Actor Ramesh Joshi who hails from Assam’s Tezpur is making it big in Mumbai. He has acted in multiple Hindi serials, advertisements, music videos, web series and films. He has worked in Laal Ishq, Kumkum Bhagya, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, Vikram Bhatt’s webseries Hadh, Netflix webseries Sacred Games, Fear Files, Aye Zindagi, Shakti, Love on the Run, Anjaan – The Rural Myth and more. He has also worked with Kay Kay Menon, Neha Sharma, Kubra Sait.
He is also set to star in upcoming Voot webseries Blackstone.
In an exclusive interview with Northeast Now, actor Ramesh Joshi talks about life, acting in Mumbai and much more.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself
Ramesh Joshi: I am from Tezpur, Assam where I did my schooling. My foray into television industry began in a regional satellite channel in Guwahati. I was the Hindi news anchor for that satellite channel. Then I migrated to Delhi for work.
I worked with Santanu Saikia for a few years in Delhi before leaving and going to Mumbai where acting happened.
At the initial stage, I went for a lot of auditions and started getting ‘chota-mota’ roles. After sometime, I started getting more episodic kind of roles and also worked in TV serials, music videos etc.
Although I am not a big star, I am trying for better opportunities.
Q: Is there a difference between working on an ad, music video and serials?
Ramesh Joshi: I have done ads for reputed brands like Fortune oil, Uber, Kanha sweets etc. I have done a lot of corporate ads for Tanishq, Kotak Mahindra etc. Corporate ads are not played on TV, they are generally used for a company’s internal training purposes.
Working for music videos involves a lot of dancing and stuff.
And Hindi serials in Mumbai are completely different. Everything there is hyped, from facial expressions to hand gestures to body language, compared to cinema, that’s what I feel.
But in films for example, everything has to be natural and real. They want real acting instead of being over the top.
Q: Were there any challenges you had to face in Mumbai?
Ramesh Joshi: No, there weren’t too many challenges. Mostly getting an audition is the challenge. If you have that ‘acting talent’ in you, I think it’s not that tough. The tougher thing is to get 20 days of work in a month. Getting continued work in a serial is tough and if you are from northeast your Hindi has to be good.
Q: How was your experience working in Netfilx’s first Indian series Sacred Games? The series got rave review from across the country.
Ramesh Joshi: Working on a web series is like working in a film. In Anurag Kashyap’s Sacred Games, I played a RAW agent interrogating actress Radhika Apte. We weren’t able to interact too much as the schedule is tight and everyone is busy doing their own thing. But you feel good working with big names like Radhika Apte, Saif Ali Khan, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Netflix etc.
I got a lot of calls from my friends in Mumbai who called to tell me that they had seen me in the series. That was a good feeling.
Q: You have worked recently with actors Anupam Kher and Dev Patel. How did that come about?
Ramesh Joshi: It is an Australian production called Hotel Mumbai by director Anthony Maras. The film is based on the 26/11 terror attacks that rocked Mumbai. An Australian couple who came to Mumbai gets stranded at the Taj Hotel. I play a guest at the hotel. It is currently under production.
Anupam Kher Sahab was there and it was a good experience. And Dev Patel is a very nice, humble guy and is friendly. He doesn’t have those starry airs that a lot of stars from Bollywood have. I liked Dev Patel.
Q: Is there any advice you would like to give to youngsters from northeast region, who want to pursue a career in acting?
Ramesh Joshi: There is scope for youngsters. The film people in Mumbai are constantly on the lookout for people from northeast. But acting is a craft, although to work in front of a camera there are some technicalities you can learn, I think the talent is inborn, you have that in you or you don’t. It’s Saraswati ma’s vardaan and can’t be learned.
Q: Do you ever think you would work in an Assamese film?
Ramesh Joshi: I can speak good Assamese so yes if I get a good opportunity I would definitely like to work in an Assamese film. Recently I met filmmaker Monjul Barua and Urmila Mahanta at a film festival in Mumbai. I think Urmila has potential to make it big in Bollywood. She has worked in big banner films like Akira, Padman etc.