Raghav Juyal reveals how Aryan Khan convinced him to do The Ba***ds of Bollywood: 'When someone you regard as God...'

Hailing from Dehradun, a city far removed from the glitz of Mumbai, Raghav Juyal has impressed critics and his followers with performances in movies such as ABCD 2, Kill, and most recently the web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood, which marks the directorial debut of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan.

Raghav visited Mannat to discuss his role with Aryan in the series, which features Juyal as Parvaiz, the close friend and confidant of Aasmaan Singh (Lakshya), an ambitious newcomer trying to carve his place in the glitzy yet unpredictable world of Bollywood. The series, a mix of satire, comedy, and drama, offers a behind-the-scenes look at Bollywood, exploring friendship, ambition, and the unpredictable nature of showbiz. 

Juyal was among the many who had auditioned for the coveted Netflix show, backed by Shah Rukh's Red Chillies Entertainment. "Back then, I used to give auditions. Now I've reached a point in life where directors approach me. I went for this audition and then I met Aryan and Shah Rukh sir. They saw and they were like he is the one. So I wasn’t required to go through a lot of rounds of audition," he told PTI. However, when he read the script, Juyal said he was a bit sceptical about the project as the character of Parvaiz was not fleshed out enough initially. 

But Aryan invited him to Mannat and convinced him to do the show. Raghav added, "He said, 'Brother, I have full faith in you. I have faith in myself. This is my favourite character. I know who you are, and we’ll work on this together.' That gave me confidence. I said, 'Let’s go for it. Let’s do it.' In my other projects, I play lead or 'hero' roles, so this was different but then I played this character of Parvaiz quite convincingly that it has become a rage now. So Aryan was right."

The Ba***ds of Bollywood features a standout moment in episode three where Juyal's Parvaiz, an ardent fan of Emraan Hashmi, meets his idol. He then unexpectedly breaks into a rendition of Hashmi's iconic song Kaho Na Kaho from the 2004 erotic thriller Murder, blending both Hindi and Arabic lyrics. The actor said both he and Aryan knew that the scene would be popular but they were surprised by its popularity on social media. He recalled acing the scene in just one take. 

"None of it was planned. I didn’t plan to cry or shiver. I just reacted as the character would. When someone you regard as your God stands in front of you, what else can that character do? Especially someone like Parvaiz. So, I cried. I got emotional. The character himself is emotional, but people ended up laughing at the scene and that’s what made it special. If I hadn’t cried or shivered, it might not have come out the same way. The first time Emraan sir saw it, he immediately understood what was happening and he just went with the flow," Juyal said.

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