“From Raavan in Ram Leela to Surmabhai in Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chasmah, to Darbar with Rajanikant ,I have essayed all kinds of roles in serials and films”

SAMRAUT SONI

By Jyothi Venkatesh

Born on March 1 in the year 1980, Rakesh Soni aka Samraut Soni is happy that he is recognized as an actor today. When I meet him for this interview at his apartment at Andheri, Samraut remembers that it was when his father took him to watch Ram Leela when he was just 13, that the interest to act was kindled in him. The actor who was slated to play the role of Kumbakaran was indisposed and rather than cancel the show, the organizers asked Samraut’s dad if he would graciously allow his son to play the role since even at that age, Samraut was quite well built. Samraut told his dad that he was confident to carry off the role and did not even need the script to rattle off his dialogues, which came to him impromptu as he knew the situations of the play. “My dad knew that I was cut out for acting and asked me to do what I wanted the world to see me as,” says Samraut.

In 1995, Samraut’s family moved to Delhi from Rohtak where his family lost everything that they had earned after a flood hit the city. “Though my dream was to become a model, destiny landed me a role in a TV serial when I went to see the shooting of the serial Crime Reporter which was being aired on Doordarshan and for the first time I saw a camera. I was just 16 then in 1997 and just as I was inching my way through the thronging crowds to watch the shooting at close quarters, the sturdy bouncers came to me and asked me to go and meet the director Raja Anna. I did and was told that the leading man of the serial had just upped and left the venue without even informing him and asked me if I could replace him at such a short notice. I asked him just for the concept and agreed immediately to face the camera without even asking for my dialogues. There was no retake at all and the director was very pleased with me and handed over to me Rs 5000 cash after the pack up. When the episode was telecast, I felt like a super star, as I had played the role of the most wanted villain with a price tag of Rs 50,000 by the cops”.

Samraut concedes that he did not pursue a career in acting after his stint in the serial Crime Reporter in one episode and took to a job as a salesman in P.P. Jewellers in Karol Bagh in Delhi in 2000. His boss was so impressed with him because one day he succeeded in selling off the same shop’s clothes at P.P. Design Estate worth 5 lakhs to even those who had just come with the idea of window shopping and did not have any plan to buy any clothes there, though he was not the owner of the shop but just the head of the sales department.

Again destiny knocked on his doors in the form of an opportunity to start a food court ironically titled Natrajan Food Court in Delhi itself in Pritampura. Unfortunately the food court had to shut down because he did not get the requisite staff to handle the food court and suffered heavy losses and had a bout of depression that even led to his decision to commit suicide, which was thwarted in the nick of time by his cousin Ashok Soni.

Samraut Soni confesses that till date he has acted in two films, like Woh Phir Aayegi, a horror film in which the role that he played was that of a tantrik like that of Amrish Puri , Super 30 (in a side role as one of the bad hit men who intimidate the protagonist played by Hrithik Roshan). Says Samraut Soni, “I am excited about my role in the forthcoming film Drive starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez in which I am playing the role of a Jat Inspector, Darbar directed by A.R. Murugadoss in which I am cast along with Rajanikant and Nayantara and Jain Paul’s Dhool in which I am playing the role of the main villain called Om and Band of Maharaja directed by Girish Mallik. Samraut adds excitedly that after the shot, Rajanikant and A.R. Murugadoss both congratulated him for his performance and embraced him.

Till date, though he may not have been part of many TV serials, Samraut Soni is happy about the serials in which he has acted. “After having acted in Ram Leela continuously for 17 years as Raavan, I have acted in TV serials like Diya Aur Baati, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein in which I played a lawyer, Ganga, Shakti and last but not the least Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashmah for which I started growing my thick beard which makes me stand out in a crowd. In 2017 I was part of the mega TV series Aarambh as Angdev, written by the writer of Bahubali, K.V. Vijayendra Prasad for Star Plus, which was produced and directed by Goldie Behl , with Rajneesh Duggal who made his debut on TV as a co-star of mine”.

Samraut Soni confesses that it was the serial Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashmah that set out to give him his own separate identity, a fact that he will cherish always. “I played the role of Surmabhai who takes the possession of Jethalal’s electronics show-room. The role of in Asit Modi’s serial Tarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashmah turned my entire world upside down and I could not move around in the city without fans thronging me for my autographs or seeking me for a selfie wherever I went, especially since I was seen playing the role in the popular serial that too continuously for two months non-stop.”

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