As the lead in director Bernard Mazzini “Thoughts”, Rahul appears as the distraught and emotionally volatile Dylan. The character is the opposite of this young agreeable Stockholm (the suburb of Bergshamra to be specific) native who enjoyed hamming it up for the camera and found himself connecting with the comedy and physicality of Jackie Chan’s movies as a youth. His admiration for the greats like Pacino, DiCaprio, and Robin Williams hinted at his affinity for blending dark comedy and drama. When Mazzini asked him to audition for a film and subsequently cast him as the lead actor, it was certain that his professional career had gained a boost. Rahul understood the gravity of being the centerpiece of a film and respectfully prepared to do so. Long discussions with the director about the tone of the character and being afforded the ability to improvise and expound on set was empowering for Naulakha. He concedes, “As a lead, the weight is all on you. You have to be prepared with every single word and emotion. The director expects you to be as good and professional as you were on the audition…even more so. The director chose you as the main for a reason and the entire production is depending on you to rise to the occasion. If you are a supporting actor there is also a great deal of weight that is put upon you but, since you are not as prominent in the story, you have more room to improvise. I’ve been the lead actor and I’ve been a supporting actor. I have immense respect for both parts of a cast. It may be self-imposed but it definitely feels like you have more on the line as the lead.”
The transformation of Dylan is as excruciating to watch as it is captivating. The pace of the transition Rahul exhibits for this role is so gradual that we don’t notice it until, like a tea kettle, it suddenly screams at the viewer. Dylan is a multilayered character who initially appears as an object of sympathy to that of an ice-cold psychopath. His reminiscing about his soon to be wife and their plans to get married before her accident begins a ground swell of pain that converts into a malicious need to inflict that same sense of loss with others. Rahul explains his process, “To create Dylan, I had to get trashed a bit. I did not sleep for two days before the shoot which in itself creates irritation. I focused my thoughts on people that I’ve lost in my life and how that affected me. In order to get the psychotic vibe that Dylan has, I had to think about something that made me feel jealous and frustrated. This was everything from an unhealthy former relationship to simple things like the financially difficult times that almost everyone has experienced at some point. I didn’t feel well and I certainly didn’t look well but it worked for the part. I wouldn’t call it method acting; I’d call it doing what the role needed for me to get there.”
Both those in the film industry and the audience received “Thoughts” with resounding praise, but it was the film’s creator who was the most boisterous concerning Naulakha performance. Mazzini confirms, “Dylan was such an important part of this piece. He is a complex character. This character has a lot of depth and had to be portrayed with many of layers and display multiple emotions. Rahul contributed a lot in terms of manifesting this character as he appears in the story. It was a demanding lead role due to the abbreviated rehearsal times and the shooting schedule. It’s astonishing that this was his first leading role. I’ve seen his subsequent work and he always appears as a mature and aware actor, just as he did in our film. He’s nothing like the loose-cannon he plays in ‘Thoughts’ which is a trait that myself and everyone who has enjoyed the pleasure of working with him is very happy about.”