Raktanchal actor Nikitin Dheer: Happy to start my web career with a character like Waseem Khan

Nikitin Dheer on his first web series Raktanchal, playing Waseem Khan in the crime drama, and why his character of Tangaballi from Chennai Express will always remain special.

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Nikitin Dheer’s first web series Raktanchal is now streaming on MX Player. In an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com, Nikitin got candid about playing mafia lord Waseem Khan in the crime drama, the web medium, and his Tangaballi character from Chennai Express.

Here are excerpts from the conversation:

Q. What prompted you to take up Raktanchal?

Our country, with its diverse culture and dialects, allows amazing storytelling. The character of Waseem Khan in Raktanchal is something I hadn’t attempted earlier. A lot of it is fictionalised based on incidents from the 80s, which I found interestingly woven into a show.

Q. Raktanchal is set in the 1980s. Was it difficult to adapt to that era? Any reference point for your character?

I’ve been an avid Bollywood fan and have grown up watching Hindi movies. I’m a child of the 80s, so a lot of reference comes from there. At the same time, I used a lot of my own imagination and with the help of our director and team, it became easy to do. It was shot in Varanasi, which in itself is a beautiful ancient city. The more you travel, the more you understand people and their mindsets. As an actor, you are used to exploring things which are alien to you.