Emerging actor Umar Sharif who is getting praised for his performance in Kuttey, speaks with us about the same and his other upcoming projects.
How did you bag the role in Kuttey, what drew you to the role?
I had given an audition for some other projects sometime ago and I guess I was shortlisted on the basis of that particular audition. It was through Mukesh Chhabra's casting company. I usually like to prepare for a character in a holistic way including its mentality, and physical mannerisms which eventually leads to behavior of the character under certain circumstances. For this character I read articles and watched videos of the local gun makers of UP. It helped me understand the body language and helped me understand their mannerisms. I then tried to implement it at certain sections in my daily life and thus make it a part of me.
Your role is getting appreciated, what kind of reactions are you getting?
The best reaction I got was from Rekha Bhardwaj. She didn't recognise me at the screening. This ensured the fact that I played the character to the best. Also, someone from the audience said that we just saw the character and not you. This too serves my purpose of projection with utmost honesty.
Tell us how it was working with Arjun Kapoor?
He is a witty person. He has so many stories and instances to share. He is a great guy to have on the set to keep things bright and funny.
Tell us about your other upcoming projects?
My upcoming projects are The Kerala Story, Criminal Minds for Disney+Hotstar and Ranneti for Voot.
Who's your dream director?
Anuraag Kashyap, Raj Kumar Hirani, Mani Ratnam,Vishal Bhardwaj, Imtiaz Ali. These are some of my dream directors.
An actor whose work you admire?
Late actor Irrfan and Pavan Raj Malhotra are two of my favourite actors. I feel they are amongst the finest that India has produced.
Your fitness regimen?
My fitness regimen includes a lot of running. I run around 10 kms every day. I mix it up with Yoga and muscle training occasionally.