Raktanchal 2 is a passion project: Ashish Vidyarthi

Actor Ashish Vidyarthi, who recently starred in the web series ‘Raktanchal season-2’, joined NewsX for a fun conversation as a part of our special series NewsX India A-list. In the exclusive interview, the actor talked about his experience of working in the web series and much more.

Ashish shared with us if he hadn’t seen the first season of ‘Raktanchal’ and took this project as a fresh slate. He said, ‘I love going to things without reference. The reference for me whenever I go into any project is what is it that the director wants from me. So, at any given day, it’s very interesting when the director comes to me and shares with me what is it that they want from that scene. I feel very liberated to interpret what that person wants without the past. I feel it is wonderful to be truthful to the moment of that character in the script and no one better than a director who can lead your way into that.’

Talking about what appealed to him about this project and the character he played. The actor said, ‘It was the passion of my director, I’d say. Ritam called me one late evening when I was in Kerala and I hadn’t heard of Ritam or the show earlier. He narrated the script to me and during that, I felt that he had some character who is connected to the soil. This is what got it and decided to take this up. After that, it became a very symbiotic thing and we shot under difficult circumstances. Even I got Covid during that period and was admitted to a hospital in Delhi. But, Pritam was the one who kept the passion of the entire team together. I am glad we have completed this project. It is a passion project, I would say.’

Sharing insights about his character, Ashish said, ‘My character is somebody who is afraid that someone will stab him in the back. I have played it as a human being with frailties who wants to do a lot but is scared at the same time.’

Speaking about the challenges the team faced due to the pandemic, the Raktanchal actor said, ‘I have had a 30-year-old career now and when you are a 30-year professional actor, you see many ups and downs. Failure is not a new phenomenon for an actor. You must know that I deliver motivational speeches. I have a YouTube channel by the name of ‘Ashish Vidyarthi official’. I keep repeating that even before Covid-19 a lot of people have felt that their lives have come to a standstill. But this time the situation affected everyone. Also, I believe that humans are geared to handle challenges. Whatever the life is throwing at you at this moment, see how else you can live your life to create value.’

Lastly, Ashish revealed that he would never be interested in politics and added that if he did join politics, he would be very bad at it.