year-old man in the National Award-winning 1998 film
Says the National School of Drama (NSD) graduate, “That is what a love for acting does. It makes you look at a role as a character.” The actor has also spent time teaching at NSD.
Having been born into a family of musicians and artists, Rajesh’s initiation into art happened very early. He started out in theatre whilst still a child. “My role in
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During lockdown, Rajesh pursued a pet project — a film he shot via video calls. “I used the technique of remote direction and shot the [short] film over three months,” he says.
The movie is titled Trivediji , and is about a woman stuck in lockdown with the only living partner in her house: a plant. Rajesh held the rehearsals too via video call. The film features Vartika Tiwari, a student of NSD. “She was stuck in Mumbai during lockdown, and we decided to do something creative. I directed the angles and scenes through video call,” he says.
Though there was a lot of back and forth involved in making the film, Rajesh adds he is happy with the outcome and plans to screen it at film festivals.
The creator in him now awaits the publication of his book — a collection of romantic poems in Hindi; it is titled Chand pe chai . “When not acting and writing poems, I make short films. I upload these films on my YouTube channel: ‘Theatre Talkies’,” he concludes.