It's not easy for a newcomer to get noticed in a multi-starrer film like Udta Punjab. But Delhi boy Suhail Nayyar has been able to impress many with his portrayal of Jassi, Shahid Kapoor's cousin, in the movie. “It's a dream debut for me. The likes of Ayushmann Khurrana tweeted praising my work,“ says the FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) alumnus.

Asked if it was easy to play the role, he says, “Frankly, yes. Staying in Delhi, you meet these guys who emulate everything about some rockstar or change their accent after a foreign trip, par asal mein hote woh pendu hain.. He adds, “But there is a difference between a Delhi-based Punjabi and a Punjab-based Punjabi. Take the former and multiply his emotions, of both love and anger, by three times, and you get the latter.“

Growing up in Model Town, Suhail wanted to be a commercial pilot after graduating from school, but that's also when the acting bug bit him. He says, “My family thought that I should either focus on becoming a pilot or an actor. So I chose the latter. I took up a correspondence course because you need to be a graduate to apply for FTII. Meanwhile, I did theatre in Delhi and helped my father with his real estate business.“

The several cuts proposed by the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) gave the newcomer jitters, since in his first scene in the film, he uses several cuss words. He recalls, “To add to the misery, the film got leaked as well. We were all disheartened as two years of our hard work were getting wasted.“

Though his dream is to star as the lead in a film, Suhail feels that Udta Punjab has given him wings to fly high. Talking about his experience shooting for the film, he says, “My most intense scene is when I slap Shahid sir, because at that juncture, my character changes his traits. I also take off my T-shirt in that scene. In the first take of the scene, the cast and the crew started hooting the moment I took off my T-shirt.“ He adds, “Both Abhishek (Chaubey) and Shahid sir encouraged me a lot and also allowed me to improvise. Once, Diljit (Dosanjh) sir came to me and said, 'Paaji, bahut kamal ka role kitta' And I was like, 'Sir, aap star hain aur aap yeh keh rahe hain?' I was overwhelmed.“ About the drug problem in Punjab, he says, “While shooting in Punjab, we heard so many stories from the locals about lives that have been destroyed because of substance abuse. I have some relatives based in Ludhiana and I had heard similar tales from them as well.“