Siddhant Chaturvedi has come into his own. After nearly a decade-long career—he debuted with TV sitcom Life Sahi Hai in 2016—he has finally established himself as a lead actor with his recent film, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.
Until this, Chaturvedi’s performances, although noteworthy, got overshadowed by the star power of co-actors who were bigger names. In Gully Boy (2019), which was his breakthrough role, Ranveer Singh took the limelight, in Gehraiyaan (2022), it was Deepika Padukone, Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2021) had Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan, Phone Bhoot (2022) had Katrina Kaif.
With Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, he has arrived. Starring alongside Ananya Panday and Adarsh Gourav, he plays a struggling standup comic in the bittersweet Netflix drama, which captures life in the times of social media, and the subsequent influencer culture.
One of the impacts the film had on the 29-year-old actor is “less usage of social media”. “I anyway didn’t use it much, but after the film, I have reduced it even further. I am more of a sit down, have chai, chill, talk kind of person. I like real people,” he says.
Young as he may be, Chaturvedi’s approach to life, in general, and his craft, in particular, exudes maturity. He refuses to be called a self-made actor. Elaborating, he says, “Actors are products of the audience. It is the audience that makes a star. There are people who have a head start in the business, but eventually everything is fair because people choose their actors and shower them with love. What is pressurising though is to keep entertaining the audience as there are so many mediums now; to choose the right one that connects with the audience is a tough call.”
The actor likes to keep challenging himself by choosing characters that are nothing like him. His filmography validates the claim. In the web series, Inside Edge, he played a docile rookie bowler, and then slipped into the shoes of the confident rapper in Gully Boy. In Bunty aur Babli 2, he was the sly conman with a good heart, which he followed with the childlike mischief of a ghostbuster in Phone Bhoot. It is difficult to find the real Chaturvedi on the spectrum of his characters. But, unlike many actors, he doesn’t cling to his roles longer than required.
“I make sure the characters that I play don’t stay with me for long. I move on because I don’t want to get inspired by fictional characters in the films I do or watch,” he says, adding, “My inspiration comes from real people like athletes, sportsmen, world leaders, soldiers… there is so much to learn from.”
Next in line for Chaturvedi is Yudhra, his first actioner. While the film was offered to him in 2019, the actor requested the team to hold on as he wanted to get some more experience in the business. “I have grown up watching action films, and it is every boy’s dream to do one. The producers wanted to go for it after MC Sher, who was perceived as an alpha male. But, I wanted to explore more before they put that much money on me; you need a certain equity,” the actor says, adding, “They were kind enough to wait while I shot for a couple of films before working on this one.”
“Yes, eyes are on the box office, but I also want to deliver a good and responsible product and not do an action film just because I want to do it,” he adds.
