Undekhi-fame actor Ankur Rathee believes is staying close to his roots in Haryana

Mona

WHEN Shehzada shoot took actor Ankur Rathee to Haryana, he couldn’t be happier. Back to his roots, shooting in Sirsa, meeting fans and family, he had a wonderful time in the land of his ancestors. Though he called America home, before moving to Mumbai for an acting career, he has stayed in touch with his home state. In fact, he is pretty comfortable in Haryanvi and finds his native tongue really adorable.

“Our family moved from the village — my father is from around Rohtak and my mother belongs to Sonepat — straight to America, and with them carried the village culture to San Diego,” shares Rathee, sitting in Atlanta, where his wife Anuja Joshi is busy with the shoot of The Resident, a medical drama.

In fact, he grew up under the strict rule of talking in Hindi even while living in the US. It was only after the move to Mumbai that he realised how ‘Haryanavi’ his Hindi was! “Many words that I used, like khindna for girna, I learnt in Mumbai.”

Keen on dancing, singing and acting, this Princeton graduate was into performing arts right from the beginning. “Growing up, I found musical theatre quite akin to Hindi cinema; I thought all actors were singing themselves,” says Rathee, who has been a part of two ‘a cappella’ groups, two dance companies and a theatre group. “When the calling for performing arts became too loud, I came to Mumbai,” he shares.

Company of cinema

Part of Four More Shots Please!, Made in Heaven, Undekhi, Thappad and Taish, he was also the finalist on Zee TV’s Dance India Dance. He was also a part of Marathi film Samaira. Like many an actor in tinsel town, Rathee too loves Shah Rukh Khan. “As I grew in the company of cinema, with exposure to Western films, I fell in love with Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep.” Lately he has been bowled over by Gangubai Kathiawadi. “Alia Bhatt is the most incredible actress ever. I would love to work with her.”

Rathee’s love story is quite filmy as well. He met Anuja Joshi on an acting assignment and the friendship developed into romance, leading to a long-distance relationship as he moved to Mumbai. It was after a 4,500 kilometre drive from California to Maryland, to propose during the peak of the pandemic in 2020, that they decided to be together. The two got married in June this year.

A couple of projects in hand, Rathee is pretty kicked about Shehzada. The film not only gave me a chance to work with veterans like Paresh Rawal and Manisha Koirala, but also current superstars Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon. That the film took him to Haryana was the icing on the cake. “I keep visiting what others call my extended family in Haryana. I call them close; that’s the bond I share with them.”