Rajat Barmecha talks about his vibe with Radhika Madan on sets of ‘Kacchey Limbu’: ‘I really connected with her’ – Exclusive

Rajat Barmecha is currently on cloud nine as his recent film, ‘Kacchey Limbu‘ has been garnering positive reviews from all sides. The film also premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022. In a conversation with ETimes, Rajat talked about the reactions he had been receiving for the film, bonding with his co-stars Radhika Madan and Ayush Mehra on the set and more. Excerpts…
Your performance in ‘Kacchey Limbu’ has received rave reviews from the audience and the critics alike. How does it feel?
It feels great. When I read the script for the first time, I knew that it was a special one. It’s a very sweet story. I knew it’s something which we don’t get to see that often. It is about the bond between brothers and sisters. It’s very relatable.
When I met Shubham Yogi, who is the director of the film, I knew this guy is the perfect guy to make this film because his energy was great. He knew exactly what he wanted. On my first meeting with him, he told me something that made me love that guy instantly. He said, ‘I don’t know if I will make a good film, but I know that I am going to make an honest film. And if you agree with that part of me, then please say yes to the film because I would want to have you in this film.’ I think that said a lot about the guy. The film has been receiving a lot of love.
It also feels like life has come full circle because we went to the Cannes Film Festival for ‘Udaan’ and now for ‘Kacchey Limbu’, we went to the Toronto Film Festival. Being at these festivals makes you feel grateful that your work has been appreciated. It also gives us a lot of confidence as an actor.

You shot for the film in 2021. It was released after 2 years. What kind of reactions have you been getting from the audience?
The script came to me in 2020. In 2021, we shot the film. Owing to COVID, there was a lot of fear on the sets but we pulled it off. It was not an easy film to shoot with the number of days we had. Because there was a lot of cricket involved, it was also physically exhausting. In 2022, we went to the Toronto Film Festival. So things kept happening and we were all busy, but very excited.
Radhika Madan, Ayush Mehra and you together in the house – how were the vibes on the set?
It was great energy on the set. All the three of us were very young, fun and came with no baggage. At the same time, we also came from very different worlds. With the other team members, it was like one big youth party happening. However, when it came to work, our director was pretty serious. However, we had a great time.

Between Radhika and Ayush, whom did you bond the most with?
I knew both Ayush and Radhika from before. While I knew Radhika only socially, Ayush is a regular at my cafe. So our bond on the set was natural and instant. But with Radhika, I had a lot of scenes which were about the love of a brother and a sister which I really connected with. So on the film set, I think I had a great vibe with Radhika as well because I loved doing those scenes with her.
Can you share some anecdotes from the shooting days?
We shot in the night for almost nine days. The entire cricket chunk was shot at night. And it used to be really tiring. All of us used to be dead. I, especially, had a tough time because there were days when it was just me batting all night. So it was physically exhausting. Ayush and I would keep having chocolates in the middle. Ayush would order from KFC all the time. I used to be a night person but I am not like that anymore. So it was fun for me but they were the ones I think about right now.