Tahir Raj Bhasin: I continue to get offers for the quintessential, larger than life Hindi film hero

Tahir Raj Bhasin, so far, has not played the quintessential Hindi film hero- larger than life, beating up multiple goons at one time, mouthing heavy dialogues. His body of work has included an antagonist (in Mardaani), a college student (Chhichhore) and a man saved by his girlfriend (Looop Lapeta).

Ask him what made him stay away, and he answers that he has always received offers for the masala film hero. “There have been offers in the past, and there continue to be. But it depends on the kind of scripts one wants to do at the moment. I want disruptive content, something that changes what the notion of storytelling is. Of course, in time if there is a different story which demands for a character or the hero to be larger than life in order for the story to be told better, I will do,” says the 35-year-old.

He cites the example of his web show Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhen. Bhasin explains, “Chhichhore, Mardaani all had characters mounted on a certain scale, they had an entry shot, costumes, dialogues, larger than life in the way they were presented. When I read the script of Yeh Kaali… I had a question mark. I was playing a small town boy belonging to a humble family. That was a challenge ‘will I be able to do that?’”

This is the reason why he calls OTT a fabulous opportunity for the writers in the industry, as their challenge is how to keep the audiences engaged. “Writing is what comes into the forefront. The possibilities are just dizzying… the kind of stories that can be told. You can be a lead star in films and also the lead of an OTT show, it’s a great time,” Bhasin signs off.