Dancing his way into the future

Actor Rohit Behal is one of the upcoming talented actors in the Telugu Film Industry. His recent feature film 'Natyam' in which he played the male protagonist along with the co-actor Sandhya Raju, released in theatres few days back and is basking success with an OTT release scheduled in the next few weeks. His second feature film 'Prathyardi' is now about to come very shortly.

Speaking with The Hans India Rohit Behal shares his journey, "Working in Natyam has been such an emotional journey for three years now. I have gone through a quite transformation. I had the chance to work with some very experienced and senior actors and I have soaked in everything that I could to make myself a better actor."

"Director Revanth saw my videos on social media platforms, when he was looking for the lead actor for his film. He asked me tosend some acting videos and when he liked those, I met him for a screen test here in Hyderabad. We did a few scenes together and the next thing I know is that I was going to be doing my first ever film in Tollywood. He showed immense confidence in me from day one and I couldn't have asked for a better start." he adds

"He would sit down with me early mornings and work with me on language and diction. The character was very similar to how I am in real life. The challenging bit was the language but again I had a lot of people around me helping with that so it felt like a fun part of it. I would prepare all my lines, the full script in fact one month before we started the shoot and that gave me a lot of confidence to perform with senior actors. It is important for me to know more about the Telugu culture so that I can give them the best," says Rohit

Talking about his upcoming movie, which is a crime thriller where Rohit Behal seems to play a character of a mechanic who is stuck between a murder mystery and no one knows who the killer is. "It is in its closing stages of post-production. Maybe we can expect early 2022 release. I'm looking forward to see how that is going to come out."

"I signed this movie before 'Natyam.' It was unexpected. None of the southern audiences knew me then. From a simple- looking dancer in my first film to showing a raw character of a mechanic in Prathyardhi," says Rohit

Rohit is a storyteller. He has begun his career as a dancer and now he is evolved in acting. With Natyam, he realised that storytelling is the essence of an artist, language is secondary. Hence, he wants to tell stories, and be part of movies in any language. Right now, since Telugu cinema gave him the first chance, he is more equipped to do films in Telugu. A Pan India approach is what he is aiming at, in the distant future. Rohit doesn't come any film background or any prior arrangements. He comes from a middle-class family. He was privileged enough that his parents supported his career choice and was not under pressure to be the bread winner for the family. But other than that, It's all hard work and few lucky moments.

His inspiration towards acting comes from Late Sushant Singh Rajput whom he really looked up to in terms of his genuine work ethic and energy and how he made it on himself in the industry. "The director and storywriter Dasaradh is about to make another project which he will be presenting and producing it. I have heard the story narration with director Dasaradh and it's a lovely script. We will start the preparation for the script next week and start shooting for it soon and we can hope for a summer mid-2022. His directed movie 'Mr. Perfect' is one of my favourite Telugu films of the past decade. So, I am really looking forward towork with him," says Rohit

"When I'm not working, I love going on long bike rides on my Enfield. It is in a way meditation for me. It allows me to focus and just be in the moment. I like skating. I am currently practicing in line skating these days. I watch films in all languages," says Rohit.

"I want to reach larger audiences, connect to more people. I realised after doing 'Natyam' that yes, language is important but the emotion underneath is what comes first. If I connect to the emotion of the character and if audiences connect with me, then language is only a medium of communicating that emotion. "I would love to do more Telugu films, work with so many names in the industry, and I'm open to explore other languages too. Hindi is the language I speak at home so I would love to do something in Hindi soon. If the right opportunity at the right time comes my way I would love to take it. I feel I can tell stories in multiple languages and be a part of all storytelling culture. From here, let's see where it takes me. Right now, I m dancing my way into the future," he concluded.