Adgully Exclusive | I am known as this ruthless judge, but I'm not rude: Raghu Ram

These kinds of statements and many more mean remarks in the past, this is the well known devil of the small screen with a self-assuring smile, and it's none other than Raghu Ram of MTV Roadies.

This Delhi University boy has come a long way since his format of Roadies was accepted as an experimental project on the channel and later it was first telecast on the channel in 2003. Roadies since then has continued every year and the show has become more adventurous and more interesting with every passing year. This show has also been a launch pad of sorts for many known youth icons, some have shared their journey with MTV like VJ Rannvijay, VJ Ayushman, VJ Bani and while others have tried their hand at various acting platforms. From being the longest running reality show on TV, Roadies' format has now also become one of the very few Indian formats to be brought internationally.

Continuing with the yearly season format, the popular youth property on TV -MTV Roadies is back again, this time in its eight season and the added USP being "Raghu is Back."Last year, the show was telecast without Raghu, but this time the man who is known for his mean streak is back and how.

His sudden exit from MTV and him distancing himself from his baby- Roadies, came as a shock to many. While some alleged he went out to look for greener pastures, Raghu shrugs off all these allegations and says he didn't leave MTV to act in films, films happened after he left MTV. Besides, the show where he featured , and which was broadcast on a new youth channel only after his exit from MTV, was shot when he was still a part of MTV, and thus work was getting hectic and left him tired.

So why a sabbatical?

Raghu opens up on his self-proclaimed sabbatical and says that he quit because he was very fed up and burnt out and needed a break not only from Roadies but television altogether.

When on a sabbatical Raghu travelled a lot with his wife to places with no electricity, no population. He spent some time in a hut up in the forest of the Himalayas, where he had to cook his own meals. "I just needed to get away from people. I spent a lot of time in Meghalaya, spent a lot of time in Assam. I could hear myself thinking for the first time in like so many years," he says.

In this period of introspection he started writing, he wrote a few songs, although his intention was to write a book but he stopped somewhere in the middle. Gradually films happened at a time when he was in a mood to try something new. He feels greatful to Abbas Tyrewala who thought Raghu could fit the bill for a role in his upcoming movie "Jhoota hi Sahi". Although Raghu is really kicked about his Bollywood debut, he also feels that he has taken a big risk.

"I am known as this ruthless judge, the contestants do something and I say, "How boring, man!" and I have just opened myself up. Suddenly people will see an opportunity to judge me and there are film critics who make a living out of this and they are going to get immense pleasure in picking on me," he jokes.

While life seemed new and interesting, Raghu started missing Roadies, because for him nothing that he has done so far allows him to express himself the way Roadies helps him to. He sees Roadies as an extension of his personality and that "it's a creative high" that he cannot explain. So he got into talks with the channel and is back with his idea, his concept, and his show.

Now as he is back, people will be expecting to see if he has brought along something new and exciting in the show. "It's going to be so much more identifiable now, so much more raw, so much more real that it's going to be compelling. If it didn't have a strong idea that we were so passionate about and believed in, I don't think we would have done this," he says

He plans to also increase the scale and the reach of the show, and wants more and more contestants from smaller cities to be a part of this show. Roadies' auditions are going to happen in six cities like it used to happen, other than that in six other towns and smaller cities the Roadies will do preliminary round of auditions, select people and bring them to the main venue. But this he says is "a plan under development."

Moreover, there is a conscious attempt this year to reach the smaller towns not just to expand the reach but because the quality of the show depends upon casting the right kind of people. Besides Raghu also wants to explore as to what the contestants from smaller cities bring to the show.

With the promos running on the USP that "Raghu is Back", when asked him about his fan following, he says he has no clue about it.

When further probed if it is because of his mean-streak, he says, "In the audition room it is very important to be a certain way to gauge what the person sitting in front is like. If you sit there and keep chatting you would never know about the contestant. Besides we are looking for pressure points, and sometime we are just reacting to what people are saying, sometime people say a lot of stupid things and stick by it, so we lose our temper."

However he is quick enough to add with a smile that, "But that doesn't make me a rude person per se."

The man with his devilish charm seems thrilled about his comeback and it will be really exciting to see how the new bunch of contestants cope with his new Vampire looks, his horrifying green eyes and the promo that reads- "Highway to hell! ¦¦. He is Back!" | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]