Netflix’s latest series Glory has become the talk of the town, earning largely positive reviews from both critics and audiences. While performances by Divyenndu, Suvinder Vicky, and Pulkit Samrat have been widely praised, actor Kunal Thakur has also left a strong impression on viewers with his portrayal of Raka in the show.
In exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, the actor opened up about undergoing an intense physical transformation for the role, learning the Haryanvi accent with help from wife Mukti Mohan, and how Raka’s story mirrors the struggles of many real-life boxers whose dreams were left unfulfilled.
Kunal Thakur reveals who he bagged Raka’s role
Talking about the overwhelming response to his role, Kunal said people close to him were excited to finally see more of him on screen. He shared that friends and family were particularly impressed with his transformation into Raka, especially because they knew what he looked like before the show. “For as long as they saw, they were like brilliant stuff man and brilliant transformation because they know what I looked like before becoming Raka. It was a big difference and rightly so because we had 7-8 months to become boxers and Raka, the character. We had that luxury. You don’t always have the luxury to do that,” he said.
According to him, the makers were clear that the actors should not merely look like fighters but completely embody the sport. “It had to be real, we had to become boxers. They have to have the body language of boxers. Badi mehanat kari hai iss show mein (Did a lot of hardwork in this show),” he said. Kunal added that his love for boxing grew so much during the process that he even considered taking up the sport seriously. “Now I keep shadow boxing in the air anywhere and everywhere,” he joked.
Recalling how he landed the role, Kunal revealed that the makers initially wanted real-life boxers instead of actors. His team had approached the casting department believing he already had the physicality needed for the part. However, the creators were keen on finding actual boxers for authenticity.
“They don’t want actors. They want real boxers,” he recalled. But the plan did not work out because, according to him, acting required a very different skill set. “I’m not saying hamlog fight and bout ready here. Those guys are all international heroes. They represent India internationally on every platform of boxing, in every tournament of boxing. It’s eventually a lot easier to teach somebody how to play the sport and get that body language over a period of months than it is to actually make a non-actor an actor,” he explained.
How Mukti Mohan helped him with Haryanvi
The actor also credited his wife, Mukti Mohan, for helping him crack the audition, especially with the Haryanvi accent. Since Mukti is half-Haryanvi, she helped him with the dialect during the initial stages. “Mujhe Haryanvi nahi aati (I don’t know how to speak Haryanvi). I can speak Punjabi and a little bit of Urdu because of being born and raised in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, so I’ve had a lot of friends from all different countries, so. So at the initial stage, Mukti helped me with Haryanvi.”
He revealed that this helped him impress the makers and eventually bag the part. Kunal recalled that after his audition, the team, including creator Karan Anshuman, was surprised by his performance. “They were like, ‘How did you do it?’ I said, ‘My wife helped me out.’ I guess it did it very well did. it did. As an actor. I can play many other parts. Sure. But my fate opened for raka, wherein there were so many people who had tested for Raka,” he shared.
Raka is inspired by real-life stories of boxers
Kunal further explained that Raka was intentionally written as a man of few words. One detail he consciously incorporated into the performance was avoiding direct eye contact with his coach. “I cannot look him in his eyes. He’s my coach, he’s my sir,” he said, stressing how deeply respect operates in the boxing world.
Speaking about Raka’s emotional journey, from an ambitious boxer to someone who resorts to violence to remove obstacles in his path, Kunal said the darker turn was ‘creative liberty, but the emotional core of the character was inspired by real stories.
“My part, as raka, is the story of majority of the boxers who are who have not made it, who are excellent, who are excellent at their boxing, who have been training and giving their life to boxing from their childhood because they come from such small towns and villages wherein their parents teach them that you have to come on the first spot in boxing and take a government job to remove the financial pressure,” he said.
The actor revealed that he spent time with several boxers, including Rohit Tokas and Akash Sangwan, to understand their struggles, disappointments and setbacks. “So what was shown in the movie between Ravi (Pulkit and me was real. Bahut politics hoti hai, koi kisi ka sala hai, bhanja hai, vo aage nikal jaate hain chahe unmein utna hunar aur training naa ho aur jo aache hote hain voh peeche reh jate hain. Har field main hota hain yeh. Kitne undeserving log bethe hain, har industry mein (There is a lot of politics. Someone is related to someone — a brother-in-law or a nephew, and they move ahead even if they do not have that much talent or training, while the truly deserving people are left behind. This happens in every field. There are so many undeserving people sitting in every industry),” he revealed.
Kunal also revealed that during preparation, he suggested that everyone working on the show watch the Haryanvi commentary during the IPL to better understand the language and accent naturally. He shared that the director felt his idea was fun and great.