Dhaval Mehta (DNA; September 23, 2019)

Tahir Raj Bhasin made a powerful debut as the villain in Mardaani and followed it up with Force 2 and Manto. Now, his latest  release, Chhichhore, toplined by Sushant Singh Rajput and Shraddha Kapoor has crossed Rs 100 crore at the box office and the actor is on cloud nine. Here, he talks about the success of Chhichhore, working with Ranveer Singh in ’83 and more.

What kind of reactions have you been getting for Chhichhore?
I am just overwhelmed at the moment. My phone has not stopped ringing, I have been receiving messages from the people I have worked with and from fans on Instagram. It feels incredible when you work hard on a project for a year and it pays off. Chhichhore has purely accelerated on word-of-mouth and when we went to watch the film at the theatre, people of all age groups were coming for their second show on the same weekend. I am in celebration mode.

The camaraderie on the screen seems effortless. Did it come naturally?
It didn’t come naturally because when you meet for the first time, you are total strangers. There were reading sessions, to begin with, and Nitesh Tiwari (director) ran us through photographs from his college days, so, we were visually in sync with what we wanted to create. During the workshops, we would meet and have discussions about how he (Nitesh) saw the character and what was his college life like. When we were shooting for two-three months at IIT Bombay, it took us to our past and we started thinking about our college days. And every time there was a break in the schedule, we would meet up and have lunch or dinner at Sushant’s (Singh Rajput) place, which played a huge role in bonding and understanding each other.

Weren’t you apprehensive about taking up the film considering you weren’t the lead actor?
Not at all. How can you be afraid of getting lost when you have a slow walking entry scene, smoking a cigarette? Although my character does enter until after 40 minutes of the film, the moment he does, he takes control and command of all the Chhichhoraas. When I read the script, I knew Derek had a presence.

How much importance do you give to the script as well as screen presence?
What matters to me is how my character is changing the story and where the story goes when he enters, and also who is the director. Every character that I have done acts as a catalyst to the plot. I have had the good fortune of working with Pradeep Sarkar (Mardaani), Abhinay Deo (Force 2), Nandita Das (Manto), Nitesh and Kabir Khan with '83. And I also think content is becoming the star.

In '83, you are playing the role of Sunil Gavaskar. How has the experience been?
We have just finished the London schedule of '83. It is a historical drama/biopic, you have to recreate a particular reference and there is no room for making it creatively more exciting. The challenge for me was, how do I stand like Gavaskar? How do I walk on to the field like him? Does my backfoot drive, defence look like his? It is about portraying the physicality of Sunil Gavaskar, which is a big challenge. He was the first Indian superstar cricketer and after him, we had Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and now Virat Kohli carrying forward that legacy.

How was it collaborating with Ranveer Singh?
Ranveer (Singh) motivates me. During the shoot, he is the first one to arrive and last one to leave. It is incredible to see that he is so dedicated to his craft. He is a great co-actor to have. And Kabir’s (Khan, director) attention to detail, his background in making documentaries and his authenticity helps.

What kind of growth have you seen in yourself as an actor?
Growth is the ability to not judge your character. As an actor, you always have to love who you are playing. Acting is about being in the moment and audiences are smart to know what is authentic and what is not. If you are just reacting to what the other person is saying and not acting, it works very well on the camera and it comes with experience. One of the things I love about acting is that there is always scope for growth. 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.