Haircut To Temple Run, How Raakh's Ramandeep Yadav Got 'Rajjo' Out Of His System

Playing a deeply problematic or villainous character can take a massive psychological toll on an actor. When Ramandeep Yadav stepped into the shoes of Rajjo - a role loosely based on Billa, one of the notorious criminals from the infamous Ranga-Billa case, for the show Raakh - he knew the journey would be dark. However, the sheer weight of embodying such unpredictable, raw violence left an indelible mark on his psyche. From restructuring his physical living space to match his character's chaotic mind to feeling alienated from his own co-stars, Raman faced a gruelling battle to preserve his own identity.

In a candid post-release interview with NDTV, the actor opened up about the disturbing mental toll of the character, the heavy atmosphere on set during the show's most unsettling scenes, and the deliberate, intense steps he had to take to finally purge Rajjo from his system and return to reality.

The Disturbing On-Set Reality and Character Trauma

Embodying a character capable of heinous acts meant that Ramandeep had to remain in a deeply unsettling headspace, which heavily impacted his interactions on set. When asked whether the role was mentally daunting, pressurising or emotionally draining, Raman recalled the stark social isolation and heavy emotions he experienced during the shoot:

He told NDTV, "Bahut zyada draining tha emotionally kyunki mujhe ab bhi yaad hai, main ek corner mein apna music laga ke baitha rehta tha, even jo mere ADs the, they were like, jo female ADs thi woh keh rahi 'mujhe Rajjo se baat hi nahi karni hai, tum jaake baat kar lo, tum usko scene bata do.' 'Woh mujhe jaise dekhta hai na, mujhe bada ajeeb lagta hai,' aur unhone mujhe yeh bola hai even abhi wrap pe, screening pe bhi bola hai, aur maine bola 'so sorry but main zone mein tha aur main woh break nahi karna chahta tha jo main real life mein feel kar raha tha.'"

( It was very draining emotionally because I still remember I used to sit in a corner with my music on. Even my ADs said - the female ADs were like, 'I don't want to talk to Rajjo, you go and talk to him, you tell him the scene.' 'The way he looks at me, I feel very strange,' and they told me this even at the wrap and at the screening. And I said, 'so sorry but I was in the zone and I didn't want to break what I was feeling in real life.')

Living with the Ghost of Rajjo

The boundary between the actor and the character blurred completely when Raman began altering his own home environment to mirror Rajjo's reality. When questioned if he had genuinely changed his house and living set-up to match the requirements of the role, Raman explained the dangerous sense of 'belonging' that begins to form: "Aapko karna padta hai kyunki ek time ke baad woh belonging feel hone lag jaati hai, toh kahin na kahin woh belonging Rajjo ke saath ho raha tha - ki meri washing machine kahan hai, meri almari kahan hai, kaun se kapde pehen raha hoon, shoes kahan hain. Main toh aisa kar raha tha ki main multiple socks pehenne lag gaya tha, ek white, ek brown."

( You have to do it because after a point, you start feeling that belongingness. That belonging started attaching to Rajjo—where my washing machine is, where my cupboard is, what clothes I'm wearing, where my shoes are. I even started wearing multiple socks - one white and one brown. )

The Road To Recovery: Purging The Character

When the cameras finally stopped rolling, Raman was left with the monumental task of deconstructing Rajjo and reclaiming his own life. When asked how he managed to break out of this dark mental space, he detailed a deliberate process of spiritual cleansing, immediate physical transformation, and restructuring his environment:

"Mujhe travel karna pada thoda sa. Mera ek dost hai Nikhil. Main sabse pehle Trimbakeshwar gaya tha kyunki jab mujhe script mila tha, woh mere birthday wale din mila tha. Main bahut grateful hoon Mahadev ka ki mujhe yeh opportunity di. Jab humara show khatam hua monsoon mein, toh main Trimbakeshwar gaya aur maine Bhagwan se kaha ki aapne mujhse yeh karwaya, thank you, ab isko le lo. Ab ho gaya..."

(I had to travel a bit. I have a friend Nikhil. First, I went to Trimbakeshwar because I received the script on my birthday, and I feel very grateful to Mahadev for giving me this opportunity. When the show ended during the monsoon, I went there and told God, "You made me do this. Thank you; now take it back. Now it's done. )

To fully separate himself from the character's physical identity, Raman took drastic measures on the very day the project wrapped: "Aur jis din wrap hua, usi din maine apna poora haircut karwa ke clean shave kar liya. Mere director ne kaha 'bhai, yeh baccha kaun hai?'"

( And the day it wrapped, I got a complete haircut and became clean-shaven. My director said, 'who is this kid?' )

Finally, erasing the lingering presence of Rajjo meant dismantling the domestic space he had meticulously created over the six-month shoot and grounding himself back in his own reality:

"...kyunki mere ghar ka jo setup tha, jo maine us dauran banaya tha - jaise bed ka placement, almari ki jagah - maine sab change kar diya baahar aate hi. Mujhe sab kuch naya karna tha. Jo pattern main chheh mahine se follow kar raha tha, mujhe woh todna tha. Main apne normal doston ke paas gaya, jo Raman ko jaante the."

( ...because the setup of my house that I had created during that time - like where the bed was placed and where the cupboard was - I changed everything as soon as I stepped out. I wanted everything to be new. That pattern I had followed for six months, I wanted to break it. I went back to my normal friends, who knew me as Raman. )

Raakh is currently streaming on Prime Video. It also stars Ali Fazal, Sonali Bendre in key roles.