RAW actor Shadaab Khan: I want to focus more on acting now!

Shadaab Khan was recently seen in the espionage film Romeo Akbar Walter, starring John Abraham and others. Even in a small role, he managed to make his presence felt in a suave, nuanced rendition of his screen character – Nawab Afridi – that other actors might have played loudly. Before RAW, the actor was last seen in the 2000 release Hey Ram, but we hope to see more of him in the future. In his elegant home just off Kalakar Amjad Khan Chowk in Bandra’s Pali Hill area, Suguna Sundaram caught up with the actor and his lovely wife Rumana, who was instrumental in his return to the big screen. In a candid chat, the actor talks about his big screen comeback, what kept him away for so long and juggling between writing and acting. Excerpts:

It’s been almost two decades since you disappeared from films…

Honestly, I don’t know what happened. Somewhere down the line, I just fell out of love with the business of films. I didn’t feel like I belonged here, and it was a feeling of just not wanting to be here. I wanted to explore other opportunities. It was always told to me that you should go into films because of my father (the late Amjad Khan) and grandfather (legendary late actor Jayant). I got here and thought to myself that I was probably better off someplace else. I can write. I wanted to explore that. And somewhere, while doing that, I just went further and further away from this place.

Your wife Rumana had been urging you to come back to films I believe!

Rumana played a huge part in this journey back. It was 100 per cent her doing and her belief in me. And her constantly telling me that I should not ignore something that I should be doing. She said, ‘You’re an actor, this is your family’. She was of the opinion that I should not just write, but act as well. In fact, she insisted that I was making a mistake in continually turning down work that was coming my way. Eventually, that would definitely stop. And she was absolutely right. Now I want to strike a balance between writing and acting with more attention on acting. I am thankful to her for bringing me back here, or RAW would not have happened.

So how did RAW come about then?

I am very grateful to Mukesh Chhabra’s casting agency. They always kept me in mind, for my role in Hey Ram, and kept calling me for roles. I turned down a number of roles, including one in Sriram Raghavan’s Badlapur. I wasn’t sure of or keen on coming back. Plus, I’d put on a hell of a lot of weight during the time I was out. I didn’t want to be seen on screen with the 131 kilos I was back then. If you are typecast in a film and it works, every other film you get will be in that same mould. I was very scared that if I came back with Badlapur, it would not look good for me. So I started working on myself towards losing weight.  But it was very nice of Mukesh Chhabra’s agency to keep remembering me because had they not, that role in RAW might have gone to somebody else. When they called me for RAW, I knew that I was not the guy the director had in mind. The physicality of character he had in mind was something else, someone greater in size and physical stature, and more menacing.

Tell us more…

For the character of Nawab Afridi, he was looking for somebody more Nawabi, someone heavy-set, like a fat, rich man. I had lost weight by then. I was not fitting the character. Mukesh’s team said let’s audition him for the role, and when they did, it worked well. That’s how I came back, though I wasn’t planning on that even now. But the kind of films being made, opened my eyes to this, honestly.

Post RAW, what’s next on the table?

I am currently in talks for two particular web series, as an actor. Verbally, I have committed to one, and I’ve auditioned for both. The good thing about auditioning, is as an actor, it gives you practice, it sharpens you up. Auditioning is the norm now. And until you don’t make it, until I am not in that position, until the director says, ‘Hey, I want this guy, we write a role for him,’ and you don’t need to audition, until that day comes, I will keep auditioning and keep my eyes open. I’m very competitive by nature, and I don’t want to fall back.