New Delhi: Kill star Raghav Juyal says he knew that the movie was going to open doors for him in the industry when he first auditioned for the action film directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat.
Touted as India's most violent film ever by its makers, the movie continues to enjoy a theatrical run in the third week. Also starring Lakshya and Tanya Maniktala, it has earned over Rs 20 crore at the box office.
Juyal, 33, who is famous for his dancing skills as well as comic timing as a host on several dance reality shows, plays the antagonist in the movie.
"While watching the auditions, I realised this character is going to open doors for me as an actor in this industry and it did. Everyone loved it and I got amazing reviews," the actor told PTI in an interview.
Kill follows the story of Army commando Amrit, who boards the train in which his girlfriend and her family are also travelling. However, things go awry when Fani (Juyal) and his gang enter the train and begin to mercilessly kill its passengers.
Admitting the portrayal of his character Fani has become a "turning point" for him, Juyal said just the other day, he got a message from filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.
"Anurag Kashyap sir messaged me and said, 'I have watched the film and you have killed it' and it coming from Anurag Kashyap is something like... There is a bucket list to work with him. I feel like calling him and saying 'All the praise is fine but I really want to work with you.' Even if you make me an AD, it's fine."
After performing extensive action in Kill, the actor said he wants to explore the romantic genre now.
"I really want to do some romantic projects. Like (with) Imtiaz Ali or someone to just explore my 'roohani' side."
Juyal, who began his career as a dancer, previously worked in films like Nawabzaade and ABCD: Any Body Can Dance franchise and hosted the dance show Dance Plus.
"I got passionate about acting later, when I really understood what acting is. I began taking coaching. For five-six years, I have learned acting at a lot of places and I still go for workshops," said the actor, adding that he earlier had a different perception about acting as a skill.
"I was like, 'Okay, I will become a hero, there will be more followers, girls would be impressed and I would have a fan following like Shah Rukh Khan'. But when I began learning it, I realised it is something very deep. So passion developed. It's the thing that one needs to cultivate passion and keep it awake."
The actor has several projects in the pipeline including web-series Gyaarah Gyaarah, which is another collaboration of Karan Johar's Dharma Productions and Guneet Monga's Sikhya Entertainment after Kill. He will also feature in a film Yudhra alongside Siddhant Chaturvedi and Malavika Mohanan.