Here’s why ‘Rana Naidu’ actor Mukul Chadda was nervous to shoot with megastar Venkatesh Daggubati  

What happens when reel turns into reality? Well, that could have happened on the sets of ‘Rana Naidu’. Actor Mukul Chadda revealed how he was extremely nervous on the day he had to shoot a gunshot scene with south megastar Venkatesh Daggubati. Reason: Just that morning, he had read the news of the fatal accident on the sets of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin's film Rust where DOP Halyna Hutchins died, and director Joel D’Souza was injured because a gun went off during a rehearsal. And Mukul's scene that day was his gunshot scene for OTT series ‘Rana Naidu’.

"I had had a reading and rehearsal in Hyderabad earlier. However, on the morning of the shoot, I woke up to the news of the fatal accident on the sets of Alec Baldwin's film Rust where DOP Halyna Hutchins died tragically, and director Joel D’Souza was injured because a gun went off during a rehearsal. Venkatesh Daggubati and I were to shoot a scene that day, which involved a gun going off. I admit, I was nervous and more than concentrating on my performance, I was thinking about what all could go wrong with a gun. The news from the accident wasn't entirely clear at the time - no one was sure if the gun was loaded, or if it was shrapnel from a blank that caused the accident. Our firing shot was to be done from a very close range, which worsened the matter. Fortunately, our director Suparn Verma was more concerned about this scene than I was, and he ensured we shot it as safely as possible, leaving a lot post-production. With that, we could go back to focusing on our performances," recalled Mukul, the actor of ‘The Office’ fame.

A graduate in mathematics from St. Stephen's and management from IIM Ahmedabad, Chadda didn't have to worry much about a job. Soon, he was working on NYC's Wall Street. However, his love for acting brought him back to India. Now, he is living his dream of playing diverse characters in films and OTT shows. Having started his career with theatre, he became one of the most sought-after faces in advertisements. Soon, films and OTT happened and there was no looking back for the actor, who married actress Rasika Dugal.

Though Chadda acted in films like ‘Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu’ (2012), ‘I, Me Aur Main’ (2013), ‘Satyagraha’ (2013), and ‘Gurgaon’ (2016), it was OTT that catapulted him to fame. He is best known for his role as Jagdeep Chadda in the official Indian adaptation of the international sitcom ‘The Office’. His powerful performances as Dr Ahuja in ‘Sunflower’ and CBI officer Eijaz Sheikh in ‘Rana Naidu’ further cemented his position in OTT.

“Some of my best works have been on OTT. So, I would like to keep working on OTT. The space is changing and evolving so much. As long as I get to play interesting characters, I'm very happy,” said Chadda, who has also worked in OTT series like ‘The Insiders’, ‘Bicchho Ke Khel’, and ‘Zero KMS’.

In fact, the actor is excited to return as return as Dr Ahuja in season 2 of the popular OTT series ‘Sunflower’.

Dr Ahuja suffers from an anger problem, and the actor believes it is one of the most interesting characters he has played so far. “Dr. Ahuja is an exciting two-faced character to play. He is extremely polite and image-conscious in public. But then he has anger issues, which flare up at any moment and over which he has no control. And of course, he can never admit to have anger management issues, or take help for it, which is sadly true for many people. Anyone can become like Dr. Ahuja,” he said.

Chadda has also joined the star cast of Zoya Akhtar’s highly-anticipated ‘Made in Heaven Season 2’. Set against the lavish Indian weddings, it’s a much-loved romantic web series and the fans are excited to watch the return.

Apart from 'Made in Heaven', Chadda has a bagful of exciting projects in his pipeline, including the upcoming movie 'Dhoom Dhaam' where he will be seen alongside Yami Gautam and Pratik Gandhi. He is also set to star in an untitled project with Arjun Rampal and a web series directed by Nitya Mehra.

Mukul’s fans are eagerly waiting to see his stellar performances in all of his upcoming projects.