It's always interesting exploring something that has dimensions and layers to it.
Tahir Raj Bhasin
We grew up climbing trees, playing outdoors and cycling.
Everyone has loved 'Chhichhore' for a different reason, which I think for an actor is the best thing to hear. What I've been most touched by is that most people have discovered something new about the film when they have walked in the second time.
It is every actor's dream to work at YRF and I feel very fortunate to be given this opportunity.
It is important to experience everything. If you haven't travelled in life, if you haven't had friends, if you haven't been a Chhichhora, then you haven't done anything in life.
I feel it has become increasingly competitive. There are some insane cut-offs to get into a lot of colleges.
I don't think there are any negative roles anymore. I think we can aptly put such characters under 'anti-hero' tag.
I greatly admire how the essence of Nitesh Tiwari's films resonate with you long after you've left the theatre.
I think when you're a new actor in Bollywood, it's about seizing the moment. If you can prove to the audience there is an emotional vulnerability to your character, regardless of it being black or gray, I think the audience will accept you in any role - be it romantic or action.
I want to keep looking for roles that have an element of surprise.
I'm a 90s child and I have grown up on a staple diet of David Dhawan films, Baazigar, Rangeela and Dil Chahta Hai.
Derek, my character, in 'Chhichhore' is actually based on the director's real life senior in engineering college and I had no clue about it till he took me to Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
Actors normally go to the gym to achieve a certain kind of fitness for a role but when you start playing a sport, then you realise that being athletically fit is a very different kind of fitness.
When people see me as Gavaskar on screen, I want them to feel that they are looking at the person that they have known and when I play on screen, it should remind them of how he played.
I really believe quality over quantity and 'Mardaani' was really well-received. It got me critical acclaim and box-office success, both.
I remember how as I kid I would love stories of every kind - whether they were narrated in school or what I read in books. Storytelling would always appeal to me, I would take part in poetry reciting, dramatics, choreography and debates. There was this fascination for performance, which finally culminated in a professional sphere.
It is a matter of pride, and a lot of pressure to play the role of a legend like Sunil Gavaskar. He is India's first cricket superstar.
I have always been extremely health conscious and I have never smoked and don't encourage the habit of smoking.
When you play an anti-hero, it is a task to make people empathise with your character.
When you are doing a film about real people, you don't have a lot of manoeuvrability when it comes to how much you can add by way of imagination. You have to replicate what they were like. What you can add to it is your version of it.
As an actor, 'Chhichhore' has been one of the most creatively fulfilling projects and I thank my director Nitesh Tiwari for making me a part of his vision.
When an actor thinks he has arrived and become the best one, that's when your downfall starts. I will always strive to do better than in my last film.
There is something challenging in shooting something in just one day and there is freedom knowing there is going to be no censorship.
There's so much information out there. There are written biographies of Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, there are interviews, and we have had the benefit of meeting these players. There's a physical and psychological aspect, and combining these two is what will help '83' connect with the millenials and cricket lovers.
In 'Chhichhore,' I play the most layered and fun character.
I believe short films are more organic. It's almost like doing theatre. It just takes few takes.
There is something very exciting when you're playing a villain. You're being a rebel within the story because you are breaking the norms, and also when it comes to the structure of what a conventional lead is supposed to be.
My father was in the Air Force, so I travelled all over India. I was born in Delhi.
My mother worked for Confederation of Indian Industry, and Aptech Computers.
I am the only one in my family to get into acting.
I am a huge optimist.
On the sets of the movie 'Manto,' I found that one of the challenges of embodying real-life stories is the mixed medium of facts and imagination, and how one's collage of experiences colour ones representation on celluloid.
Every time a medal is won on the national or international platform, our country really enjoys winners but we don't appreciate the effort that goes into creating winners.
It's a big responsibility to play an icon like Sunil Gavaskar.
How you carry yourself is how people perceive you.
I have been part of really good projects which I'm extremely proud of and 'Chhichhore' will stand tall among my body of work. This is my first Rs 100 crore film and I know I will cherish this moment always.
Chhichhore' is the toughest film that I have done.
To play the role of a sports champion, I first needed to break my body and become supremely fit to convincingly look like a college athlete. Along with acing sporting disciplines, I also had to balance the emotional graph and light heartedness of a college drama while competing in varying sport! Combining the two drained a lot out of me.
I think an excess of anything is bad, be it mobile phones, social media, private tuitions or watching television.
I internalise every role that I do and my creative process sees me immerse myself with the setting and the character that I have at hand.
As actors, that has been challenging for us to pick up the nuances of the living legends we are playing.
I virtually grew up at Air Force bases, and when I was younger, I'd dream of wearing a uniform like my father and grandfather. But when I turned 10, I felt theatre and acting were my calling.
I want to explore diverse genres.
My only criteria while selecting roles is that it should be a lead part in an interesting story where the character has depth and layers.
I was an above-average student who excelled in basketball and theatre.
My focus are only films. There is something special about films as when it is being played in a dark theatre, the audience is watching only you. Whereas in TV there are a lot distraction.
Film is a medium where the audience gives you 100 per cent.
I have always believed that the choice of your second film is as important as you first film.
I like to spend time with senior actors before going on set to break the ice. On set, I just look at them as co-actors.
I look forward to pushing the boundaries of my craft and taking new chances.
