Vineet Kumar Singh, who returns to the OTT space with Rangbaaz 3: Darr Ki Rajneeti, believes that something more than good acting and filmmaking is needed for theatrical releases. “What is more important is how much your film has made at the box office,” he says. “I realised this after Mukkabaaz (2017). Moreover, to work with the makers I want, I need to expand my horizons.”
The first two seasons of Rangbaaz starred Saqib Saleem and Jimmy Shergill respectively. Both played gangsters inspired by real-life characters from North India. The new season of Rangbaaz is helmed by Navdeep Singh (NH10, Manorama Six Feet Under, Laal Kaptaan)
Vineet, in the series, plays Haroon Shah Ali Baig, a gangster in Bihar. He says it was essential for him to understand the character’s psyche. “I wanted to know how the character would react in certain situations. I saw videos of personalities or Baahubalis like Haroon. I took experiences from life also and slowly but steadily formed my character. During my college days, I went to Lucknow jail once. There I met a gangster and that life experience helped me build my character.”
In the series, Vineet is joined by Aakanksha Singh, who plays Sana, Haroon’s wife. Aakanksha began his Mumbai journey with television. “I was in the third year of physiotherapy when I got my first TV serial,” she says. She talks about her mother being a big influence on her coming to the movies. “My mother did theatre and one of the plays she did was with Irrfan Khan. She had dreams of becoming an actor and named me Aakanksha so I could fulfil her dream.”Rangbaaz 3 is streaming on ZEE5.