When Rohit Saraf’s Ranvijay Yadav takes a fatal bullet to the head from Kamal Haasan’s Shakthivel in Thug Life, it unfolds in under five minutes. While the scene serves as a catalyst for the story, it doesn’t end up being its most pivotal moment. But behind that impatient sequence was a physically draining day on set, one that had Rohit tied to a chair for hours together. "Physically, it was tough. I was tied to a chair for nearly 8-9 hours, with breaks, of course," Rohit shares, while also recalling another breakthrough he experienced on the sets that day. "I was supposed to be fully clothed for that scene — jacket and all. On the day of the shoot, Mani sir told me he preferred I do it stripped down to just the underpants. I was a little apprehensive at first, as I had never been that exposed on screen before." Still, Rohit asked for the reason, hoping an explanation would help ease his hesitation. "Mani sir said, 'A person is at their most vulnerable when they’re down to bare skin. Ranu needs to be vulnerable here; it’s justice being served.' That clicked for me. It made complete sense, the contrast of power and helplessness, especially for a character like Ranu." What started as apprehension soon turned into curiosity. “I then became curious to see how I’d feel performing like that on a full set," he shares.
It was on the sets of Mismatched Season 3 that the golden opportunity came knocking on Rohit's door. "This was sometime last year, while I was shooting for Mismatched in Hyderabad. That’s when Eka Lakhani called me saying, 'Hey, we’re doing a film with Mani sir, and there’s a role, very different from what you’ve done so far, and we’d love for you to consider it.' The minute I heard it was a Mani Ratnam–Kamal Haasan project with music by AR Rahman, I didn’t need to know anything else," the actor says with vigour. Rohit was then asked to audition for the role, though he wasn’t particularly concerned with the details. "I didn’t ask what the role was or how big it was. I just said, 'I’m in.' Just the idea of being on set with these legends, even if only like a fly on the wall, was thrilling." While he was ready to take on any part in the film, Rohit was over the moon when he found out he’d be sharing screen space with Kamal Haasan. "When I found out Kamal sir would be the one to kill my character, I said, 'I’ll die a thousand times for this!' I was that thrilled," he gushes.
In that heated scene in Thug Life, Rangaraaya Shakthivel questions Ranvijay at gunpoint in Tamil, calling him out for all his wrongdoings. A bewildered Ranvijay responds, “I don’t understand you.” Ask Rohit Saraf if he ever felt that way on the sets, and he admits, "Language is a barrier when you're working in a different region." I had experienced it before while working on Kamali From Nadukkaveri, so I had some idea of what to expect. But on Mani Sir’s set, people around made things easier. I became friends with several of them, like Arjun Chidambaram, who was incredibly helpful. During chaotic moments, especially with action sequences, he’d help me understand what was going on." The Dear Zindagi actor further says that he also paid keen attention to what was being said in Tamil, as he wanted to learn the language. "I was also very curious and eager to absorb as much as I could. I didn’t want to just come in, do my part, and leave. I genuinely wanted to understand the culture and the world I was stepping into."
Voluntarily or not, Rohit has earned a name for himself as a new-age chocolate boy, destined for romance roles. So, when Mani Ratnam visualised him as a baddie, he was nothing but grateful. "What excited me most was that a director was finally seeing me through a different lens. I’ve usually been cast as this urban, sweet guy with his heart on his sleeve, charming and dependable. But this role was the exact opposite. It was darker and edgier, and it was being directed in that space by Mani sir? I couldn’t have asked for anything better." That said, Rohit isn’t looking to abandon romance anytime soon. "Romance has become a kind of home ground for me, and it’s something I want to keep doing. But it’s not the only thing I want to do. I'm always looking to grow, push boundaries, and explore as much as I can," he says.
While Thug Life gave him the opportunity to step out of his comfort zone and share screen space with legends, Rohit remains refreshingly detached from the commercial and critical noise surrounding the film. “Honestly, I haven’t tracked the box office numbers for Thug Life; I’ve been unwell and shooting continuously. I believe every project is made with the best of intentions. Of course, we all want our work to be loved. When it is, it’s incredibly reassuring. But when it isn’t, that doesn’t stop an artist. You go back, create again, and hope the next one connects better," the actor says pragmatically.
With Thug Life behind him, Rohit Saraf is now juggling multiple projects, though he’s tight-lipped about most of them for now. What we do know is that he’s part of Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari and is also filming for the fourth and final season of Mismatched. While Rohit is widely recognised as Rishi Singh Shekhawat from the hit series, he’s quick to draw a line between reel and real. "Of course, I bring parts of myself to every character, but at the end of the day, Rishi and Rohit are different people. I’m not him, and he’s not me. That said, if people still identify me by a character I played, it only means it truly resonated with them, and that’s a big compliment,” he says. Though it’s too early to reveal details about the final season, Rohit acknowledges the emotional weight of bidding farewell to the show that catapulted him into the spotlight. “I feel like everything that begins needs to come to an end; only then is there closure,” he says, before signing off.
