‘My Strengths as an Actor Far Outweigh my Weaknesses’
What was the biggest compliment you received for Bajirao Mastani?
It came from Bhansali sir. He said, ‘I cannot imagine Bajirao without you’. I got my biggest award in the form of a note from Mr Bachchan. I have got many notes from him and I have framed and kept them in my bank locker. We younger actors look forward to appreciation from seniors like him. For us that is our award.
You have died in the climax of last four films. What do your parents say?
Yes, I died in Lootera, Gunday, Ram-Leela and Bajirao Mastani. Now my mother asks me when will I do a film where I won’t die. At a special Bajirao screening for her, she sat in the theatre alone for a long time after the film got over. I saw her and felt it was not fair to her. She was so upset that I had to hug and kiss and console her.
How depressing is it for an actor while doing such scenes?
Quite. In the first two films, I was inspired by the scenes. But when I was filming the climax scene for Lootera, I could not sleep and had nightmares. I would dream of being shot by six people and would wake up from my stupor drenched in sweat. For Bajirao Mastani, I shot the climax for 11 days and on the 12th day, I fell unconscious. My body gave up completely.
Who do you attribute your success to?
To my family entirely. They are my life support. They make everything convenient and sort out things for me, so that I can concentrate on my acting. I get up, have a shower, then my breakfast and go to the sets, work for 12 hours, come back, eat and go off to sleep. Everything else is taken care of. I don’t have to worry about who will go to the bank or other things related to the house.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
As an actor, I have realised that my strengths far outweigh my weaknesses. My limitations are limited. I have struggled and have seen failures, but came out triumphant. I know my reserves are very deep. Especially while I was filming Bajirao Mastani, which was a difficult film, I had to bring out my dark emotions and layers; mix anger with sadness. Very often I had to dig deep inside me.
Who is your strength during difficult times?
I have a dentist uncle who is a cinema lover. He was scared when he heard I was doing Bajirao. A Maharashtrian himself, he knew a lot about the warrior. He compiled statistics of various actors and gave me details about which actor had done what kind of roles and films. He later showed me my statistics too and said, ‘you have done so much at such a young age’.
You have achieved what other superstars could not at your age, not even Shah Rukh.
He’s a superstar and has been in the industry for 25 years; I am just five years old here. I still have a long way to go. I have no right to comment on these issues.
Are you looking to do a film in a different zone?
I want to something of an urban centric film with Deepika (Padukone) now.
