ROHIT ROY, who plays Ajay, a lawyer in MX Player’s Sanak- Ek Junoon, speaks with SUPRIYA RAMESH about his role, his experience whilst shooting and the challenges
What is your role?
It's a very interesting layered role. It's about a small town boy with big dreams in his eyes and it's about what lengths he wants to go through to attain what he thinks is success. Also it shows the cut throat world of the legal world in Mumbai. Being a junior lawyer, he desperately wants to become a senior lawyer and what all he does, that's Ajay in a nutshell.
How did you come on board for this project?
Vikram Bhatt is somebody who I have worked with in the past. In 2018, we did a show called Memories. Obviously he must have enjoyed something that he saw because the show was very good and I think my performance wasn't bad either. So he called me back again last year for Sanak- Ek Junoon”. I think there is some level of trust that he has in me as an actor, that whatever is given to me will be delivered to the best of my abilities. So I think that's the reason sanak happened.
Do you relate to the role in real life?
Not at all. It's as different like chalk and cheese. Forget about relating to the character, I would not even think of stuff that Ajay actually ends up doing in the show. That's because we have a very different mentality. That's why I say it's the most challenging role I have done in my career till now.
Challenging because there is no commonality and similar thought process between me and the character so I had to clearly build a brand new character. A lot of actors actually do that but when there is absolutely zero common ground between your real self and your character, you have to start everything from scratch and usually we don't have that kind of time, liberty and luxury. But with Sanak I had to do it because I realized that it would not have been believable.
How was it to act besides your co-star Aindrita?
Aindrita is such a bundle of joy. I really love her. She is like a little kid. She is a big star down South but she's got the hunger of a newcomer and that's what I like. Because I had the same hunger and jitters on day 1. You know I really got along with her. Infact I know her from before personally and socially which made things easier. I'm very fond of her and she is very fond of me. That kind of really makes a difference when you are doing a show like Sanak where you are playing husband and wife. Our intimate scenes and husband-wife scenes were very comfortable to shoot because I know her and I'm fond of her and vice versa. It was really good to work with her.
An anecdote from the series which is very close to your heart.
There are several anecdotes from the stories but one thing that I'll never forget is the first shot that Aindritta and I did. On day 1 , she kept fluffing up her lines and it went to a stage where we were wondering whether we could finish the show. That's one thing that I can narrate as it was day 1. Day 2, she was a completely different human being. I would fluff up some dialogues but she was going on like a rocket. I think that's one more thing that I realised working with her. Sometimes the beginnings can be slow but the end is at speed.
How did acting happen?
Acting happened to me in a way quite by accident I would say. It's not something that I had planned. I had come to Mumbai to do my MBA and I didn't get a visa. I had never desired to become an actor or model. But I had no plan B as my visa got rejected. I had nothing to do and at that point I kind of got an offer to become an actor. Quite frankly, the offer didn't come to me but came to Mansi to act in swabhiman. She wasn't interested in acting in television. I called the producer and asked him whether I can do this role and audition. So that's how swabhiman happened and I call myself an actor by accident.
How is working for a TV show different from a film?
TV shows are shot very fast and back to back. We don't have the liberty to spend time on characterisation, dialogues and look. Whatever is given to us we quickly enact it and get it on the way because it is going to telecast the next day and that's the pressure of television. But having said that, that's also a very good training ground for an actor. Now when I do movies, you don't have to tell me anything.
I'm already prepared, that pressure is a great help in your acting. We used to do seven pages of dialogue on 1 shot in television. We used to remember our dialogues and also the co-actors’ lines. That helps you but in cinema you have the luxury of building a character, role and creating a brand new character from scratch. Working on the nuances, clothing, just the way the character stands, talks, walks and all of that. I think that's the essential difference. Film is a little larger than life wheras in television it Should be a little more natural.
What kind of stories attract you?
I like human interest stories. For me that's what I really like and Sanak is a part of a genre that I like. It's a thriller but it is still a human interest story. Its about a couple and their relationship. Other than that I like romance and watch romance. I hate doing romance because I'm bad at it. I find it very odd but I love watching romance and comedy.
What have the challenges been like till now?
I don't know what challenges I faced on a particular project but every project has it's different set of challenges. Like coming back to creating a role, not knowing what the outcome is going to be so you are taking a risk about what you think is right. You know the way I played Ajay is not necessarily the way people might perceive, see or like it. That's a risk you are taking. All that stays in your mind when you are shooting for a project. But half way through the project, you go into auto pilot.
Then recent times have been tough and challenging because of COVID. But otherwise it's all a great journey. I don't see it as the challenges I faced but I see it as part of the process.