Upala KBR (MID-DAY; December 20, 2017)

Slipping into the role of a Gujarati dandiya instructor for his debut outing Loveratri, Aayush Sharma jetted off to Ahmedabad to soak in the culture on Monday. The aspiring actor tells mid-day, “I have not been to Gujarat, but my director [Abhiraj Minawala] is familiar with the place. He wanted me to travel with him to absorb the culture. I play a dandiya instructor, who finds love during Navratri. Abhiraj hopes to make this film colourful.”

A walk down the local streets will enable Sharma to get acquainted with the mannerisms of the citizens. “I think, Vadodara has an equivalent of [Mumbai’s] Khau Galli. We plan to head there. Abhiraj wants to take me to the popular joints, eateries and local landmarks.”

A crash course in nabbing the Gujarati language and accent is also on the actor’s diary ahead of the film’s shoot next February. “I am being coached by a Gujarati trainer. Although it’s a Hindi film, we will add a Gujarati flavour through the dialect. While I have been learning the language in Mumbai, I will become familiar with the lingo when I travel there.”

Meanwhile, the actor is testing his nimbleness as he learns garba. “I started training in the form a couple of months ago. I have got a hang of it by now. But I need to practise.”