His role of a cold-blooded Pakistani agent in the hit spy series The Americans has come in for praise. Today, Rahul Khanna fans can binge-watch Season 3 of The Americans on FX, noon onwards. Before that, a t2 chat with Vinod Khanna’s dapper son.
What’s been the biggest challenge of working on The Americans?
There wasn’t any great challenge as such, but it was definitely exciting to be a part of it because it’s such an incredibly well produced and acted show. And it’s arguably one of the best shows on American television. For an actor, it’s a dream come true to have an opportunity to be part of such a show. There was a great deal of excitement and nervousness and all that stuff that comes with the territory of doing something new… especially when it’s a job that you are really looking forward to.
You had a cameo in Anil Kapoor’s 24 last year before starring in The Americans. What difference did you find in the working styles of TV productions here and there?
I think about 10 years ago there definitely was a difference in the working styles of Bollywood and the West, but now people in India are working very similarly to how they are working there. The level of preparedness and professionalism is on a par for the most part. Planning meticulously and scheduling is also more or less the same. The only difference that is probably there is in the budgets. Everyone there works on much bigger budgets.
Also, if we talk about a television show like The Americans, they shoot it like a big Hollywood film production. Plus, the team has been working together for three seasons now and so everything moves very smoothly because they are used to working together. It moves much quicker than a feature film.
Did coming into a show running for three seasons throw you off a bit or did you blend in easily?
It’s such a professional set-up that they make you comfortable from the get-go… they make sure everyone is well prepared and everything moves on time. I was cool from the first day itself.
You play a Pakistani ISI agent. What have been the high points of the role for you?
It’s set in the Cold War period of the 1980s. I love attention to detail and every piece of wardrobe that I wore was actually from that time period… every prop and the sets were authentic. It was really fun to work amid that level of detail.
And then, I got to do some pretty fun things… like fold up a dead body and put it in a suitcase! (Laughs) Watching it on TV you don’t really realise the mechanics and the kind of work that goes into shooting a scene like this, which is both grisly as well as great fun.
Can you take us through that scene?
The scene is where I have to dispose of a dead body and the only way to do it is to fold it up in a suitcase and take it out of the hotel. For the scene, we had to work with three different characters — one was the actress herself who gets killed by my character, another was a prosthetic dummy, and the third was a contortionist who was able to bend herself into incredible shapes at various angles (smiles). She fitted herself into that small suitcase… it was truly amazing. I think we spent about half a day doing this one little scene. It was very well choreographed… and a lot of fun.
Your character was supposed to star in only one episode, but the role was extended and made to feature through the whole season. That must have been a high…
Oh, it was! I am happy they thought I was good enough to last longer on the show. Also, I feel good that Indian actors, or for that matter actors from the subcontinent, now have substantial and varied roles in international projects that they can sink their teeth into. Yes, there are still the stereotypes of the Indian doctor or engineer, but we are getting other roles too.
Will this mean more of Rahul Khanna in the West?
As an actor, it’s quite difficult to plan because you are somewhat reliant on what’s offered to you. I have always looked for interesting roles both here and there. I won’t be able to choose which country or continent I want to work in… it’s just good work that’s the criterion.
We get to binge-watch The Americans on Saturday. Which shows do you like to binge-watch?
Game of Thrones, Mad Men… and, of course, Breaking Bad.
Finally, will we ever see you and your brother Akshaye together in a project?
Well, Akshaye is now shooting for a film (Dishoom, with John Abraham and Varun Dhawan) and he’s busy with that. We would both love to do something together, but it would have to be a project that we both really like and fit into. So far, we haven’t really found anything that we can both be in. But he did appear in a cameo in Bollywood Hollywood (a 2002 Deepa Mehta film co-starring Lisa Ray)… so technically, we have done a film together! (Smiles)
Priyanka Roy
I like Rahul Khanna because....
Tell t2@abp.in
India’s Got Talent Season 6 champ Manik Paul was felicitated by his mentor Sudarshan Chakravorty at Sapphire Dance Academy’s 23rd anniversary celebrations held at GD Birla Sabhagar recently. The aerial artiste, who wowed the nation to win the Colors reality show this season, was a student of Sapphire Dance Academy from 2011-2014, before moving to Mumbai. “I am extremely happy to have been honoured by Sapphire. All my friends are proud of me. I recently got a call from Punit (one of the judges on Zee TV’s Dance India Dance Season 5) to choreograph some aerial acts for the participants,” said Manik.
Picture: B. Halder
