In my head, I was like, ‘Wow’ that’s Deepika! How am I going to romance him! she has worked with the likes of Shahrukh Khan, Ranveer singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Look at my competition! It’s a romantic film and I didn’t want people to say ‘Nahi Kar Paya’
– Theory on romancing Deepika
on the surface, Siddhant Chaturvedi Is a confident newcomer, well aware of his potential. A writer at heart and a firm believer in eternal love, he finds it difficult to connect with the cynicism of contemporary times. Thus it was difficult for the actor to put his thoughts aside and dive into the complex layers of love and infidelity, as the director saw Shakun Batra In Gehryan. In Gully BoyBunty Aur Babli 2 and now depths, which premieres February 11 on Amazon Prime Video, the actor has his own space on the screen, regardless of who he shares screen space with. In conversation with BT, Siddhant talks about romance Deepika Padukone, their career options and much more.
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In a recent interview, Shakun Batra said that love in Hindi films has been made very easy. You have been very filmy since your college days. Do you agree with him?
Whether it is love, choice or outcome, depending on the movies you watch, you are conditioned to think a certain way. I am a hardcore romantic who loves Shahrukh Khan. I am a big fan of rom-coms. Our view of love is shaped by the movies we love. For me, it was waiting for that one person your whole life to see. For me love is forever. I’ve always wanted to do a quintessential rom-com, but times have changed. Such love stories are not made so often these days. I was looking for a different love story, and none of the scripts were convincing enough. I realized later that the stories I expected are nostalgia, but do not reflect the present time. When Shakun offered me this film, which comes under the surface of love, I thought to myself, this is a film that starts after Raj and
Simran leaves at sunset. What happens after you finally board that train? Do they feel trapped after the initial phase of romance? Don’t you feel in love anymore? The depths touch that layer. It starts where most romcoms end. It shook me. I had to give up everything personally and also as an actor. I had to stop judging because you realize that we are all complicit in our own ways. He looked inside me. Having said this, I will never stop believing in the made for each other notion of love.
How unnecessary was it to portray that intimacy with Deepika and make her look so casual and genuine on screen?
In my head, I was like, ‘Wow’ that’s Deepika! How am I going to romance him! She has worked with Shahrukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor. Look at my competition.’ It is a romantic film and I didn’t want people to say, ‘Nahi Kar Paya’. You asked me about the intimacy workshop when I was going to Goa. I was nervous at the time because I didn’t know, and you were the first person who told me about it. I had no idea at all. Of course, Shakun narrated the story to me and since I was looking forward to working with him, I said I am on. We knew there was intimacy, but we didn’t know to what extent. The screenplay didn’t mention it specifically because it wasn’t erotic poetry or anything. Workshops and readings followed. Then I came to know that there was an intimacy director Dar Gaye on the sets to make myself comfortable.
For the first time, when I heard, it was a little darn ke itna kya hai in the picture, which went to the essential position of the intimacy director. (smiling)! But I realized that Shakun likes to work like this. Their portrayal of intimacy is not just physical, but emotional and nuanced. The camera doesn’t tell you that look, two people are kissing. It flows systematically.
Much has been said about these rehearsals. How exactly did they help?
It was a team building exercise, something I did in Mithibai College as well when we did theatre. In Goa we all did yoga at 7 in the morning, followed by breakfast at 10 in the morning. In the afternoon, we had a body coach who coached us on how to relax, and then we had Dar, who made us understand comfort and consent. These experts should be on every set. There are many things that I didn’t know about myself. I am very shy, but for this one month in Goa we all stayed together and ate food together, my hesitation was shattered.
What did your parents think of the film and were you comfortable watching it with them?
I did not sit with him. I was sitting in one corner and he was in the other. After watching the film, I returned home in my car. I didn’t even travel back with them. I ran to my room and went to sleep. Dad knocked and came inside. He wanted to talk about the film because he liked it, but I wanted this day to pass (laughs!), so we talked about it on the phone later. Then he said, ‘
This film is a mirror of society. There is nothing right and wrong in this. (It holds a mirror to the society).
We are not sending any message. The world has changed and stories like this exist. We are not promising you Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge or Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
You have already worked with directors like Zoya Akhtar and prominent banners such as religion in a relatively short period of time. As an outsider, are you getting used to the life of a movie star?
I’ve been working with people I’ve seen all my life. I’m still in my learning phase, but I want to be accessible and accessible in the future as well. Banna Toh Mujhe Hero Hi Tha earlier, but I want to avoid the negative parts that come with it. I love when people like my work and they should be able to tell me that. If you become an actor, don’t go to sir, he is not in the mood… I don’t like that kind of stuff.
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