Actor Himanshu Malhotra, who made his Bollywood debut with Shershaah and was recently part of the historical drama Kesari Veer, is excited to be a part of the second season of the popular series Rana Naidu on Netflix. The actor shared that he had a great time shooting for the series, which also features Rana Daggubati, Venkatesh Daggubati, Arjun Rampal, Surveen Chawla, Sushant Singh, Kriti Kharbanda, Abhishek Banerjee, Dino Morea, Tanuj Virwani, and Rajat Kapoor.
Talking about the on-set chemistry, Himanshu says, “It was amazing—especially with Rajat Kapoor sir. I have prominent scenes with him, a few inserts with Rana sir, and quite a few with Kriti and Tanuj too. So it’s a mix of everything.”
He beams when talking about his chemistry with Rajat and says, “I really adore his work. I am a huge fan of what he is been doing for the past three decades—as a writer, director, and actor. He’s fun to be around, and we both hail from Delhi. On the first day, when we were shooting with Rana sir, Rajat sir and I had an amazing conversation, and I think we hit it off really well. He has been like a mentor and someone I have deep love and respect for.”
Another highlight for Himanshu has been his easy rapport with Kriti. “The vibe with her was very warm and kind. There was no air of pretence, and we clicked from day one. I remember I really liked her work in Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana with Rajkummar Rao. I appreciated her for that, and she was very sweet about it.”
Together he shares that the scenes were marked by mutual respect and creative collaboration. He avers, “There was great give and take. We talked, discussed, and followed whatever Karan (Anshuman) sir envisioned. So the camaraderie was wonderful.”
But beyond the camera and performances, it was the light-hearted conversations that Himanshu cherishes most. “While scenes were being lit or when the cameraman was setting up. All of us—me, Rajat Kapoor sir, Rana sir, and Kriti—used to have long conversations about food. Kriti often talked about how she and Pulkit love food. All these chats were part of the joy of being on set,” he ends.
