Tahir Raj Bhasin believes that his villainous act in Mardaani earned him awards and prepared him for a long career in Bollywood. By Team VIVA.
Young actor Tahir Raj Bhasin enticed his audience with his brilliant performance as a negative lead in Mardaani. While the newcomer was cast opposite Rani Mukerji, who was playing the role of a firebrand cop chasing a cold-blooded human trafficker, Bhasin managed to hold his own with his spine-chilling villainous act. Mardaani released on August 22, 2014, and on the seventh anniversary of the film, Tahir reveals Mardaani, produced by Yash Raj Films, has played a huge role in his life, earning him the industry’s recognition as an actor to watch out for.
Bhasin expresses, “Mardaani was an explosive break for me. My life transformed with its release and has never been the same. The film has played a central role in the recognition I have received as a powerful actor. As a debut film, Mardaani cut through the clutter and its uniqueness lay in how Walt, the anti-hero, was projected and stylised by Pradeep Sarkar. People had seen the boy next door, Mardaani gave them the bad boy next door.”
The actor mentions he had learnt a lot from Mukherji who pushed him to deliver a knock-out performance. He continues, “Sharing screen space with Rani Mukherji was a challenge and hugely rewarding. Being cast against a star of her stature means you have to up your game and this led to the need to show peak performance from day one.”
He adds, “I was working with a star whose work I have grown up watching and on set and I learnt through her example. I understood how to be extremely focused when it counts and to relax so one can step out of the zone when you don’t need to be in it. I also saw a sterling commitment to the craft and a work ethic that I try to carry with me to date.”
After starting as a negative lead in Mardaani, Bhasin followed it up with another tremendous anti-hero role in Force 2. After shining consistently in his next few films like Chhichhore, and so on, he was cast to play romantic leads. He will now be seen in Looop Lapeta as a romantic lead opposite Taapsee Pannu and in Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, in which he has been paired with Shweta Tripathi. Tahir also plays the role of Sunil Gavaskar in Kabir Khan’s 83.
Bhasin commented, “2021 is the year of the romantic hero chapter for me. In my two exciting projects set for release, Looop Lapeta and Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhen, I will be exploring romantic dramas. I grew up on a staple dose of 90’s Bollywood romance and that’s what I channel as I slip into this avatar.”
“As an actor it’s a huge compliment that the scripts I get now are mostly romantic leads and this pushes me to be more versatile with every successive project. The journey from anti-hero to hero has been an adrenaline rush and I am thrilled that the audience will experience a side of me that they have not seen before,” he concluded.