With Sahil Khattar, there is more than meets the eye. He may appear laidback and easy-going, but scratch that surface and you’ll find a dedicated actor trying to make his mark with each project. “I am the most hardworking guy on any set,” he begins, as we dive into a conversation about his upcoming series, Bajao, and his prep for the comedy.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

We shot the series last year. The wait for the show has been a little longer than expected, but after seeing the first look, I thought, ‘Der aaye durust aaye’.

Yes, but then my life has been spent in limbo. Even '83 [2021] was pushed for two years. Bajao is my third project, and I had to wait a year for it to be [announced]. It is a waiting game, and we all have to do it. Even Shah Rukh Khan waited for four years for Pathaan and its Rs 1,000 crore [box-office collections].

I am bound to, but I knew that I could survive. Since I shifted to Mumbai, no matter how life has panned out, I have always made efforts. My plans B and C have always been in place.

I play a Haryanvi guy. I had represented Haryana, and then India in roller hockey. I am an Asian Games bronze medalist. I knew everything [about how to approach a Haryanvi character], but I went ahead and did my workshops, sat with a diction [coach], and figured all my scenes in 10 ways possible. When I went on set, we were prepared for plans A, B, and C. [I can say] my performance won’t go unnoticed.

It is an epic show revolving around three boys, one of whom is my character Dhari. We are set to make a music video of a popstar [played by Raftaar]. One day, the money and the rapper get lost after we get drunk. It is a comedy. Dhari is short-tempered, but a rare combination of brains and brawn. My directors [Shiva and Sapta] have done a fabulous job. We wanted to make [the character] like Mahipalpur call centre guys, who build bodies because they feel it will add to their personality.

I have been a puny guy, and have been body-shamed all my life for having no hair or being very thin. Now, [my body] is like Jason Statham’s. For this character, I prepped like a maniac.

I recently saw a video of Jonah Hill talking about why Martin Scorsese is the world’s most special director. Hill said that somebody could take 30 minutes to solve a problem in a scene, but Scorsese would take five seconds. He is that quick and certain in his decision-making, and [that stems from] his experience. The only difference between somebody doing their first project and someone doing their 20th is problem-solving and decision-making.