Harshvardhan Rane was on cloud nine when he got to ride with his idol, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The actor was part of a TV advertisement, which stars MSD, actors Rana Daggubati, Dino Morea, Nikitin Dheer (of Chennai Express fame), singer-performer Anushka Manchanda and others.
“The ad was shot more than five months ago and it took place over two days in Lokhandwala,” says Harshvardhan.
“It was an experience of a lifetime because I have always looked up to Dhoni. Both of us are from small towns – Gwalior and Ranchi – and have made a mark in our fields without any lineage. He has always been an inspiration for the success he has achieved through hard work and that’s why I was very happy to be shooting alongside him,” says Harshvardhan.
In the ad, a group of bikers are seen travelling on a road and the head of the pack is, of course, MSD. “I got a call from an agency and they asked me whether I wanted to be a part of it; when I learned who all were going to be in it, all I could say was, ‘Hell yeah!’,” Harshvardhan adds.
A bike enthusiast himself (besides Dhoni), Harshvardhan owns a Royal Enfield Cafe Racer GT in yellow, his first ever “proper” bike. “Dino was riding the same bike in red. When Dhoni came to know I owned the same bike, he was impressed and said ‘good choice’. Dhoni himself owns a Harley Bad Boy, so coming from him, who owns all the big bikes, it was amazing,” says Harshvardhan, adding, “He is indeed the coolest person I have met – whether it’s cricket or riding bikes.
“And what he said on the shoot was that... we should just be sincere to our craft but we shouldn’t take ourselves so seriously.”
