His desire for the finer things in life brought him to the whisky capital of the world, Dufftown. Rahul Khanna talks about his new project and how he has grown as an actor. By Unnati Joshi
Rahul Khanna has always been a wine drinker but a trip to Scotland turned him into a whisky aficionado. Recently, the reclusive actor went on a whisky trail to Scotland as part of a TV show. “It is a three part travel show where I go on the whisky trial to Scotland and learn more about the process of making the brew and learning about the different variants, culture and heritage. We filmed it in the Scottish highlands, mainly in Dufftown, where we visited local distilleries, spoke to the people and the craftsmen who are responsible for making the whisky and through this journey, I went from being a whisky novice to a whisky enthusiast. I didn’t know very much about whisky before this trip. During the course of the trip I feel I gained a lot of knowledge and insight about it”.
Rahul will be seen hosting The Mavericks on NDTV Good times from the home of Glendiffich Single Malt, Scotland.
So, how much of a maverick is heIJ Rahul laughed and said, “I don’t know how much of a maverick I am but I certainly feel that I have done things my own way over the course of my adult life. And I hope I have carved a special place for myself within the entertainment industry and perhaps one can say that I am a bit of maverick in that way”.
He started his career as a VJ, when asked about his journey so far, Rahul got all nostalgic and said, “I feel I have been really blessed with how my career started with MTV, which is one of the most amazing entertainment company in the world. I was their face for MTV Asia, so that was an incredible first job to have. It is almost like having a Rolls Royce as your first car. I feel I have been really lucky with what has come my way and certainly I enjoy doing different things, so I still continue to find new things to do within the entertainment industry.”
“I feel everyone in this industry is very lucky because we are constantly being put in new situations. No two days are ever the same here. We travel a lot and we are fortunate to travel with all kinds of people. I think all of that contributes to one’s evolution and making you more open. As actors we are quite lucky to have access to all of these,” he added.
Asked if there is anything he wants to change in Bollywood, he said, “I would like to see a little more progress in terms of giving credit to technicians who are not at the level of actors and directors, even though they work hard. I would like to see writers being given more recognition and importance. I would like to see better safety standards for technicians who are working on sets. I would also like to see perhaps the royalty system coming to India. When you work outside India there is a very strong actor union, which makes sure every time the project you have worked on gets some sort of new revenue, the actor gets share of it. That’s a very transparent process and I would love to see that system coming to the Indian film industry.”
Hailed as the style icon of the country, his wardrobe is a dream for many. When asked about his style mantra, the actor turned crimson and said, “I feel style is the expression of your personality, it’s the way you choose to present yourself to the world. It’s a way of creatively expressing your point of you. And I think the more true you are to yourself, the better your style is. You should wear what makes you comfortable and what makes you feel good rather than just following some trends or whatever is in vogue.”
“I personally like simple things. I don’t like lot of fuss when it comes to clothes and style. So, I like classic clothes, simple colours. I don’t really like a lot of prints and embellishments but that’s not to say that my point of view is right, it just what makes me feel good, if the opposite makes someone else feel good then that is the right thing for them.” he further added.
We got to know that Rahul is a masterly cook, when asked about one dish he loves to prepare after a long pause he said, “I really enjoy cooking a lot. I cook very good breakfast. I make elaborate omelets and all sort of egg preparations with lots of different side dishes”.
While a lot of men idolise him, who does he idoliseIJ Without a thought he said, “I sort of look back to the past for my fashion inspiration, I look back to classic Hollywood actors like, Cary Grant, Alain Delon and Paul Newman. I idolise a lot of actors, my dad and many actors from his generation like Firoz Khan, who is a real trail blazer and have set new standards in the film industry. I idolise lot of my relatives like my maternal grandfather who is a very polished and charming gentleman. I also idolise some of my friends and a lot of writers. Too long to list,” he chuckled.
Khanna has been missing from the mainstream cinema since a long time now but has been making up for it with his strong social media presence. @mrkhannasnaps is one of the most followed accounts on Snapchat. When asked about it, the actor laughed and said, “I joined snapchat as a bit of an experiment. My friends had been telling me about it and I have a friend who works with Snapchat in America. So, while I was in California once, he sat down and gave me a lesson and I thought it will be fun to play around with it and it ended up taking a life of its own. I love the format. I actually like all of the social media platform and now I am really enjoying Snapchat. I feel it's a wonderful way to connect with people who are interested in you on your own terms and it’s nice to have a direct line of access to them. Anyone is free to message me and I try to respond to a lot of messages, as much as I can,” he sighed.
About his followers and fans, “I have always said I have the best fans ever because they have really stuck by me. I have so many fans that have really been with me right since I started my career with MTV and they still support me. I know a lot of them by their first names and they have a very positive energy around them.They mean the world to me and I hope we shall be together for many many and many years to come,”he said signing off.
