Raghu Ram with John Abraham in Roadies 8

What made you decide to come back to Roadies?

I had left because of three reasons. First, too much of venting spleen and spewing venom had burnt me out completely. I was bored of Roadies. I was tired of seeing the same faces at work day in and day out, the same participants, the same (Roadies host) Rannvijay, the same MTV guys, the same abusive and intolerant Raghu… I knew that I had to get away from television completely. So I just left everything one day, packed a small bag and travelled for 15 months. I thought I would write a book, but I ended up acting in two films — Abbas Tyrewala’s Jhootha Hi Sahi and Farah Khan’s Tees Maar Khan.

Then one day, the guys from MTV called up and asked, “Haven’t you had enough of fooling around? Don’t you think it’s time to get back?'I put the phone down and thought seriously about it for a day. And I realised that I had actually started missing Roadies. Try as I might, I can’t deny the fact that Roadies gives me a creative high like no other. I have acted in two films, I have started writing songs, but it will take me years, even decades, to be as good at acting or songwriting as I am on Roadies. I spoke to Rajeev (his twin brother) and Rannvijay and decided to come back. They both thought that I had at least one season of Roadies left in me (smiles). So here I am.

I also wanted to come back because of the kind of abuse that I have been suffering on the Internet for sometime. I have had people venting their frustrations through their keyboards, giving me gaalis and threatening to do a lot of mean things to me if they ever got on Roadies. So the Roadies auditions this time is an open invitation to all these people to either sum up the guts and come and beat me up or to just shut up. I have had enough of these losers.

Finally, every single day that I have been away from Roadies, I have had at least 10 people coming up to me to ask why I quit the show. On Twitter, people have scolded me for leaving the show. Young kids scream out to me on the streets asking me to get back on Roadies. The other day, a security guard stopped me and asked: “MTV waalon ke saath kyon jhagda kiya tuney?” I had to come back!

Does a one-season break mean a deadlier and more dangerous Raghu this time around?

To be honest, I am not really sure. I am a very off-the-cuff kind of guy. I only prepare for the episodes, never for the auditions. If people are thinking that I will be back with a vengeance, maybe I will. But the 15 months of travel has changed my perspective about a lot of things. I may be serene this time around or I may be really snappy. Only time will tell. Some people are telling me that there will be pressure on me to be meaner this time around. Arre, kya pressure yaar? Nobody puts pressure on me. I do as I please.

Did you watch season 7 of Roadies?

Not even a single episode. That’s not because I didn’t want to watch it, but because I was up in the mountains living in a log cabin for seven months. I had no phone, no TV, no radio, no Internet and I was very happy. Once in a while, I would come down to the village and buy supplies. I would grab a newspaper then, but never read up on Roadies. I was happier that way. Then when I came back home, my TV set broke down and I haven’t got it repaired till now. What is the point? There is only rubbish playing on TV these days. Even my dog refuses to watch it.

What can the viewer expect from Roadies 8?

This season of Roadies is ripe with possibilities. Being an original home-grown format, we have the freedom to introduce twists and turns whenever we feel that the game is getting too predictable. One thing that you can’t accuse Roadies of is predictability and at this point of time I can only say that Roadies 8 will be like nothing that you have seen on Roadies.

Why have John Abraham as part of Roadies?

John is a very close friend and I thought he would be great on the show. We have acted together in Jhootha Hi Sahi where his character Sid lies through his teeth. We will set up something called Sid’s Helpline on the show where John will give tips to the contestants on how to lie their way through the contest. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. The fact that John and I hit it off really well whenever we meet will come through on the show. I remember the first day we met, he came up to me and said: “Hey Raghu, I am really scared of you. Please don’t be mean to me!” Imagine, a hulk like John saying something like that to a Stuart Little-like character like me. Man, I felt powerful!

Roadies was a pioneer in the extreme reality genre. What do you have to say about its clones?

I have no TV, so I really haven’t watched most of them. But here we are talking about people who have no imagination and no originality. They are retards who just know how to live off the ideas of others. When Eminem became big, every white rapper wanted to be an Eminem. When Bruce Lee was a hit, then every judo expert thought he was Bruce Lee. Shave a guy’s head, make him grow a goatee, teach him how to abuse and they think they have another Raghu Ram. It’s stupid and not worth talking about.

Finally, between Roadies, how has the acting experience been?

Nerve-wracking to say the least. I really don’t know how good I am as an actor, but I have just been myself in both these films. When both Jhootha Hi Sahi and Tees Maar Khan release, I will be travelling with the Roadies team. If the reactions are good, I will do more films. If the reactions are bad, I won’t. It’s pretty simple. I am not looking to be the next Akshay Kumar.