Rafuchakkar’s Chahat Vig: ‘There was sympathy for Maniesh Paul on the set because of the prosthetics he had to wear’ | Exclusive

Actress Chahat Vig is a newbie in the industry, but she already has notable projects to her credit. After making her debut with the Aditya Roy Kapur and Mrunal Thakur-starrer crime thriller film Gumraah, she is now playing a key role in Narendra Bedi’s action comedy series Rafuchakkar, which also marks television presenter-comedian Maniesh Paul’s OTT debut. 

Featuring an ensemble cast - including Priya Bapat and Sushant Singh - the new series started streaming on JioCinema from June 15. Rafuchakkar follows conman Pawan Kumar (played by Maniesh), who is accused of carrying out bizarre scams. The series sees the actor playing some five characters. 

Also read: Rafuchakkar announcement: Maniesh Paul is an impersonator in his OTT debut

In a candid chat with OTTplay, Chahat opens up about her experience of working in Bollywood so far, why she thinks relatable stories on OTT are bringing the audience closer to performers, her love for romantic musicals, her next web series and more. Excerpts:   

Q. Your first film Gumraah came out in April and now your debut web series Rafuchakkar is releasing. Tell us about the experience and your character in the show?

A. The experience on both the sets were quite different - one’s a film and the other is an OTT show. In Rafuchakkar, because it’s a series and you get to be with the character and dwell in it for a much longer time, as each episode is about 40 minutes long. Exploring my character (Preeti Gogia) was interesting, because I’m also a Punjabi and so there were quite a few similarities. But then, there were a lot of differences as well. And exploring that on set was such a pleasant experience. 

Preeti is very meticulous. She’s a hopeless romantic, who is excited about her dream wedding, as she’s marrying the love of her life. But there comes a point in her story when her wedding is at stake. Punjabi people are often perceived to be loud, but the show avoids stereotyping. So, keeping in mind how a real Punjabi woman is, we have tried not to over-dramatise Preeti’s emotions and actions on screen. 

Q. How was it working with Maniesh Paul? Anything anecdotal or any special learnings from the set of Rafuchakkar that you would like to mention?

A. Maniesh is a fun person on the set. In between the shots, we also used to improvise our scenes a lot. There was space for each one of us to explore as actors together, because everyone was just on the top of their game. The story itself was so intriguing that we ourselves were very excited to explore where and how our character is going to react. Even the readings and pre-rehearsals were a lot of fun. And I think I learned a lot from that, just by witnessing how they all processed individually on the set. It encouraged me to tweak things around a bit and bring out the better side of Preeti. And so, we all were sort of together in that process in bringing out the best in our characters and collectively making Rafuchakkar. 

There was a lot of hard work and sweat, and also a lot of sympathy for Maniesh, because he had to wear prosthetics to look different for different sub-characters he played within the show. It’s just the beginning of my career, and I’m grateful for all the experience I have had so far.

Q. In Gumraah, you have shared screen space with Aditya Roy Kapur and Mrunal Thakur. Tell us more about it…

A. My first scene in Gumraah was actually with Mrunal, followed by scenes with Aditya. It was my first ever project in front of the camera. So, it was kind of special for me. I studied in a film school in Mumbai, called the Whistling Woods International, and have also learnt music production and composition. I felt the need to learn acting, because it’s a process for life. You can never really go to school and be like, ‘Oh, I’ve become an actor’. You start your journey, get those experiences and acquire knowledge from various talented people. And then, you keep practising and creating your own thing. Thanks to my school, I had a good reference to how it is to be done there, before going to the set. That said, Gumraah was my first project, and I was just 21 years old. So, there’s this rush in my heart and I was very excited. On the other hand, it’s like, ‘You better do well’. 

Mrunal is a very jolly and grounded person, who comes in with vibrant yet calming energy. I met her for the first time on the set. We immediately dived into reading because the shot was getting ready. I felt very comfortable with Mrunal as a co actor, and we were both invested in bringing out the best in the scene. It was a collective effort. I was at ease with her, and I think that is very important for someone who’s just starting out. With Aditya, I also had conversations about music. He’s a musician himself, so I never felt out of place. Neither did I have to try to fit in. It was just like it was right. Even director Vardhan Ketkar has such a pleasant personality. I feel extremely lucky to have started my journey with this team. 

Also read: Rafuchakkar actor Maniesh Paul: Fortunate enough to experiment with five characters in one

Q. What’s your take on OTT as a medium? Do you think that it has created more access for the audience and more opportunities for actors?

A. OTT has made receiving content a wholesome experience. Because of the long format, we not only get to witness the story and comprehend it, but also get to comprehend it in depth. It gives the opportunity to actors to kind of explore every character they play on screen. 

Again, as an audience, it is changing people’s perspective. It’s shifting narratives in people’s minds. So, I think it holds a very positive power. Additionally, the OTT space is also helping actors. I feel like it’s a blessing in disguise, or not so disguised anymore. It’s out in the open, because it’s giving opportunities to all the actors around the world to come in and give their best, because of the stories that are being told. 

Now, we are more about relatability. Even stars are more into doing relatable stories. It’s bringing out a side of us that we’re happy to share. In turn, these narratives are also making us feel closer to the performer. Of course, there are stories where we have the star factor and there is oomph, and we all enjoy that. But now we have options. You can, with the click of a button, choose to have that kind of a genre in front of you, where you enjoy dance, music, acting and the larger-than-life experience.

And with a click of a button, you have a choice to choose a show that tells the story of a common man, where you have relatability, where you feel like, ‘Oh, that’s so similar to my perspective’. I think that power OTT has brought in. And as an actor, I feel blessed that we have this opportunity to sort of audition consistently for more and more narratives like that. It creates such a healthy environment around you. 

Q. You have done a crime thriller film and an action comedy-drama web series. What’s your next project and is there any particular genre that you aspire for?

A. My next is a suspense-thriller series, titled 36 Days, directed by Vishal Furia. It will be released on SonyLIV, and I’m very excited about it. 

In terms of other genres, I would really like to be part of a romantic film or series, telling a story about love. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a boy-girl story. It can be something about the love between friends or family, but something to do with romanticising life. In fact, given my inclination toward music, I’d like to be a part of stories like Bandish Bandits [a musical romantic drama series, created by Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari, streaming on Amazon Prime Video], because it beautifully blends music, romance and family together. I think it’s kind of the perfect fit for me.