Ashish Vidyarthi: I believed Ramanand Rai’s part was written for me

Interview with Ashish Vidyarthi:
 
Q. What is different in Raktanchal 2?
A. Season 1 was focused on revenge while Season 2 is focused on politics. Everyone is fighting for their existence here - “Har insaan jeetna chahta hai. Kyunki use darr hai agar wo haar gaya to koi use daba dega”.
 
Q. From the trailer, Raktanchal 2 looks like a hard-hitting piece. Your take on this?
A. Yes, definitely, it’s a hard-hitting political drama that MX Player is bringing for its viewers and is inspired by true events. It’s a human story placed in the times of Mahabharat’s politics where everyone is fighting for their existence.
 
Q. What’s the one thing that made you say YES to the role?
A. It had to be the narration by my director, Ritam Srivastav. Ritam narrated the story with such vigour and enthusiasm that I was automatically glued to it. I believed that the part was written for me. And I said YES to the role of Ramanand Rai.
 
Q. How challenging it was to shoot during a pandemic?
A. It was a very challenging shoot. We shot during the pandemic with all the precautions. We were scared at first, but we completed our shoot after getting vaccinated and taking every safety measure possible. Raktanchal 2 is a victory for everyone associated with this amazing project and  has been made with a lot of effort. Viewers who watched season 1 and gave us so much love, we request you to watch season 2 and shower it with the same love.
 
Q. Your rapport with the other cast members?
A. While I had a wonderful time shooting with this amazing cast, I am partial towards Kranti Prakash Jha; we are from the same college: Hindu College.
 
Q. Are actors getting their due on OTT?
A. Yes, absolutely. OTT is a phenomenal thing that has happened to the entertainment fraternity with Writers, actors, technicians, musicians – everyone getting their due.
 
Q. Tell us something about your transformational journey from being a villain to playing a lead actor in OTT?
A. I have worked for over 30 years in the entertainment industry, done over 200 projects in over 11 languages. What matters to me is my current role. Whatever I have learned so far, I will take my experiences and put them into my character to give justice to it. My current role will always be my priority.

About Raktanchal 2:
 
Inspired by true events, Raktanchal 2 is a 9-episodic political-drama set in a backdrop of revenge, deceit and power games at the behest of its four main protagonists - Ramanand Rai (Ashish Vidyarthi), Vijay Singh (Kranti Prakash Jha), Waseem Khan (Nikitin Dheer) and Saraswati Devi (Mahie Gill). Directed by Ritam Srivastav, it also stars Karan Patel and Soundarya Sharma in pivotal roles and brings alive the early 90s when the entire dynamics of UP politics was about to change.
 
All episodes of this high octane narrative are available for free exclusively on MX Player.