Vicky Kaushal locked himself up to tap dark side for 'Raman Raghav'

Mumbai: Vicky Kaushal may have played challenging characters in his previous movies, but for his role in "Raman Raghav 2.0", the actor locked himself up in a room for five days to bring out his dark side.

The Anurag Kashyap-directed thriller stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a serial killer, while the "Masaan" actor will play the role of a policeman.

"The character is different from everything I've done so far. He is troubled, demented, is into drugs, has his issues and is not the ideal cop. I had to force myself into his shoes because he came from a world I didn't immediately understand," Vicky told PTI.

Raman Raghav, also known as Psycho Raman, was a psychopathic serial killer who terrorised the streets of Mumbai in the mid-1960s.

Even though Vicky had started out by being an assistant director to Kashyap in the two-part crime saga "Gangs of Wasseypur", the actor had to audition to bag the role in the director's latest.

"I had to audition for the part. Initially, Anurag sir wanted someone who has seen something like this in life. He knew me since a long time and was aware I had not lived my life even remotely closer to the character. But I gave it a shot."

The 27-year-old "Zubaan" star, however, had to push the boundaries to prepare himself for the role, which included living in a dark room.

"For five days, I locked myself in a room. There was no light, no phone, wifi, or TV. I detached myself from everything and concentrated on the two scenes I had to audition for. I wanted to tap the dark side in me," he said.

"First day, I was bored. Second day I started feeling cranky, third day I was irritated, fourth day I was irritated and cranky. By fifth day, I was in a space that I never was in life. I went straight to give the auditions and cracked it," Vicky added.

It was not just materialist things that the actor detached himself from, but also his family, who he had asked not to contact him during the process. "I had to mentally isolate myself from my family and friends. I had given them a disclaimer to let me be and don't talk to me otherwise I might just snap out and lose my temper, myself. It was gruelling, challenging but a very fulfilling experience."

"Raman Raghav 2.0" will be showcased at Cannes' Directors Fortnight section. The festival will open on May 11. The film will release on June 24.