By Sunita Vijay
Jeet Raidutt, the boy from Doon’s Saraswati School and winner of the ‘Mr India – Most Photogenic 2012’ title, is awaiting the release of his film, ‘Decent Boy’, a story based on the contemporary education system. Under the direction of Boby Khan, the film is likely to hit the screens very soon. He is paired with the famous Bollywood and Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishan playing the role of his elder brother. It’s a simple family drama with the father’s role in the able hands of Govind Namdev. With no godfather and no connections in Bollywood, Jeet entered the dazzling cloud of tinsel town in 2014 purely on the basis of his looks and work, eyes full of dreams. He had his fair share of struggle during the initial years. He constantly upgraded his acting, action and dance skills. He began his career with Uttarakhandi albums as a background actor and later as lead actor. Among the albums Jeet worked in, Naino ki to baat naina jaane hai’ released by Affection Music was a hit song. ‘Khuda Jaane’ released by Zee Music and ‘Adhoorey’ sung by Shaan were a great success. His work was recognised while he was shooting in the south Indian film, Prema Baraha, opposite Arjun Sarja’s daughter, Aishwaraya Sarja in the lead role. During the shoot, he was offered Decent Boy, which is set for release next year. He has been part of other Hindi films like ‘Sabrang’ and ‘Commando 2’. Talking about his journey and accomplishments thus far, Jeet avers, ‘Surviving in Bollywood is not a cake walk. The teething-troubles phase is a prolonged one for some. It tests, both, your stamina and endurance, apart from how much you have taught and trained yourself as an actor. To shine, you need good luck, hard work and acceptability from the audience. I came here in 2014 and after two years of intense struggle, I was on the verge of giving up. I decided to go back to Doon and pursue my previous job. But, somewhere I didn’t wish to accept rejection. I stayed back for some more time. And as destiny would have it, I started getting work. Now things are easy. People from the industry know me. I am invited to events. I have a few promising films in hand and other offers, too. All this makes me believe that strong will power and belief in one’s capabilities do bear returns.’ There is another thriller in the pipeline, in which he is one of the three leads – ‘Paap Culture’ – directed by Amol Shetge. It is the story of three friends who hire a bungalow in Mumbai, followed by their adventures, misadventures and thrills. The other film, ‘I am not a player’, based on a Boxing Championship and directed by Chand Mehta, is ready to be released next year. It’s a story about encouraging girls to pick boxing as a sport. As a proud Doonite, he adds, ‘People here in Bollywood know me as ‘Doon Boy’. The feeling of belonging to this beautiful state that maintains its culture and forests fills my heart with pride. It gives me immense joy when Bollywood people speak so fondly about Uttarakhand and even share their wish to shoot their films here in the lap of the Himalayas someday.’ Jeet Raidutt is presently working on a few other projects that are not yet officially announced. He has huge hopes from his upcoming releases. He nurtures the wish to work on a film in his own state, someday, completely shot in Uttarakhand and that has a song sung by Narendra Negi. The actor adds with joy, ‘I am delighted about the fact that Uttarakhand won the award for being the ‘Most Film-Friendly State’ at the 66th National Film Awards announced this year. Now, I want to see a full-fledged film city in Uttarakhand very soon.’ Truly, there is no dearth of talent in this beautiful state with equally beautiful occupants. They just need a mild push to ignite their innate ability and the sky is the limit.
