Shiddat star Sunny Kaushal on definition of love on screen and in real life

Sunny Kaushal on making debut with Official Chukyagiri, coming on board Shiddat and his definition of true love 
Sunny Kaushal
Sunny Kaushal

Back when the digital content was in its nascent stage, when web shows would stream on YouTube, with one episode releasing per week, Sunny Kaushal was daring enough, just like his elder brother Vicky Kaushal, to take the path less travelled. While Vicky did Neeraj Ghaywan’s directorial debut Masaan, Sunny came on board for a web series, both being far from an ideal Bollywood launch one would imagine for themselves.

“It was the first thing that I signed,” he recalls about Official Chukyagiri, a mini-series that was released in 2016. Featuring Mithila Palkar, Anand Tiwari, Gopal Datt, Aahana Kumra, Shikha Talsania and Sumeet Vyas alongside him, it revolved around Spandan (played by Sunny), a boy from Meerut who has come to Mumbai to change his life for the better but ends up getting embroiled in office politics. “It allowed me to play the character to the fullest, and I made some really close friends on the sets,” he shares, admitting that it shaped his journey. “It did very well for the online audience. It gave me a lot of credibility as an actor, and, it also gave me something very tangible to show to people. After that, if I was auditioning somewhere, I had something to fall back on. I could send the link saying you can watch this, and see if you like my work not. In fact, for Gold, Reema Kagti saw some bits of Chukyagiri before I was called for the audition.”

Five years and a mix bag of projects (including short films, musical videos and Reema Kagti’s Gold, Kabir Khan’s web series and RSVP Movies’ Bhangra Paa Le) later, Sunny is now celebrating the release of Shiddat, which dived deep into the search for true love. “The script offers a new take on love. My character Jaggi Sehgal doesn’t make love complicated, he knows that he loves Kartika (played by Radhika Madan) and he has the courage to go beyond and solve every problem that may come his way,” he informs. 

<em>A still from Shiddat featuring Radhika Madan and Sunny Kaushal</em>
A still from Shiddat featuring Radhika Madan and Sunny Kaushal

But, what exactly is true love for the actor and does he believe find love as simple as the character in the film? Sunny smiles, takes a moment to recollect his thoughts and begins: "For me, it would be the commitment to carry on a relationship beyond the initial days of feeling butterflies in your stomach. It would be true love only when my relationship sees through all the ups and downs, which are an inevitable part of life. While I am like Jaggi in a way that I too wear my heart on my sleeves, I am far from the belief that ‘love is simple’ because I have seen how frivolous it is in our society."

On the work front, Sunny has Hurdang lined up next, which we see him in the lead role alongside Nushrratt Bharuccha and Vijay Varma. “It is in the last stage and hopefully it will release soon,” he shares, adding that he has also signed some interesting films and he will be able to share the details soon. 

On facing failure: "As a person, I take one day at a time. Obviously, you feel bad when you put your heart and soul into something and you don’t get the expected results but it is okay. I truly believe that one shouldn’t take their success or failures very seriously. I am here to explore more, and I am fortunate that I am getting to do that."
- Sunny Kaushal 


Siddhat is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

heena@newindianexpress.com
Twitter/Insta: @heenakhandlwal

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