As Akkad Bakkad Rafu Chakkar releases today, the cast celebrate the vision of late director Raj Kaushal

Sheetal

Akkad Bakkad Rafu Chakkar (ABRC), the latest offering of Amazon Prime Video, is releasing today. The last project from director Raj Kaushal, who passed away in June, this Amazon original is as exciting as emotional for the cast and crew. The ensemble cast includes Vicky Arora, Anuj Rampal, Swati Semwal, Mohan Agashe, Shishir Sharma, Manish Chaudhari, and Sudhanshu Pandey.

Raj Kaushal was clear headed and so was his vision for the series. My experience of working with him is unparalleled. I bonded with the team on the sets and I will always cherish that bond.

Vicky Arora

The Raazi actor Shishir Sharma, who had previously worked with Raj in a commercial, says he enjoyed shooting with the cast and getting directed by Raj. He says, “It’s overwhelming, the series being an original one and streaming on a platform like Amazon. It made me happy to share the screen space with great actors and technicians. Sadly, Raj is not here today but I wouldn’t say it dampened the excitement because I believe he would be watching over us from above as we celebrate his vision with its release.”

As Anuj Rampal’s character Siddhant Rastogi puts in, “Zindagi or sapnon ki zindagi mein sirf ek scam ka antar hai”, the story is about two friends Siddhant and Bhargav Sharma, played by Vicky Arora, who plans a perfect scam to swindle some money, seventy-one thousand five hundred crores only!

Ask Vicky Arora about his first run-in with Raj and he takes us back to the phone call he received from the director. “These were his first words, hey Vicky…buddy I am making this show and you are doing this. I said okay and he didn’t say anything else. Later, we met in his office, I signed a contract and next thing I was attending workshops. He was clear headed and so was his vision about ABRC. My experience of working with him is unparalleled. I bonded with the team on the sets and I will always cherish that bond,” he says. Vicky says he had enjoyed a month-and-a-half-long stay in Madhya Pradesh for the shoot schedule. “We went to Jabalpur and Chanderi. The food and people were amazing.”

Sishir, who plays Guruji in the series, adds, “Thanks to that 15-day stay in MP, I returned a new man with fresh experiences. Moreover, working as a team made me realise how important team-bonding is for the success of a film, series or TV shows.”

Losing Raj, the captain of these scammers’ ship, is an irreplaceable void to fill. Shishir adds, “It’s one of a kind series. I hope that people like it enough for us to go forward. What happened cannot be undone, but we are celebrating Raj with this series. I will remember him for the warmth he had for everybody.”