Actor Aseem Hattangady, an FTII graduate who has been part of some great theatre plays and is known for his roles in projects like Netflix's Decoupled, Govinda Naam Hai Mera, Zee5's Barot House and Rashmi Rocket among others. Now, he is currently garnering praises for his character Sandeep Narvekar in Hansal Mehta's directorial series Scoop on Netflix.
The actor gets candid about how he prepped for his role and working with director Hansal Mehta.
Aseem says, "In the drama series Scoop, I am playing the role of Sandeep Narvekar, a journalist who is the protégé of Jaideep Sen aka Dada (played by Prosenjit Chatterjee). For me, Sandeep is a man of deep conviction, a seeker of truth. A human being split between his own conscience and his Dada's command. Forever loyal, a bit submissive but courageous when he needs to be. A man of contradictions with truth as his guiding light."
Sharing about how he prepped for the role, he mentions, "I had done my preparation before hand. All I did was to understand what is what, read the script over and over again, learn my lines, trust my director and co-actors and go and perform. What was different is that I'm more outgoing and sociable than the character I'm playing in Scoop. Sandeep and I wouldn't have much in common in real life, so it was challenging yet fun to explore and finally perform a more introverted side of myself."
Describing his working experience with Hansal Mehta, he tells, "He is an amazing director and absolute gem of a person. The best thing is he let's you explore what you want to within the given the parameters of the role. It's a truly collaborative space that he creates onset. I think that kind of trust really motivated me one to perform to the best of my ability. Also, it would break my heart if I let him down because he is a man I admire and respect so much. So I was doubly motivated. He is an actor's director. I am blessed to have gotten to work with him and hope to continue to in the future."
Talking about his working experience with his co-actors he informs, "What an amazing ensemble of actors in Scoop. Because of the huge cast and different tracks within the series, my scenes were mostly with Zeeshan, who has been a friend for almost 15 years. I have known him since our theatre days. he is a generous actor and an amazing scene partner and dear friend. It's so easy doing scenes with someone you know so well. I regret not having any scenes with such as Karishma, Harman, Deven Bhojani and so many in this fabulous cast and I wish I had a few more scenes with Bumba Da (Prosenjit Chatterjee) though. I been a fan of his since forever."