Tahir Raj Bhasin made his Bollywood debut10 years ago as the antagonist in Pradeep Sarkar’s cop drama Mardaani. He exuded a new kind of cool as he locked horns with Rani Mukerji’s gritty protagonist. The actor confesses that the Hindi film industry was indeed confused for a while for they didn’t know what to do with him – cast him as the bad guy (his screen presence and charisma screamed a superstar) or make him play the conventional lead (he wasn’t willing to conform to those diktats). It took several movies and years for him to finally find a sweet spot in the Netflix India thriller show Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein.
(Also Read – Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein season 2 review: Tahir Raj Bhasin is endlessly watchable in a worthy, pulpy follow-up)
Playing the conventional unconventionally
“That was possibly the case for a few months when Mardaani came,” Tahir says of the industry struggling to locate him, in an exclusive interview. “But thereafter, look at the kind of directors I’ve had the fortune of working with, right from a Nandita Das (Manto, 2018) to a Nitesh Tiwari (Chhichhore, 2019) to a Kabir Khan (83, 2021). A producer told me soon after Mardaani, ‘Remember, the industry is like a big ship. If you’re on it, it takes a little while turn and recognise what you are and what you can do,’” recalls Tahir.
Tahir followed up his impressive Mardaani debut with another antagonist in Abhinay Deo’s 2016 action thriller Force 2. Now that he’s tasted blood with a character of his calibre and mould in Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, would he go back to playing the black from the grey? “I definitely would. It would just depend on what role the part plays in the overall story and who the director is, whether it’s an all-out, knight-in-shining-armour protagonist or an antagonist. Even though it may be written as a black or a white, it’s always interesting to add shades,” says Tahir.
He feels that he’s never had to chase unconventional roles because he’s always managed to trace the unconventional within the conventional. “For instance, in Mardaani, there’s a simple moment when he breaks down after someone from his drug cartel has been shot. You don’t really see an antagonist cry. It’s unusual, and makes the audience feel empathy for someone they shouldn’t. As a result, you’re making them uncomfortable,” Tahir points out. In this regard, he looks up to actors like Shah Rukh Khan (Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, 1994), Aamir Khan (Rangeela, 1995), and Irrfan Khan (Haasil, 2003) to take conventional leading parts to a place where the audience, and even the writers, aren’t expecting them to go.
Pradeep Sarkar has been a key influence in the choices Tahir has made over the years. The late filmmaker once told me he has a keen eye for actors who can very well be conventional leads because of their charm and presence, but choose to be more instead. For instance, yet another one of his finds – Vidya Balan (Parineeta, 2005). “I actually wear it as a badge of honour. If you look through the history of cinema, either in our films or internationally, it’s always the unconventional who do exciting parts and through the stories they tell, make the unconventional parts conventional. That’s how you leave a small imprint on pop culture. So I’d rather be unconventional and good than conventional and okay,” admits Tahir.
He also realises that for him to tread the unconventional path, he can’t discard the conventional absolutely. Tabu, known for playing parts as diverse as Maqbool and Golmaal Again, credits the filmmakers for her range – for she wouldn’t have been able to show her versatility had they seen her in only one light. “There’s always an element of luck and chance in all of this. I’m a firm believer that in Mumbai, it’s the choices that pick you rather than the other way round,” says Tahir, who also believes that doing the same kind of work because it worked for you is “a sure-shot cause of self-destruction.”
On returning to Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein
In that case, how does Tahir get himself to play Vikrant again in season 2 of Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein? “It was definitely one of the most challenging parts I had to play because I’ve never returned to a character. I’ve never done a sequel or a season 2 before,” says Tahir, who is glad that the gamble paid off. He reveals that not only was season 2 at #1 on Netflix India’s Top 10, even the first season began trending again, a feat that’s rather rare. “It’s incredibly validating and I’m feeling ecstatic, that’s the only word that comes to mind,” Tahir shares.
However, unlike his viewers, Tahir never rewatched season 1 before as revision for season 2. “During season 1, I did a bit of prep to write the backstory and what makes the character tick. So I just revisited those notes of what went into creating Vikrant in season 1. I knew the stakes are dramatically higher in season 2. So if you’re reacting like in season 1, the audience wouldn’t feel the shift in gear. But what was essential was also to keep the foundation same,” Tahir says.
Season 2, as an Instagram user pointed out, feels like an “extended climax” of season 1. It hits the high notes throughout and operates on an adrenaline rush for most part. “It’s just hight points, pulp writing, and sensational in the best way. But you have to play it with a certain amount of authenticity. When you’re holding the emotions Vikrant is going through – stress, anxiety, and dread – for a three-month period, it takes a toll. And a lot of it is being shot in -4 degrees, so it’s not the most fun environment to be in,” Tahir reveals.
Also, thanks to a two-year gap between filming both seasons, Tahir also had to get into Vikrant’s shape, since he gained weight for Milan Luthria’s gangster show Sultan of Delhi in the interim. “I had three months to lose seven kilos. The biggest compliment came from someone who watched season 1 and 2 back to back and said they didn’t feel a physical change in my character,” says Tahir. However, unlike the first season, Vikrant didn’t have too many shades on display in season 2. Was the follow-up season then all about doing more of the same?
“I was aware that the character is going into a greyer space, as compared to the variations his life story had in season 1. But what prevented me from feeling that it’s going to be one palette is that because the audience is seeing the show through his mind. He’s got 180-degree opposite equations with every character, whether it’s his father (Brijendra Kala), with Saurabh Shukla’s character, with Shikha (Anchal Singh), and with Gurmeet Choudhary’s character. So while he may be facing the same moral dilemma, the stress, and the guilt, how he deals with it and how he interacts with each character, is where the variations in the part come,” says Tahir, once again locating the unconventional within the conventional.