There is a certain stillness that surrounds Harshvardhan Rane when he speaks to CE during his visit to Hyderabad. The actor reflects with the ease of someone returning to familiar ground. For him, the city is not merely another stop on a promotional calendar; it is a place that tested him, shaped him, and quietly laid the foundation for his craft.
As the conversation settles, the Sanam Teri Kasam actor talks about the city. “Hyderabad was my schooling. South was my schooling, and Hindi films are like my college. Those years were my most testing years, but also my most formative ones. This is where I learned work ethics, the importance of quality, the kind of genres I wanted to explore, and how the industry truly functions. When I come back here now, it genuinely feels like coming back to my school.”
When asked whether minimalism is a personal philosophy or an emotional necessity, he reflects: “Sometimes your emotional necessity becomes your philosophy, and sometimes your philosophy forms an emotional necessity. I’ve been drawn to minimalism since childhood.”
When the conversation turns to action cinema, his perspective reveals a deeper, more analytical engagement with the form. He shares, “Every action scene can be divided into three sections. There’s a beginning — who takes the first action and what you choose to use. Then there’s the middle, where power shifts. And finally, there’s the end — how you choose to finish it.”
Aware that viewers often project their own experiences onto his performances, he speaks about this bond with a sense of generosity rather than obligation. He states, “I don’t see it as a responsibility or a weight. I genuinely enjoy it. If the audience connects with how I’ve conceived a scene or a character, I want to give more of myself.”
At the core of this outlook is his belief that cinema, above all, is an act of service. “The audience is number one. Second is the producer — I want to see a happy producer. I’m also very aware that not every film will succeed. Many times, the relationship becomes one-directional, and I’m completely okay with that,” he adds.
Several of his performances have been described by audiences as ‘silent companions’ — characters that offer presence rather than answers during moments of personal turmoil. His ongoing study of psychology has only strengthened this inclination toward quiet receptivity. “I resonate a lot with being a silent companion in real life. I’ve never consciously planned that in my performances, but perhaps it naturally comes through,” he admits.
At this stage of his career, success has shed its louder definitions. For the Ek Deewane ki Deewaniyat actor, it no longer resides in numbers or visibility, but in a sense of internal alignment. He shares, “What I’m feeling right now is success. I can express what I truly feel, without having to say things simply because they’re expected of me.”
Apart from acting, his love for photography also reflects the same attentiveness to nuance. As he explains, both acting and photography are shaped by how small shifts can radically alter perception. He adds, “A slight change can completely change the context. A small shift in angle, light, or framing can alter perception. Acting, too, is a craft of details, and both photography and acting demand patience.”
Going ahead in this chat, he speaks of balancing multiple film projects alongside his psychology studies. He highlights, “I have no excuses. If my flight is delayed, I study on the flight. I’ve created rules for myself — I study every day, work out every day, meditate, practise gratitude, affirmations, and visualisation.”
Looking ahead, he speaks with excitement about what lies next. There’s Silaa, Force 3, a project with Ekta Kapoor and has also teamed up with Bhushan Kumar and Milap Zaveri for another project. What excites him most, he explains, is the pedigree behind these projects. “When something comes from a strong office, there’s a sense of responsibility and awareness that automatically comes with it,” he says, adding that this phase feels like, “By far the most interesting curve of my career.” Taking two franchises forward, he believes is, “More than a dream for an actor — it’s like a medal in its own right.” Being handed that trust, he says, is akin to receiving a baton to carry forward. “Being given the baton to take it ahead is a responsibility I really respect. I bow down to it, and I want to do my best to deliver,” he concludes.