MX Original Series `Raktanchal'' released a few days back and the crime drama has been winning praise for its narrative and larger than life characters. One such menacing villain from the series whohas stood out and won hearts is Sanki Pandey - essayed by Vikram Kochhar.

Vikram has been known to play different kinds of roles and surprising the audience with his versatile performances. With Raktanchal, he is back as Sanki Pandey - an eccentric, unpredictable and perfect villain.

Read onto know more about Sanki in our candid chat with Vikram.

Tell us something about your character Sanki Pankey?

As the name suggests, my character is also quite Sanki. He is witty, unpredictable and blunt to a fault. He is a kind of a person who goes on killing people for his good and to earn some money. He won't see or think twice before shooting a bullet. He is a kind of a person who does not believe in any kind of rules. He has scars on his face which makes him look even more scary.

What made you take up this role and how did you prepare for it.. What was the process?

When I first got the narration for the role, I was very sure that I wanted to do it as I have never done such a character before. As an artist, one should be versatile, as we can easily get typecast. So, I try my best to do as many kinds of roles as possible which helps me explore my art and work on it.

The process wasn't much so to speak - I read the script, the character was enjoyable and once I am on the set I try to imagine the background of the scene and try to know why my character is behaving in a certain way. Additionally, we were all given enough material to read up on life in the 80`s and about Purvanchal, UP.

How was your experience working with Ritam Shrivastav(Director) and how was it shooting in Varanasi?

Ritam was very understanding, we would discuss the script and the scene, then discard the first few ideas we would come up with as the character is Sanki and he won't do anything that normal people would do in given circumstances. Sanki understands the world with his own and different perception.

Shooting with this crew was filled it mixed emotions - it was comfortable, enjoyable and scary given the narrative which is inspired by true events.

Which is your favourite character amongst Mathu from Sacred Games, Gulab Singh from Kesari and Sanki Pandey from Raktanchal and Why?

(Laughs) I have had a different Journey with all my characters and it's impossible to choose one. Each one is different, and each character has its own essence. I make sure I learn something from every role and if incase I had made a mistake or can have done it in a certain way, then would take it with me and make sure I don't repeat it again. I have this formula, if I am taking up a new project/role my performance has to be better than the earlier one and I must enjoy it to enable my audiences to enjoy it.



Vikram Kochhar has quite a few projects in the pipeline; he will be next be seen in Prakash Jha's Ashram, No Land's Man with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Killing of my Husband starring Aahana Kumra in the Central Character.