Making his debut as a child artist as the young Tantya in Balaji Production’s Sai Baba , Rajat Tokas went on to gain recognition for his portrayal of Prithviraj Chauhan, in Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan. The show marked the turning point in the actor's life as he received several awards including that of the Best Actor ITA 2007 for it.
Rajat went on to essay Akbar’s role in the serial Jodha Akbar besides playing other varied characters. He will now be seen in Ekta Kapoor's upcoming revenge drama on Star Plus, Chandra Nandini where he will be essay the role of the great Mauryan emperor, Chandragupta Maurya.
In an interaction, the Delhi boy talks about his new series, its challenges and his longing for his home city.
Tell us about “Chandra Nandini”
It is a historical costume drama . Before we started a lot of extensive research was done to get the precise and accurate details. From the kind of accent to the clothes people wore, the food they ate... Covering their lifestyle and portraying it correctly would be the show’s biggest plus point. The rest is for the audiences to judge.
Tell us about your role and how did you prepare for it
I am playing Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan dynasty. Each character have its own requirements. To say I have played such characters before and so it will be easy for me would be wrong. Each role that I enacted before be it Akbar or Prithiviraj Chauhan and now Chandragupta Maurya was different because each character belonged to a different culture, a different era. To portray them you need to live their life, the same way they would have lived. Only then can you win the audience trust. As far as aesthetics and physical appearances go, one needs to be physically and mentally strong. They were all great rulers, who won several battles using mind and body. You need to posses the same qualities if you want your portrayal to be beleivable.
Don’t you think that you are being typecast?
It is totally up to the producers and the makers of the show, as to who they deem fit for a particular character. If they see me fitting the character then only they offer me role. It is then as an actor my duty to give it all that I have in me to breathe life into the character. An actor's job is to create an identity, from a mere description on the paper into a real person. And to answer your question, I don’t think I have been stereotyped. I have also played an obsessive lover in ‘Tere Liye’ and a psychopathic fictional creature in ‘Naagin’. Whatever comes my way, if it is good, I will grab it. If it gets me branded or associated to certain types of roles then there's not much that I can do about it. I am game for any kind of character.
How is Rajat like beyond the arc lights?
I have been described as reserved and shy person by people close to me. I share a very close and special bond with my mother who has always been with me through thick and thin. An indoor person, I like to just go with the flow — calm and steady. Being at peace with yourself provides happiness like no other.
Do you miss Delhi?
Of course, I miss Delhi. There isn’t a place like it in the whole world. I get home sick every now and then. But work takes you to different places. I can’t sit at home the entire time as I've got a responsibility to provide for my family and so I have to work.
