Made in India: A Titan Story opened new doors for me: Saurabh Kumar Soni on his breakthrough role

For actor Saurabh Kumar Soni, the recently released series Made in India: A Titan Story is more than just another acting credit. The role of ‘Ravi from GMT’ represents years of preparation, perseverance, and belief in a dream that began far away from the entertainment industry.

Titan's Ravi has a story of his own: Meet actor Saurabh Kumar Soni

The opportunity came when Bangalore-based casting company reached out to him." I went through two rounds of auditions and got selected. It was actually a very straightforward process,” begins the actor. "When people ask me how I prepared for Ravi, my answer is that I had been preparing for him for nearly ten years. Every rehearsal, every workshop, every struggle and every learning experience was preparation for a role like this."

Although he received the script only about two weeks before the shoot, he left nothing to chance. "I read my scenes more than a hundred times. I wanted to know them so thoroughly that there would be no uncertainty on set." That preparation paid off. And when shooting began, Soni felt ready. The only adjustment came from transitioning his theatre instincts to the demands of camera acting.

"In theatre, you're naturally more expressive because you're performing for a live audience. With the camera, everything has to be much more subtle and natural. Once I understood the tone, everything clicked. We did a few takes, mostly for different camera angles, and all of them went well."

One of the highlights of the experience was sharing scenes with acclaimed actor Jim Sarbh. Before the shoot, Saurabh admits he was nervous. "Most of my scenes were with the main cast, including Jim Sarbh. Naturally, I was a little intimidated because these are actors I've admired for years." What surprised him, however, was the warmth and generosity he encountered on set. "I had this perception that such established actors might be distant or intimidating, but it was exactly the opposite. In several scenes, Saurabh’s character had very few lines, mostly responding with simple acknowledgements such as ‘Okay, sir’ and ‘Yes, sir.’ At one point, Jim noticed this and decided to change it. "He told me, 'You're there in every scene, but you're hardly saying anything. Now you'll take some of these dialogues.'"

According to Saurabh, Jim Sarbh spoke to members of the team to better understand the technical and corporate terminology being used in the scenes and suggested that some of those lines be assigned to his character. "That gesture meant a lot to me. Here I was, relatively new and not a well-known face, and yet an actor of his stature was creating space for me in the scene. It showed how secure he is as a performer. He was focused on making the scene better, not on who had more lines. By the time I had my bigger scene, all my nervousness had disappeared. I felt comfortable and confident."

Beyond the performances, it was the atmosphere on set that left a lasting impression."There was a sense of calmness everywhere. Nobody was shouting, nobody was creating unnecessary pressure, and yet everything was running smoothly. Every department knew exactly what it was doing.”

The success of Made in India: A Titan Story has already begun opening new doors. "Earlier, most people knew me through advertisements and short films. There wasn't always much scope to showcase acting range. This project gave me that opportunity."

Yet the road to this moment has been anything but easy. Originally from Jabalpur, a small town in Madhya Pradesh, Saurabh’s path to acting was far from conventional. "Coming from a small town, acting wasn't really seen as a practical career option. Like many people from similar backgrounds, I chose a stable path first and became a software engineer." He moved to Bengaluru for an IT job. But even as he settled into corporate life, acting remained a constant presence in his mind.

For nearly five years, he balanced a demanding software career with an equally demanding theatre schedule. "My days were packed. I would attend rehearsals from 6 to 10 in the morning, then head to the office. After work, I'd travel for nearly an hour and go straight to rehearsals again before finally heading home." The routine was exhausting but transformative. During those years, he immersed himself in theatre across Kannada, Hindi, and English productions, working with multiple groups and training extensively through workshops. "There came a point when I realised that managing a full-time IT job and intensive theatre was affecting my health, sleep, and overall well-being. That's when I decided to take a leap of faith."

Without informing his parents, he resigned from his software job and moved to Mumbai within days. "It was a scary decision, but I knew I had to do it. I felt I had learned enough and it was time to test myself."

In Mumbai, he continued acting in theatre while exploring opportunities in film, television, and advertising. During the pandemic, he also worked as a writer, contributing to projects for Applause Entertainment.

Saurabh recently worked on a Kannada film and is also part of an independent LGBTQ-themed film trilogy in which he plays a transgender character. "I'm particularly drawn to rooted stories like Panchayat and Mirzapur. Those worlds feel very natural to me. I can relate to those characters instinctively because I come from that world "

Alongside acting, he has now built an impressive body of work in advertising, appearing in more than 100 commercials and sharing screen space with actors such as Rajkummar Rao, Mohanlal and Milind Soman.

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