Truth,Lies & Confessions

Truth is relative. It’s a matter of perception. Of personal choice. In some cases,a lethal weapon of mass destruction. One man’s truth is another man’s lie. Life too. “If you can bury it,then let it go,but if the truth is alive in your conscience,is creating a conflict in your system,then get it out with,” as Rajeev Khandelwal prepares himself for the season finale of Star Plus’s Sach Ka Saamna on September 18 with Rupa Ganguly in the hot seat,he pauses for a minute and reflects on the weeks gone by. “They were something,” he counts the rounds of ammo fired at them – attacks by self-appointed moral police,MPs boiling over the explicit and questionable nature of the show,celebrities refusing to participate,earth shattering confessions…it was something. “And the best was that nothing was orchestrated…every answer,reaction was impromptu,” tells Rajeev,who feels he’ll never be able to come under the scanner himself. “Because truth requires courage,conviction and self-belief. I have none at the moment!” Throw in a couple of millions,and guess everyone blurts! But if we run our eyes over Rajeev’s track record,there are hints of some high-risk taking activity. “The thing is I’m never influenced by what people or society says. I’ve always done my own thing,” says Rajeev,who chucked the idea of a ‘settled life’,and chased his childhood dream of becoming an actor. “I did abandon it for a while till it sprung up right after college. I thought why not give it shot,the maximum that’ll happen is I’ll fail,but at least,I’ll have no regrets!”

Failure was an option. Not giving his dream a shot,was never one. So,Rajeev landed in Mumbai and despite ‘what people said’ picked Left Right Left,did small budget film called Aamir instead of regular romance,and signed up for Sach Ka Saamna. “My motto and philosophy in life is to grow. Sach was a way to explore my talent as a host,the ability to respect people,not get this superiority complex in the way,and not be judgemental. Similarly,roles on telly were explored,and now it’s turn for films.” The New Year will bring in three releases including John Owen’s the romantic Peter Gaya Kaam Se,Saurabh Narang’s unconventional take on a young bureaucrat in Return Gift,and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Chenab Gandhi. “I want to experiment with everything,work with everyone,learn everything about cinema,and let them extract in me what even I’m unaware of,” tells Rajeev.

There have been ups and downs,but Rajeev has always moved on. “I take a lot of inspiration from people who were part of Sach…they had their apprehensions of what will happen once they leave the studio,but now they message me and say people come up to them to congratulate them,and take their autograph. This is for the pseudo socialists: India is doing its own thing!”