Whatever complaints Raj Singh Chaudhary has, boredom certainly shouldn’t be one of them. In less than a decade, Chaudhary has donned several hats, and changed them with alarming alacrity. He started off as a software engineer who finished fourth in the Gladrags supermodel contest in 1995 and subsequently modeled for brands like Allen Solly and Van Heusen. He even attempted writing movie scripts and managed a successful stint as an assistant director. Yet, by his own admission, it’s his newest avatar— playing a lead role in Anurag Kashyap’s soon-to-be-released Gulaa l— that’s making him the most nervous. “I have acted in a bit role in Black Friday before this, but this is my first lead role. So obviously the stakes are high,” says Chaudhary, whose debut film has him playing a college kid who gets embroiled in student politics. The film is slated for release on March 13.

It’s a story that Chaudhary had conceived of when he was still pursuing his engineering degree in Bangalore. “I wrote a script based on the repercussions of ragging and sent it to Anurag through a common friend. It was only in 2002, after I had already tried my hand at running a software firm and modeling that he got back to me, saying that he had reworked my script. He had chiseled the script way better than my amateurish attempt and before I knew it he had auditioned and selected me for the role,” he reminisces.

Of course the going wasn’t easy from there on. The release of Paanch, Kashyap’s debut movie got delayed and subsequently Gulaal ran in to trouble over finding a financier. “This would have been Anurag’s second movie, but no producer seemed willing to take the risk,” he says. But thankfully, Chaudhary had made a firm friend in Kashyap who made sure he used the interim time creatively. “He sent me for numerous acting workshops, taught me the basics of direction and let me assist him in Black Friday. I ended up co-writing the script of No Smoking too. In fact, when Gulaal finally took off he got feelers from various big stars that they would like to act in it, but he kept his faith in me,” says the soft-spoken young man.