Hindi cinema fans will always remember Sunny Deol’s son from the 2001 period action drama, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. The little boy who won hearts with his performance is making a debut as the lead actor in Genius, which releases this weekend.
Utkarsh Sharma, son of popular filmmaker Anil Sharma, plays the role of a young boy from Mathura who is blessed with a high IQ and great memory. He makes it to IITBombay and from there, he is appointed as a RAW agent.
Though Utkarsh is not new to facing the camera, he says he really got interested in acting at the age of 11, when he watched Dilip Kumar’s Naya Daur. “The black and white film was re-released as a colour film. My dad was very keen to watch it and took me along. But honestly, I wasn’t interested at all,” says the actor who had accompanied his father to Chandan Cinema in Juhu, Mumbai. This was the turning point for Utkarsh, who was completely inspired by Dilip Kumar’s portrayal of the role onscreen. “Dilip saab has his own style of method acting. Though Marlon Brando is known for method acting, Dilip saab had his own approach. With every character, he delivered something new. I first watched him in Naya Daur and then I watched all his films and it is because of him that I was inspired and encouraged to become an actor,” reveals Utkarsh.
The actor also shares another interesting story about how he got enrolled in Jamnabai Narsi School (JNS) in Mumbai because of his favourite actor. He shares, “I wasn’t getting accepted into the school as we lived quite far away from it. But Dad tells me that Dilip saab wrote a letter of recommendation to the principal of JNS who then had to oblige. I was too young to understand all of this but I will be ever grateful to him.”
Talking about his debut film which releases today, Utkarsh says he isn’t nervous though it’s his debut.
“Anything can happen with anyone’s films. Sometimes, the audience rejects even a superstar’s film. Our job is to do our best. I do hope I am able to connect with audience because that’s what matters most,” he signs off.
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