New Delhi: Raghav Juyal, the talented reality star from Uttarakhand, is making rapid strides in world of entertainment. From being a viral sensation to proving himself in the field of dance, comedy and now acting, the energetic performer is unstoppable.
What started off as a hobby proved to be a turning point in his life. Raghav remembers being interested in dancing ever since his childhood days when he studied in Dehradun. He did not take any formal training in dance, but learnt by watching YouTube videos and evolved his own genre of dancing.
After choreographing and mentoring contestants in several reality shows, Raghav these days is hosting Remo D’souza’s dance reality show Dance Plus. Here also, Raghav is being loved by one and all for displaying his impeccable comic skills. The fresh installment of Dance Plus is all set to air this weekend on October 25. While Remo D’souza will return as super judge, Dharmesh Yelande, Sumeet Nagdev, Punit Pathak and Shakti Mohan will be the mentors.
In an exclusive conversation with Top Lead India, Raghav Juyal talked about his upcoming films, his diverse interests and his journey from mountains to Aamchi Mumbai.
While Raghav Juyal enjoys performing in and hosting reality shows, his latest passion is acting and he has been learning the art from veterans of the field and at the same time giving auditions for various projects.
Raghav says that he loves to do new things and likes to immerse himself in them. He has been learning theatre and filmmaking for the past 2.5 years and one of his mentors is Saurabh Sachdeva, who played Isa in Sacred Games.
“It’s like summer camp for me. I took the risk by getting into acting but it is the love for new things that keeps me going,” Raghav told us.
Taking risks is not new to Raghav and participating in Khatron Ke Khiladi was not the only adventure he undertook. The talented star shares with us how growing up in Uttarakhand itself built his risk appetite. “Pahadon par chadhna, lakdiyan kaatna..there is a lot of physical risks that I kept taking in my growing up years. In Khatron Ke Khiladi also, I never had any problem in completing stunts. Bas yellow ki jagah kaala flag le aata tha. Because of which I couldn’t win (laughs).”
Raghav Juyal’s school days in Dehradun were full of fun and because of all this masti, he got expelled from several schools, his last school being Doon International. “From bunking classes to writing on walls, I did a lot of mischief in school due to which I ended up getting expelled. So, as a result, I have studied almost all schools in Dehradun,” he adds.
Raghav’s hard work in learning acting is bearing fruits now and he is now ready with two new films-Bahut Hua Samman and Street Dancer 3D. In both the films, his characters are different from the other and Raghav enjoyed the process of preparing for his characters to the core.
Bahut Hua Sammaan, a con comedy, is directed by Ashish Shukla and features Sanjay Mishra, Ram Kapoor, Swanand Kirkire apart from Raghav Juyal in pivotal roles.
It revolves around the lives of two young engineering students known for their quick con jobs. Raghav Juyal and debutant Abhishek Chauhan are the two college students. Nidhi Singh, Namit Das and Flora Saini feature in key roles.
“It’s a story set in Banaras and is a political satire on the situations we are currently in. It’s a very interesting script. Abhishek and I are playing college kids. Sanjay (Mishra) ji is someone who is the alumnus of the college.
Sharing more about his character, Raghav says his character in the film is very impulsive and because of this often makes mistakes. “It’ not a physical comedy but something what Tarantino does. My character is very outspoken. Jo dil mein hai, muh par bol deta hai. ”
Apart from Bahut Hua Samman, Raghav will also be seen in an important role in Street Dancer 3D to be directed by Remo Dsouza and stars Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Nora Fatehi, and Prabhu Deva.
“My character in Street Dancer is very different from Bahut Hua Samman. It’s a serious kind of role and the character has lot of anger in him. My character is very caring and takes decisions keeping lot of things in mind,” Raghav told us.
Raghav enjoyed working with Remo D’souza in the film because he’s like family to him. “Remo sir ke saath saalon se kar raha hun. ABCD 2, Dance Plus. He’s like my family.”
Raghav says while Bahu Hua Samman is more content driven, Street Dancer 3D is a complete entertainer.