Prashant Raj grabbed the limelight when he bagged the runner-up title in Mr. India in 2004. He wanted to further groom his modeling talent and was ready to leave for Los Angeles to begin his career as a model, but this is not what his destiny had in store for him. Things cannot get better for him as he makes his dream debut in the role of plays Jai in ‘Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag’. Here’s a candid chat with him about his memorable experience about the tryst with his first film.

Excerpts from an Interview:

How did you bag the role in the film?

I got a call from RGV’s office. But little did I know that I was going to step into Big B’s shoes in my very first film. The first question I was asked was, ‘So you want to act?’ When Varma said I was being considered for Big B’s role in Sholay, I was dumbstruck. I put up a calm front but a range of emotions were running through my mind. After Two auditions and couple of weeks later I was with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Sushmita Sen and Ramu himself.

What do you think made Ramu you choose your for the coveted role for which Mohit Ahlawat was a fore runner?

Ramuji had seen some of my photographs. When we met, he conducted a rapid-fire quiz on acting. He gave me a few pages of the script within two days, my photographs were splashed all over the newspapers.

It definitely must have been a dream break for you?

The best part is that I can brag to generations of my family that I played Jai in the remake of Sholay. The experience was surreal for me because I shared screen space with some of the best actors in the country.

Any potential difference between the Jai of the original and of today?

Jai similar is quite different. Here Veeru is older.  Jai looks up to him. The character is not called Jai but Raj.

Have you tried to imitate Amitabh Bachchan from the original?

I’m not that big a fool. Even the audience wouldn't like it. I saw Sholay when I was a child. I remember Gabbar Singh more than Jai.

Did you take any sort of preparation to prepare yourself for the challenging role?

I was instructed not to see Sholay. RGV narrated the character to me and I had to mould myself to fit the bill. I was very stiff in the beginning but each day was a lesson in acting.

You've signed quite a few films. Tell us about that?

For me films happened all of a sudden. I'm playing the lead in Ramesh Kathkar's Toss, it's quite a dark film. The film stars Aarti Chabbria, Rajpal Yadav and Ashmit Patel that will be out in a couple of months. Then I may be doing one more film with Mr Varma that I am really excited about

Seems you’re considering acting as a serious career proposition?

I never planned to be an actor. I was a model, I was one of the runners-up in the Grasim Manhunt. I was thinking of settling down in Los Angeles and starting an event management company that's when I got the phone call from Ramuji's office.