Vikramaditya Motwane's directorial debut, Udaan (2010), earned the director unheralded success. It also created a star in the form of Rajat Barmecha. The actor who played the abused, but courageous Rohan in Motwane's film was hailed as a 'find' by critics, but has since had only one major role.
In a recent post on his Facebook page, Barmecha marked down the reasons for his scarce appearance. Accepting that Udaan opened the doors to the film industry, Barmecha said, "Now this film gave the Indian Film Industry a lot of 'New talent.' Many first timers. And out of all the first timers in the film, there was this young boy from Delhi who had no background in films. He was launched as the main protagonist of the film. And as you all know that boy is Me. I got all the love and appreciation for the film. People wrote a lot of good things about me."
Post the success of Udaan, Barmecha was seen in a blink and miss appearance in Bejoy Nambiar's Shaitan (2011).
The actor went on to add that the praise from the critics was a 'big confidence boost' since he was an untrained actor looking for work in the industry. However, his lack of work since has led to several questions about his professionalism, work, honesty, and even his attitude.
Explaining that the post was an attempt to answer these very questions, Barmecha wrote, "I have always been a little choosy when it comes to the kind of films I want to be a part of...I got many offers but most of them were from people who wanted to make another Udaan or another Delhi Belly or another Dil Chahta Hai. I would rather do 1 good film than be a part of 5 bad films with a lot of money or big stars."
This did not always end in success. Barmecha signed on films like Disco Valley with Viacom films, and Warrior Savitri which never saw the light of day. However, the actor maintained that he continues to work in 'selected' films. He has currently signed on for a film by an associate of director Imtiaz Ali, which is in production.
Despite the difficulties and criticism, Barmecha wrote that the post was not a criticism of anyone. "I got a lot of Respect as an Actor from almost all the 'Big Names' of the film industry...Got a lot of appreciation...Everyone said he is a brilliant Actor...Will go real far...None of those guys offered me any films. But I don't have anything against anyone. This is not at all a hate post or a rant or anything negative, not even close. This is just for the people asking a lot of questions and thinking I am not doing much because I am not serious about Acting. I wanted them to know that whatever I have done, I have done it all on my own. And I am proud of it."
Despite his insistence, it does look like some things were weighing heavy on the young actor's heart.
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