ROHiT SARAF, who plays a student in Hichki, tells SHAlINI SAKSENA that his role in Dear Zindagi opened many doors for him & he loved working with Rani Mukherjee

How did your journey beginIJ

I didn’t start off as a model. I was 15 when I got a portfolio done not for modeling per se. I was in Delhi with my family. I sent my pictures to a lot of casting directors in Mumbai. In a day or two, I got a lot of calls and one of them was for a show on Channel V India — Best Friends Forever. Six days later, I landed with my luggage in Mumbai.

Does that mean you are from DelhiIJ

I was born in Nepal but my family shifted to Delhi when I was five and was there till I got my first show. I still go back to Nepal since most of my extended family is there.

Did you always want to be an actorIJ

Since three, I had been telling my mother that I wanted to be an actor. My family was supportive, especially my father. By the time I was 11, I was sorted about what I would do.

How did you manage your studies as you started working at 15IJ

I was in Class X. But my school was very supportive in the entire process of me being in Mumbai and travelling back and forth to Delhi for exams. I would travel a night before the exam, take the exam and fly back. This happened for all the seven exams. I scored well so it all worked out in my favour.

What is your role in HichkiIJ

I play one of the elite students in the film who hates the EWS section in the school. The character I play here is totally unlike the one I played in Dear Zindagi, where I was Alia Bhatt’s brother.

How difficult was it to play this characterIJ

It was very interesting as  I am not that person in real life at all. To get there and grasp the nuances was challenging. I got to learn a lot from Neeraj Kabi (has a role in the film). Also, every time I was on the set I got to learn a lot from Rani ma’am, who is an amazing actor and Neeraj sir as well. I had the script with me and went over it again and again and understand the character, if not be it. It was a process where I was helped by my director and co-stars. When you work with such great actors, you automatically perform well.

You have modeled as well. What is easy — modeling or actingIJ

Both are equally tough. My passion lies in acting; it excites me. Acting gives me an opportunity to be different persons and live different lives that I could never imagine. For example, I get to play a college boy but never been to one. I get to learn about different cultures being an actor. Something that I wouldn’t get to do as a model.

What matters the most in your careerIJ

At this time, the banner doesn’t matter so much. Having said this, I got the role in Hichki due to my association with Dharma Production. Now, I have Yashraj banner too, so it has given me a great head-start. But my focus is to attract the most amazing work to create more value.

How did working in Dear Zindagi help further your careerIJ

The association with Dharma gave me Hichki. Shanu Sharma’s team saw my performance in Dear Zindagi and picked me up. But more importantly, the film helped me grow as an actor since I got to work with some amazing actors. Working with Alia Bhatt was inspiring. She is so young and has yet achieved so much. I want to be like her.

What projects are you working onIJ

I am working on some TV commercials. Bollywood doesn’t make too many films for a 21-year-old nor is there anything concrete regarding films.