Rahul Khanna : Working on ”The Americans” dream come true

Actor Rahul Khanna had watched the television period drama series “The Americans” as a viewer, but did not anticipate he would be offered a part on the same show.

“The Americans”, created and produced by former CIA officer Joe Weisberg, is set during the Cold War period in the early 1980s.

“I was not expecting the offer. It came out of the blue and I was really excited. It was a show that I had watched. I really liked my character which was suave and James Bond like.

“So it was a dream come true to be able to work on a theme like this, on a show that I loved and watched too. It is so well regarded all over the world. It felt great.” Khanna told PTI.

The 43-year-old actor played a Pakistani intelligence officer, Yousaf Rana, who makes frequent trips to Washington DC and ends up getting entangled in the web which KBG (secret service of Soviet Union) sets for him and then becomes an informer for them.

The series premiered in 2013, but Khanna’s character was seen largely on season three, which, the actor says, was not the case earlier.

“Initially it was just about to be in one episode of the second season but the makers brought my character back for the third as well. So that was good.”

Khanna, who was also seen on the Indian adaptation of drama series “24”, believes television is going through its golden phase, and even though ‘The Americans’ is set during the Cold War, it will find an audience back home.

“Working on the show was fantastic. I feel it is the golden age of television because America is producing such incredible television content. ‘The Americans’ is thoroughly well-researched, historical, and based on true events.

“So a lot of people in India will remember the time when the US and the Soviet Union were in the Cold War together and how world had to take sides. Anyone who likes dramatic spy thriller will enjoy it.”

Khanna made his Bollywood debut with Deepa Mehta’s 1999 period drama “Earth”, and has appeared in films like “Love Aaj Kal” and “Wake Up Sid”. The actor, last seen in “Fireflies” in 2014, wants to do “challenging” roles in Hindi films.

“There is no one particular kind of role. As an actor, one always looks for interesting, challenging and creative characters. One does not want to be doing same thing over and over again. I am to open anything as long as it is good.

“Right now, I am in talks for a couple of films.

Hopefully those will work out. I haven’t done a film in India for a while so I am looking forward to doing more.”

The FX channel will air back-to-back episodes of the third season of “The Americans” in India today.

Inputs by PTI