Karan Tacker is gaining widespread appreciation for his role as Gaurav Tiwari in the series Bhay. Fans and critics have lauded his nuanced portrayal and called his performance his career best work.
He recently discussed his experience of working on the project, revealing the challenges he faced. He further discusses how the series strengthened his belief in the paranormal world and how it disturbed him emotionally and psychologically. Karan further called the role the riskiest role and how it changed the trajectory of his career.
Karan Tacker recently opened up about his experience of portraying the role of Gaurav Tiwari. During a conversation with Mid-Day, Karan was asked if he knew about Gaurav Tiwari before taking on the role, he said, “No, I actually didn’t. So when this show was offered to me, I did exactly what I do – I went online and quickly looked up who Gaurav Tiwari was, because I didn’t want to look stupid. I was genuinely blown away when I read his story. From the very beginning, I was extremely kicked about the concept of the show.”
While sharing the details of a unique and risky opening scene, Tacker revealed, “In Hindi cinema, you never ideally show your protagonist dead from the first frame. But we wanted to take that cold-open strategy to tell people exactly what they’re getting into and rope them into the story instantly. It was a punt we took as a team, and it paid off.”
He also shared how the movie strengthened his belief in the paranormal world and said, “I’ve always believed there is life after death and have always been curious about it. I’ve read many books, met people who write and connect with the other side. I never dived too deep into it before because it felt like a dark hole. But after the show, the intrigue has become a part of my reality. Had this been fiction, my mind would work differently. We’ve seen documented footage, real sightings, and knowing Gaurav was celebrated globally makes everything feel very bona fide. While promoting the show, I went to a haunted site and did a real séance with a paranormal investigator. I don’t know where I got the guts to do it, but it was surreal. I didn’t sleep for a week after that.”
Karan also highlighted the unnatural experiences he and Bhay’s team faced during the shoot and said, “We even experienced strange things on set in Madhya Pradesh when we were shooting in a rundown bungalow like when seven set-up cameras glitched together, batteries of phones and cameras got drained, and a massive tree crashed onto an ambulance. There were moments that genuinely shook us.”
When asked about whether the role changed the course of his career, Karan shared, “Yes, absolutely. This was the biggest risk I’ve taken. People don’t always accept you when you move away from heroic roles. Either it was going to land or completely fail. Thankfully, it worked.
About Bhay
Karan Tacker recently made his OTT debut with the paranormal series Bhay. The plot of the series revolves around the life and death of India’s very first paranormal investigator, Gaurav Tiwari. The show explores Gaurav’s real-life cases, explores his work and is a unique blend of science, spirituality and unexplained circumstances around his untimely death.
The series also features Kalki Koechlin as the author who tries to unveil the truth behind his death. Bhay: The Gaurav Tiwari Mystery was released on December 12 on the OTT platform Amazon MX Player.