Ranaksh Rana plays the character of Raghav in his OTT debut, Ballia Kand. Neel Pandey is the director of the web series. Raghav, a local gangster from Ballia, is one of the pivotal characters in the series.
“Raghav’s character has an interesting arc that unravels various intersections of emotional, relational, and power dynamics. It’s a strong character that was fun, yet intense to play. Fun because, I could tap into my roots to find the emotions to portray Raghav in his local demeanour, and intense because the character and his emotions are quite deep and varied,” says the actor.
Apart from Ranaksh, actors Harry Josh, Ramit Thakur, Puja Agarwal play leading roles in the web series that also features Upasana Haldar and Sharon Pandey in supporting parts. Ballia Kand was shot in Essel Studio, Trombay.
Excited about his web debut, the actor adds, “Getting such an interesting and important role for my OTT debut is just an incredible feeling. You can say stars were aligned for me to play Raghav in Ballia Kand and my belief just got strengthened that groundwork, being consistent and hard work does pay off. My expectations are huge, I have the will and wish to push and make a name for myself as an artist. I’m quite excited about the release of Ballia Kand and the fact that I got to work alongside such talented actors like Harry Josh and Ramit Thakur was very encouraging.”
Ranaksh left his corporate career for acting. With a show like Ballia Kand coming his way, it seems things are finally moving in the right direction for him.
“Acting was always my calling. From being a banker to an actor has been an interesting journey and I’m living my dream. Of course I did learn a lot in sales and even when I was doing corporate jobs, I would do theatre. I have done plays for around four years and theatre was the beginning of my visible love for acting. It showed me what this profession can provide in terms of the satisfaction of being an artist and the thrill of pushing yourself beyond limits. Now to be able to do that on screen and that too for a web series with an important character is quite fulfilling. I feel my preparation to be an actor had started in my life much earlier than I realised. Life itself has been a preparation. I have learnt a lot since the day I decided to be an actor and constant exploration has been my style,” he shares.
About the kinds of roles he is looking for, the actor says, “I recently attended a 12-day experiential workshop by Neeraj Kabi sir and that has weaved all my experiences through the right techniques as a perpetual preparation for acting. I would like to see myself playing roles that challenge me as an actor. I’m quite keen on doing both negative and comic roles. I feel it’s important to explore the range of emotions to grow as an actor.”
