How did you prepare for the role of Dilip Vengsarkar?To prepare for the role, I met him and tried to pick up his body language and how he speaks. It was amazing meeting such a player. The most difficult part was replicating his batting grip. He was initially a bowler and then he became a batter, so he taps the bat down once and adjusts his grip once the bowler from the opposite end starts running. The most important part was to absorb that mannerism so that when filming I could portray Dilip sir perfectly.
How was your experience on the sets?Initially, I was very nervous being around so many talented people on the set, and had butterflies in my stomach. We finally got to break the ice when we were at the bootcamp at Himachal Pradesh where we were like college students out on a picnic. It was an amazing experience working with Kabir Khan, Ranveer Singh, and the team. Kabir is so chilled out and knows what he wants. Ranveer is so humble, friendly and a ball of energy. He was the same with all of us on the set and we all were having fun together. While training, we all had injuries but the team spirit was so high nothing else mattered. Our camaraderie off screen was beautifully captured through the lens by Kabir. Most of us got goosebumps when we were shooting the victory scene in the World Cup final, when the trophy was handed over. It was an extremely surreal experience. As an artiste, witnessing such a great scale of production, detailing, and passion was fantastic.
What inspired you to take up acting?My father is an actor, so I was born into a filmy background, and grew up with films. But the atmosphere at home was normal. I was also a child actor, I had done a role when I was 9 years old for which I had won an award too. Initially, I wanted to be a director but became an actor instead. Interestingly, for my first acting assignment which was one of my father’s films, I had to lose 10-15 kgs, and get tanned for the audition. I always had a liking for acting since I was a kid. Right now, I am enjoying being both an actor and director, each has a unique charm. For me, movies are what I eat, drink and sleep.
When can we expect award-winning movie Paani to release in theatres in India?I am in talks with the producers and team. We are hoping to release the movie soon in theatres in India.
Apart from acting, what else interests you?I love traveling, it helps me meet new people, know their stories.
Future projects?Quite a few interesting projects in both acting and directing are in the pipeline. I will make an announcement soon. Apart from that, I have two Marathi films releasing in 2022.