While Adarsh Gourav built his career in Hindi and international projects, his heart has always held a quiet connection to Andhra Pradesh, where his family comes from. Now, with his first Telugu film underway, that bond finally finds expression onscreen. As he shoots for his Tollywood debut in Hyderabad, the White Tiger actor opened up to Hyderabad Times what this journey means to him, the joy of rediscovering his Telugu roots, and his desire to become a director.

Born Adarsh Gourav Bhagavatula in Jamshedpur, the actor comes from a Telugu-speaking household. “Both my parents have roots in Andhra — my dad is from a village near Srikakulam and my maternal grandfather is from near Vizianagaram. It was a rule to speak in Telugu at home,” he shares. “It’s our mother tongue, and my parents made sure I learned it properly from a young age.”

Despite a tight six-day-a-week shoot schedule, Adarsh says Hyderabad has already left a lasting impression. “There wasn’t much time to explore, but the food instantly made me feel at home,” he smiles. “I love Andhra food — pappus, chutneys, kuras, vankai kura, bendakaya kura. It all reminded me of eating at home.”

But it’s more than just food and familiarity with the language. “What’s unique about Hyderabad is how much people love cinema. You’ll find doctors, architects, people from different walks of life trying their hand at filmmaking. That’s really special.”

Adarsh isn’t one to restrict himself by language or geography. He’s currently learning Malayalam and hopes to work in Tamil cinema too. “Wherever there are authentic stories, I want to be a part of them. Language is secondary as long as the story resonates.”

His Telugu debut, he says, has been a point of pride for his entire family. “Over the years, my father’s family in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam would often ask me when I’d do a Telugu film. I’m finally able to show them something in our own language.”

Adarsh’s portrayal of Jugnu, a trans character, in Guns & Gulaabs was a turning point in his career. “I definitely felt the gaze towards me had shifted,” he reflects.

“It gave me a chance to empathize with what it’s like to transition later in life and the kind of strength it takes.” He adds, “We need to build more sensitivity around the trans community. Live and let live — why would anyone take someone else’s truth as a personal problem?”

In Aanand L Rai’s upcoming Tu Ya Main, Adarsh will be seen in a completely new avatar — as a rapper. “It’s a creature feature, and Shanaya (Kapoor) is my co-actor. It’s a genre I’ve never explored before.” 

He also stars in Alien, a sci-fi show by Noah Hawley. “I was never into sci-fi before, but now I’ve completely switched sides. We shot in Thailand for six months alongside The White Lotus team. It was one of the most enriching experiences I’ve had.”

Looking ahead, Adarsh has his sights on directing. “I want to venture into filmmaking in my 30s. My first film might be a satire-drama. I think horror is very difficult to do well, and I’m not ready for that just yet. But I do have many stories in me and I’m excited to tell them.”

Though Adarsh had harboured a desire to work in Telugu films for a while, he wasn’t sure how to break into the industry. A chance conversation with actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu at the Citadel success party changed that. “I told her that I wanted to work in Telugu cinema and she connected me with Himank Reddy, who took me around Hyderabad and introduced me to a few directors and producers. That’s when I met Jahnavi and Baba, and things fell into place.”

The film, a psychological horror thriller, is being helmed by a debutant director. “Baba’s actually an architect who’s been working on the script for nearly 10 years. I found that fascinating. It’s also his first film and mine in Telugu, so it felt like a great alignment,” he says.

Adarsh Gourav couldn’t have imagined a better end to 2023. Or a better start to this year. The actor has been winning praise for his honest performance in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, which dropped on Netflix in the last week of December. He has little time to bask in the love, as he is set to begin shooting for the television series, Alien, on which Ridley Scott serves as the executive producer. But movies like Kho Gaye Hum Kahan are hard to shake off, and Gourav acknowledges that it has stayed with him.

“When I moved to the city as a 13-year-old, I felt every beat of what my character Neil feels. I saw how materialism hits you in Mumbai. I felt insecure, inadequate and envious at times,” he recalls.

Through his character, director Arjun Varain Singh explores not only this generation’s hustling spirit, but also their silent frustrations. “I love how the character makes class divide a conversation. The scene where Neil is reprimanded for using the gym shower, and the board reads ‘Staff not allowed’, stuck with me. New buildings in Mumbai have dedicated lifts for staff. I find it humiliating. The quiet rebel in me always uses the staff lift in those buildings. It’s my way of saying a silent ‘F*** you’ to people who think this is okay. We have been desensitized and don’t make enough noise about class divide.”

Gourav’s reason to be part of the Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday-starrer went beyond its powerful script. It was the joy of playing a city-bred character after a spate of small-town boy roles in The White Tiger (2021), Guns & Gulaabs (2023) and more.

“People associate me with violent roles, with characters who belong to Tier-2, -3 cities. It was refreshing to get a character that I associate with myself. I want to portray characters that help me transform emotionally and physically.”

Gourav adds, “Despite being a middle-class family, my parents ensured they took us on vacations, and I’ve travelled across the length and breadth of India. I have changed 13 houses in the city, from Dahisar to Amboli, and went to an upscale school like Podar International School. I have observed a lot of the worlds in India, and rarely get a script where I can’t recognize the character. I’ve seen every character and met them, briefly.”

Doing international projects then helps him go out of the realm of familiarity and embrace unknown characters. He is set to join the unit of Alien in Bangkok later this month. “While working in the West, there are so many things that I have absolutely no idea about. I read up on it and practice my accents in my free time. I might not sound exactly like a person from Chicago, but I work so hard that sometimes I surprise myself by getting into the final shortlist,” he laughs.

“[Before I shot the first schedule] in June, I had never worked with people from London, New Zealand, and America. To live, workshop with them and know that these are your people for the next six months can be daunting. But I met some wonderful people and can’t wait to reunite with them.”

You have to give it to Adarsh Gourav for attempting to build an eclectic résumé ever since he broke out with The White Tiger (2021). In the two years since, he has been part of a heartland crime comedy in Guns & Gulaabs, an apocalyptic series in Extrapolations, and a young adult drama in the upcoming Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.

Now, the actor will feature in the series, Alien, which will be a prequel to the 1979 film of the same name. With the 1979 offering, director Ridley Scott kicked off the popular franchise that includes Aliens (1986), Alien vs Predator (2004) and Prometheus (2012).

The sci-fi horror franchise ventures into episodic storytelling with the FX-Hulu series. While Scott will serve as executive producer, it will be helmed by Noah Hawley and feature Essie Davis.

A source reveals, “Adarsh and the cast filmed some portions in July, before shoots came to a standstill because of the SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming will resume after the strike ends. It will be shot in Thailand, and Adarsh has two weeks’ work left. The network is planning to stream the series in 2024.”

Over the decades, the Alien franchise has seen renowned filmmakers—from James Cameron to David Fincher—wield the directorial baton. For Gourav, the latest spin-off is another opportunity to make a mark in the international circuit.

The source adds, “After The White Tiger earned him a BAFTA nomination for best actor, Adarsh caught the attention of many in Hollywood. In the series, he plays an Indian character.”