For Sidhant Gupta, performing in Nikkhil Advani’s Freedom at Midnight was akin to going down the rabbit hole. After all, besides the gargantuan task of making his portrayal of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru convincing, he was acting alongside a heavyweight ensemble of Rajendra Chawla, Aarif Zakaria, and Chirag Vohra. Add to this the weight of historical content being viewed too critically, with the audience looking for deviations from facts. However, none of this unnerved the actor. “I read the script with a head over my shoulder. When dealing with real characters and real stories, I truly believe an actor cannot generate reality through emotions if the words don’t live up to the truth of the character in the story.”
This is not Gupta’s first brush with a historical character. This contemporary actor’s repertoire also includes playing Charles Sobhraj in Black Warrant and Jay Khanna, a filmmaker from the Partition era modelled on Raj Kapoor, in Jubilee. “Portraying Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru involved a lot of emotional and intellectual lifting, while playing Charles Sobhraj was surprisingly fun. Playing Jay Khanna was both, in its own capacity,” he says.
With such characters, it’s also little wonder that research and preparation have become central to Gupta’s craft. “Once I take up a role, I need to keep digging to find gold. The deeper I go, the more layers reveal themselves. Once I have the information that I need, that’s when the talent comes into play. Research lays the foundation; performance gives it life.”
While Gupta has had three back-to-back historical projects, his portfolio includes mainstream works such as romance drama Badmashiyaan, soap opera Tashan-e-Ishq, Sanjay Dutt and Aditi Rao Hydari-starrer Bhoomi, and romantic thriller Operation Romeo. Ask him about how his journey evolved from mainstream television to more layered, historically rooted roles, and the actor in him pumps up. “My stint on television taught me a great deal. But once I found the nitty-gritty of the craft and discovered the talent within, I kept looking for a challenge. The actor in me was yearning to learn more. And, thankfully, the most challenging roles found their way to me,” he says.
Gupta’s career arc has also changed his understanding of success from his early film and television years to now. He explains, “Visibility on screen has always mattered the most to me as an actor. The roles I’ve taken on have required me to be consumed to the point where I have no other life. Call it a sacrifice, but honestly, I’m living the dream life. I’m happy to be at a place where I can choose stories that truly resonate.”
Gupta also credits the rise of streaming platforms for the luxury of cherry-picking projects that resonate with him. “The world of stories is a much better place on platforms today. There are more hard-hitting narratives and less beating around the bush—pure talent, less mediocrity,” says the actor. Gupta feels there’s an unmatched difference in the level and depth of performances on streaming platforms compared to theatrical performances. “It’s high time theatrical investors act more daring and tasteful to create true cinematic experiences for a new India,” he remarks.
The urge to select roles he believes in is taking him to new avenues. “There’s a new project. A completely new territory. Hopefully, a big pop in the sky!” the actor remarks.