Abhilash Chaudhary plays the bad guy in Ram Gopal Varma's 'Dhahanam'

MUMBAI: Abhilash Chaudhary talks about how he bagged the role of the villain in Ram Gopal Varma's crime thriller series 'Dhahanam'.

He says: "When I got finalised for Ram Gopal Varma sir's film 'D Company', he also approached me for 'Dhahanam'. I shot the first sequence of the series before 'D Company' and rest later. It's my second consecutive work with Ram Gopal sir and I'm grateful when such a talented director acknowledges your work and offers more opportunities. In fact, I have completed another Telugu film with him which is in the pipeline."

The actor who was previously seen in the web series 'State of Siege: Temple Attack', Ram Gopal Verma's 'D Company' and films like 'Paltan', 'Zoya Factor', 'Dabangg 3', 'Commando 3', shares about his role in the series.

He reveals: "I'm playing a negative lead which is very different from my past projects as he is cruel and scary. It was challenging to bring that negative shade which I have never done in my life. I restrained myself from drinking or smoking but I had to do it in order to serve justice to the role. We shot in extreme hot weather in Andhra Pradesh. We stayed with the local people over there and got connected with them and garnered a lot of love from the local people."

Sharing about the series, he says: "It's based on rivalry between a family as how the murder of Sri Ramulu, a Communist worker creates a sensation in the village. Sri Ramulu's elder son, Hari, is a rebel (Naxalite) operating from the forest in a guerrilla war with the landlords and is enraged by the news of his father's death. He takes it upon himself to hunt down the culprit behind the murder of his father, which leads to a war between the most powerful goons in the village."

Opening up about his journey in the industry he says: "When you are not from a film background, it's quite challenging for you to approach people for good roles. I started my career in 2014 and it took some time for me to do cameos in TV and got a small role in 'Tubelight'. Then finally 'Paltan' happened and since then there is no looking back. I feel proud when I look back at my journey with how I started and where I'm now. It feels blessed when your work is recognized and creates your niche in the industry on your own."

Produced by Ram Gopal Varma, crime thriller 'Dhahanam' is directed by Agastya Manju and also stars Isha Koppikar, Abhishek Duhan, Naina Ganguly, Ashwatkanth Sharma, Parvathy Arun, Sayaji Shinde and Pradeep Rawat in pivotal roles. 'Dhahanam' will be streaming on MX Player from April 14.

SOURCE: IANS