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How This Mumbai Teen Landed A Role Opposite Chris Hemsworth & Lived Every ‘Avengers’ Fan’s Dream
Tuesday, March 17, 2020 IST
How This Mumbai Teen Landed A Role Opposite Chris Hemsworth & Lived Every ‘Avengers’ Fan’s Dream

Life can be pretty unpredictable, and more often than not, it never goes as ‘planned’. Life’s tendency to mess up often and throw in a couple of ‘surprises’ to make up for the same, surely does make for some interesting anecdotes, but there’s also no denying that one could really use a heads-up before life throws a life-changing curveball, no?

 
 

16-year-old Rudhraksh Jaiswal hadn’t quite taken this idiosyncrasy of life too seriously until, as a fifth-grader at Billabong International School, life decided to turn this state-level swimmer into the youngest of the five Pandavas on-screen on primetime television.
 
Quick Rewind
 
 
It all started seven years ago with one phone call for an ad audition, that would go on to change this talented teenager’s life. Despite being more interested in swimming at the time, Rudhraksh ended up giving in to his mother’s appeals to “give it a shot” and “that’s how I went for my first audition. I was quite nervous, scared even while I gave my audition and didn’t have a clue that there was a whole selection process involved. A lot of struggle followed after that first time, until I got my first role as Sahadeva in Star Plus’ Mahabharat,” Rudhraksh tells MensXP.
 
 
His mother who was chanting prayers in the waiting room the whole time was stoked when he got the role. His friends were excited for him as well, but it was the love and fame that followed his big break which finally made Rudhraksh see the impact he was having on his audience.
 
Lights, Camera, Action!
 
 
With this first tryst with acting and the growing popularity of the show, Rudhraksh found himself getting more and more drawn towards the craft. He began enjoying the process so much that he eventually gave up swimming altogether. Not only that, Rudhraksh “(I) didn’t even mind the struggle that followed over the next couple of years. I gave auditions every chance I got, be it for ads or films, and eventually Dhaka (now Extraction) happened.”*
 
Conditions Apply*
 
 
But you see there is another quirk of life that Rudhraksh discovered first hand - nothing in this life that’s worth having will come easy. Which is exactly why Rudhraksh can never forget all the tough times that he and his family had to go through to arrive at this moment of glory.
 
Hailing from a middle-class family, with a mum who is a homemaker and a dad who works in the banking sector, stepping into the industry came with its own set of challenges. Being an outsider didn’t help either. Rudhraksh recalls, “I am an outsider, so making space in the industry is extremely tough. We had our share of difficult times too. When we had to audition a lot we sometimes didn’t have enough money to go for all those auditions. We faced many problems.”
 
Wildest Dreams Do Come True
 
 
Despite everything else that was going on in his life, never had Rudhraksh imagined that he would get to live his dream so early on in this journey. It was casting director Jess Joseph whom Rudhraksh credits for the opportunity of landing a prominent role in a film starring Chris Hemsworth.
 
“I couldn’t believe my ears when director Sam Hargrave told me I’d be sharing screen space with Chris Hemsworth. My heart skipped a beat at the news, and it was a dream come true.”
 
Befriending Thor In Real Life
 
 
But the best day of his life came when Chris came on the set for the first time. On a sunny day, with trance music playing in the background, Rudhraksh had the most filmy first sighting of Chris through a tent gate while he was getting his make-up check done.
 
“The first thing I noticed was how damn tall he is, and those muscles. You cannot forget those once you’ve seen them, they are huge! I went up to him and greeted him with the iconic dialogue ‘bring me Thanos’ and got a bear hug in return.”
 
 
Rudhraksh swears that Chris is a gem of a person and despite being such a mega-celebrity, he is extremely down to earth and easy-going. “He has helped me at each and every stage, be it before, during or even after the shoot. During our script reading sessions, he would teach me stuff about voice modulation, dialogue delivery, the importance of pauses and some acting tips as well.”

 
 

Adding more about his interactions with Chris, he adds, “But one thing that’s very special about Chris sir is his sense of humour. He is extremely sweet and even named me ‘the little legend’ because he says he likes my work. We even chat on social media sometimes, and he gives me advice on acting schools, how to try for Hollywood auditions and how to basically grow as an actor.”
 
Life Outside Of Work
 
 
A student of class 11th, studies play a crucial part in his life right now alongside acting. “Studies are very crucial to build any sort of career. It also helps develop my personality. Even when I had to shoot for Extraction, the casting director Tess Joseph came to school to convince my principal and vice-principal to permit me to leave for the shooting right ahead of my board exams. She made multiple visits until my board exams were shifted for a later time in February when it wouldn’t overlap with the shooting schedule. My school teachers were also very supportive. They would send notes, conduct Skype lessons and even Tess ma’am constantly kept me updated with everything that was going on at school while I was away. She has been an angel to me!”
 
 
However, after tackling his class 12th exams next year, Rudhraksh’s main agenda is to get into a journalism or mass media school for graduation, while also pursuing theatre on the side before he gets himself enrolled in a good acting school. Until then, he is having the time of his life playing friends with Chris Hemsworth and doing what he loves best.

 
 
 
 
 

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   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

“With the new day come new thoughts and new strengths.”
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Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


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