From shaving off his head during Dance+, quitting Dance Deewane 3 midway to risking his career by vanishing from the public eye; Raghav Juyal on his transition from TV to Films

Raghav Juyal has been a prominent name in the TV and Film Industry. He started his journey with Dance India Dance as the slow motion dancer, he made a mark as a host. Now after a break, Raghav hits back at the screen nailing his acting prowess. In the recent podcast with Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Raghav opens up about his journey in TV, his transition and more.

Raghav talks about his bond with Bharti and Haarsh, and reveals he was like their son, he said, "I was their Golla during Khatra Khatra Khatra, for quite a few years, I have been like their son and then they had their own Golla. I have had the best time with them. All these years, I have been working still people recognize me from Khatra Khatra Khatra."

Hosting is natural, I have learnt a lot from Bharti Didi and Kapil Bhai. I have learnt from didi that I have to stay natural on the stage, mujhe koi sharam ki baat nahi hai ismein, I learn from everyone. I get inspired and I incorporate it in my work.

Raghav and Haarsh recall when he had shaved his head during Dance+, Raghav said, "Their brand ambassador was a shampoo brand. I remember we were partying and we played truth and dare. They dared me to shave my head and I did it. The next day was Dance Plus' shoot. I reached there bald and the crew wasn't even opening the vanity's door for me. They refused to recognize me. Then the channel, producers and everyone came and yelled at me. I said now should I inform you all before cutting my hair? Then I came to know that I shouldn't do this. I had worked enough but didn't have that experience. I was 'unprofessional', manmauji tha main."

Talking about Raghav quitting Dance Deewane 3 midway and Haarsh-Bharti taking over, he shared, "Woh show, show se zyada ladies sangeet ban gaya tha. Chamach aur dhol ki wait thi, apart from that in COVID's second wave I was on-ground and I wanted to be there as they needed me more. So I chose to quit and go to help them."

Golla will become the world's best actor, I am 100% sure. He is already open, he has rhythm. Not everyone will have that rhythm and he has it so he will be the best artist, he will enjoy doing a lot of things. Let him do what he is doing before giving him any formal training.

I was learning back then and I was hosting as well. They had specially kept things more accessible and easy for me. I was getting trained and I was hosting too. In TV is like aaj jao aur parso famous. But when I started acting, I knew that I would have to take a break from everything and work on myself. Even my coach told me that I was too famous and I had to break that identity. So I had to go away from the public eye. It isn't that easy, it is extremely risky.

For 5-6 years, I was in a terrible state, I didn't have work as I had to stay away. In TV, you do earn but not like 'aaj kama liya, araam se baithke khayenge'. My reach was decreasing with each passing day, people were demotivating me as well. I had TV's lifestyle so I had to manage all of it. It is really important to keep patience to get back on it again. I had to completely leave my identity for this transition.

After Kill, the whole Industry be it Vicky Kaushal, Anurag Kashyap and Fahad Faasil congratulated me. But those artists with whom I did TV didn't even call me apart from Remo Sir and Terence Sir. I would come back to TV to refresh my mind. I want to be back in a show like Khatra Khatra Khatra, without any inhibitions.

I don't want to go in Bigg Boss, I would end up breaking the set. Haarsh shared, 'Raghav and I had memorized the script, and we ended up playing cricket.' Raghav added, 'It's a reality show, why should we be bound to a script? I would want to stay natural if that's the case.' I would like to do TV if offered and have time to do. It takes a lot of time to prepare characters so if I get time out of it then I will surely do.

Raghav shares, "In TV there was popularity and a lavish lifestyle. If you are the host then you have a vanity and a lavish lifestyle to lead on. But in films it isn't like that. Aisa nahi hai ki glucose pe acting kara te hai but you don't have the leisure and I am enjoying that too." Raghav further shared how he enjoyed being a part of TV and would love to do it again.