Being a film star is an aspiration for many but a limitation for Ajith sir: Raghu Ram

Actor and former Roadies judge Raghu Ram, who previously acted in Nelson Dilipkumar’s Doctor, is now making a return to Tamil cinema with Ajith Kumar’s Good Bad Ugly. In a chat with us, he shares about being part of the highly anticipated film, sharing screen space with Ajith, losing his passion for reality shows and more…
‘It’s going to be a celebration with GBU since it’s an Ajith film’
Doctor happened during the COVID pandemic when I had just become a father. So, I could not have any interactions with the Chennai audience. I’m a big fan of Tamil cinema and it’s going to be quite a celebration with GBU since it’s an Ajith film. I’m looking forward to experiencing that celebration in Chennai with my wife, Natalie Di Luccio. She is also related to the industry as she had sung Aila Aila in Shankar’s I.
‘Ajith sir has refused to let his stardom define him’
I’m not that familiar with Ajith sir’s filmography, but I really admire Kandukondain Kandukondain and recently, watched Thunivu. I know he’s a huge star and is very enigmatic. He is not like other film stars. Being a film star is an aspiration for many but it’s a limitation for him. He has refused to let that define him. Him being a racer blew my mind. He doesn’t let age, the stage of his life or any accomplishment limit him.
‘Every time I referred to Ajith sir by his name, the set would go silent’
When I addressed Ajith sir by his name, people were shocked. When I initially went up to him, he said, ‘I have heard about you. I believe you did Roadies.’ I asked him whether I can call him by his name and he replied, ‘Sure man. I would love that.’ So, he didn’t mind that and was really happy. But every time I took his name, the set would go silent and people would lose their mind. They scolded me so much that I told Ajith sir that I’m going to now refer to him as sir as too many people were very uncomfortable. In Mumbai, you call each other by your name and not sir or ma’am. It’s not considered disrespectful. For instance, I worked with John Abraham and I call him John. But when I worked with Akshay Kumar, I called him Akshay sir because he is a little older than me.
‘Adhik does not give you dialogues till the day of shoot’
Language doesn’t matter to me. What matters are the story, the character and the artistes I collaborate with. Working with Adhik Ravichandran is the ultimate test for anybody who thinks they are fast in picking up languages. He does not give you dialogues till the day of the shoot, as his script and dialogues are constantly evolving. I used to beg him to give me the dialogues. But he said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll make you do it.’ And he did.
‘Nelson sits you down and explains his vision’
In Doctor, the characters of Alvin and Melvin that Rajiv (Lakshman) and I played were written for us. The same goes for GBU. The guy I’m playing in GBU is loud, extravagant, flamboyant and lots of fun. It’s a negative character, but there’s an innocence in him that you don’t expect in a criminal. I acted keeping that innocence in the back of my mind. I don't know if it has come through or not, but it’s going to be very different from Doctor. During Doctor, Nelson was very clear about what he wants. He used to demonstrate and act out the scenes to Rajiv and me. He sits you down and explains his vision.
‘I did only Roadies for 10 years as I was trapped in success'
I feel success limited me but failure freed me up. I did only Roadies for 10 years as I was trapped in success. The next couple of shows I did not meet with that kind of success. After my last reality show, I thought, ‘Why am I doing this? What do I want to do?’ I enjoy acting and writing and thought of pursuing that. I stopped being passionate about reality shows a while ago. There is nothing that excites me in that. I would love to do morally grey characters, whom you don’t agree with, but can still understand why they are doing what they are doing.

Tamil was a part of my formative years, as I had a multicultural upbringing. I grew up in Delhi in a Telugu household and graduated from a Tamil school. Even though I'm an outsider in Tamil cinema, my experience here has been encouraging, and I hope that continues. I'm a huge fan of Kamal Haasan sir. Back in the day, I watched all his films, like Nayakan and Apoorva Sagodharargal. I have also watched all of Mani Ratnam sir’s films from Mouna Ragam onwards.