When your film wins a National Award, it calls for a big celebration. And though actor Varun Sharma was thrilled when he heard that the Nitesh Tiwari directorial, Chhichhore, won Best Hindi Film, he couldn’t help but get emotional. “Winning the National Award for a film that will always hold a special place in my heart is a big validation. This one’s for Kammo,” says Sharma, referring to the name his character used for the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput in the film.

Looking back, he calls Chhichhore “a learning ground and an enriching experience”. He says, “When you work with a team of amazing actors, you feed off each other’s energies. I have made great friends during the shoot. The conversations and the fun that we had both on and off camera will always remain in my heart. It was my dream to work with Nitesh sir!”

Sharma, 31, calls the way Tiwari crafted the film “incredible” and says thar shooting for it felt like a vacation. “It was like reliving our college days. We knew that we were making something very special and hoped from the bottom of our hearts that it’d be received in the way that it has been. We are beyond happy that the film received a lot of love across demographics. As actors, that is what we live for,” he says.

Sharma can’t help but think about Rajput even more after the win. “The celebration was incomplete, with a bit of hollowness. But we know that he is the brightest star in the galaxy, who is revelling in the victory and is happily looking at us,” he says.