I am not a big fan of going to malls. I am pretty old-fashioned that way.
— Tahir Raj Bhasin
As long as the actor is able to maintain an emotional relatability with the audience, he or she will be loved by them.
What's challenging is to surprise the audience.
It is every actor's dream to work at YRF and I feel very fortunate to be given this opportunity.
Film is a medium where the audience gives you 100 per cent.
I was an above-average student who excelled in basketball and theatre.
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.
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 think an excess of anything is bad, be it mobile phones, social media, private tuitions or watching television.
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.
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 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.
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.
My mother worked for Confederation of Indian Industry, and Aptech Computers.
My first film was very static.
I get the feeling that audiences have become mature and they understand that not every character is in black or white. There can be grey shades to it.
Actually two films is too short a time for an actor to get typecast.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We grew up climbing trees, playing outdoors and cycling.
Chhichhore' is the toughest film that I have done.
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.
It's a big responsibility to play an icon like Sunil Gavaskar.
I am a huge optimist.
My father was in the Air Force, so I travelled all over India. I was born in Delhi.
Internationally if you see, 'Narcos' and 'House of Cards' are all very dark shows with very dark characters. The audience may hate the character but they will love the actor.
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.
I look forward to pushing the boundaries of my craft and taking new chances.
I have always believed that the choice of your second film is as important as you first film.
I believe short films are more organic. It's almost like doing theatre. It just takes few takes.
I want to explore diverse genres.
As actors, that has been challenging for us to pick up the nuances of the living legends we are playing.
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 have always been extremely health conscious and I have never smoked and don't encourage the habit of smoking.
How you carry yourself is how people perceive you.
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.
I am the only one in my family to get into acting.
