Adding another feather in his cap this year is Raghu Dixit, as he looks forward to his debut as an actor with the Kannada film Baang, co-starring Shanvi Srivastava. “I never aspired to be an actor. I am blessed that things just happened and here I am playing a gangster in my very first movie! This is a dream run. I am very fortunate,” he says.
Sharing how things worked out, the musician, 48, says that he was approached for the role. He says, “My friend and fellow composer Ritvik Muralidhar called one day and dropped in with director Shree Ganesh Parashuram. They said they wanted to discuss a project with me. I thought they wanted me to sing for their film, but when they said that they wanted me to act in it, I refused and said I had no clue about acting. But they kept coming back and after a couple of months of their persistence, I gave in. During the narration, they promised that they would cradle me through it. But when I got into the costume and got to the sets, I really started enjoying the experience. I could have done this much earlier, I wonder.”
Was it hard to get into the skin of the character he plays in the film? “More than it being difficult, it was the fear of failure that held me back. But once the training for fights and reading started, I slowly got into the skin of the character. I feel blessed,” says Dixit.
The Neeyum Naanum Anbe singer shares that he’s looking forward to more acting gigs: “I would love to do challenging roles that make me learn and also discover new sides of myself. If it’s too easy, it’d kill the enthusiasm.”
Ask what’s happening on the music front and Dixit shares he has “taken a break from composing film music”. He explains, “I want to focus on my band and performing with my band. The new album, Shakkar, will be out in a couple of months. Currently, we are touring the UK and then we have tours in USA and the Middle East this September. After that, we will have a long tour of India to promote the new album.”
