Actor Ankur Rathee: Haryana is home of either sportspersons or actors

“Dilli mein space kitni hai, unlike Mumbai,” exclaimed actor Ankur Rathee the minute he set foot in the heart of the Capital, Connaught Place, for a stopover on his way to visit his ancestral village in Haryana. Be it Thappad (2020) on the big screen or Four More Shots Please (2019) on the web, Rathee has portrayed some central and several supporting characters that have gained him quite a fanbase. “My father’s village, Balambha is near Rohtak and my mother’s village, Katlupur is on the outskirts of Delhi when one exits from Rohini. So, I was born in Hisar and grew up in Haryana before I moved to the New York city and then landed in Mumbai, to be an actor,” says the 33-year-old, as a passerby stops by and tries to remember where he has seen this face. The actor goes on to deduce how his efforts to choose a different role each time have thus come to fruition in him not being recognisable as just another lad from Haryana! Excerpts from a tête-à-tête:

“In the US, I grew up in a large family of 25 people as my extended relatives were living nearby. So mentally I was growing up in a village, and that upbringing got so much of Haryana’s culture and language in me that I never feel I haven’t lived here,” says Rathee, who confesses making it a conscious effort to choose his characters that don’t limit him to playing just an NRI face on screen. “I’m a mix of two different cultures… When anyone recognises me in a public place, they try and think of my character’s name. It feels good to see that I have portrayed it convincingly. It’s like they know my character and fall in love with it even though they don’t know me, which makes me really happy. I’ve come to accept that whatever I have in my hands right now, in the way of role or work, there’s so much more depth I can go further into it.”

Amidst the Olympics and Paralympics fervour, mention how Haryana has produced ace sportspersons, and Rathee agrees to add, “Haryana se ya toh sportspersons aate hain ya actor aate hain (smiles)!” He then goes on to share how he met another Haryanvi, an acclaimed actor, when he came to India from New York. “I came to Mumbai when I was 24, and quite early on I met Randeep Hooda, who invited me to his home multiple times. He’d ask me about my ambitions and what my dreams and goals were… When you find a role model, who has established themselves in the industry, it makes the journey easier,” he recalls those days, adding, “In fact, before coming to Mumbai, I didn’t know anyone and didn’t even have a place to live. A few days before landing here in India, in NY I was watching an Indian film with my family at a cinema hall and there my mother struck a conversation with a fellow movie goer. After we discovered that that family was also Haryanvi, the daughter invited me to live at a space owned by her father, Harsh Bhanwala in Mumbai. I owe him a lot… All the jats help other jats! There’s a sense of kinship among our people that encourages us to help each other.”

From having shot for a film (Taapsee-starrer Thappad) in Delhi to having worked with actors who hail from Delhi, he has had a brush with the Capital sans enough connect. The clouds hover over the skies in CP as Rathee opens an umbrella and begins to talks about the Capital’s weather and food, especially that’s peculiar to the season. “One advice people would give me whenever I’m to travel to Delhi is, ‘Khana achha hai, zaroor khana’,” shares the Shehzada (2023) actor, adding, “I like Delhi’s winter. I’m not too fond of the monsoon here but whenever I visit, my father asks me bring him ghewar from here… It’s just too good!”
The mention of food reminds him of an old unforgettable incident that he experienced in the Capital. “Once when I was in high school, and had travelled to Delhi after a long time. That trip was for a wedding in the family, and I was travelling with my cousins and sadak pe ek dukan dikh gayi gol gappe ki. America mein bhi golgappe khate thay, but India mein golgappe khane ki baat hi alag hai. So all of us started eating and itne swaad, itne swaad ki I couldn’t believe ki me and mere cousin bhai-behen sab ended up eating 50 to 60 golgappe! Thankfully uske baad paet kharab nahi hua; shayad young age mein digestion achha tha is liye (laughs),” he concludes.