Rajeev Khandelwal opens up on dark side of industry: ‘Everyone knows that it must exist’

Mumbai: Actor Rajeev Khandelwal has spoken about the dark side of the glitzy world of glamour and said that manipulation is a “part and parcel of the industry.”

Rajeev, who made his Bollywood debut with the action-thriller ‘Aamir’ in 2008, plays a superstar Armaan Singh in the ‘Showtime’, which is directed by Mihir Desai and Archit Kumar. The show takes a deep dive into the world of Bollywood, actors, production houses and how they function.

Talking about manipulation being a part of the industry, Rajeev told IANS: “Manipulation is something we all have seen from our school days to till now to whichever industry we are working in. Manipulation is a part of every industry and human nature.”

The 48-year-old actor said that it is the entertainment industry where money is involved.

“Everyone is out there to make a living for themselves and their families. For us to think about producers to manipulate for making more money and aligning themselves with certain favourable people who they think are going to bring them more success is very natural,” added the actor, who hails from Rajasthan.

Saying it out loud could be scandalous, said the actor, who began his television career with a negative role in the 2002 show ‘Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat’.

“I have seen it. But just to say it probably could be scandalous. From the time when I was not part of the industry or from those years when the industry came into existence these manipulations could have been there… Manipulations are a part and parcel of our industry,” he said.

Is there a dark side to the industry and does ‘Showtime’ showcase it?

Pat came the reply: “Yes, it has.”

“There is a side of the industry, which I am sure everyone knows must be existing because we hear stories of depression, suicides, someone going cuckoo in the head, drugs and so many stories that come out from the industry that people must be having some kind of impression that these things must be having in the industry and they will be curious to know why…”

He said that his show has tapped into that side.

“Showtime has tapped into that side, which you see and have a little idea about. It is fiction but not a figment of someone’s imagination. It is actually different incidents that happened in the industry and presented in the form of a storyline, where you see the truth about the industry in some sort of entertaining way,” he said.

Talking about playing Armaan in the show, he said: “It is very exciting to play this character because I have seen these characters in the last 20 years in the industry.”

He added that he has met people from the industry, who have the kind of attitude he showcases in the show.

“I have encountered a lot of people who have this attitude or who are like this because stardom brings a lot of elements in your personality which are probably missing in others; and to play a character like this — which I am clearly not — was challenging and easy as well,” he said.

‘Showtime’ streams on Disney+ Hotstar.

–IANS