'Today, if someone spits on us, we are ready to kill them, but these men, without raising a hand, led the country to freedom and that's easier said than done.'
Sidhant Gupta became a popular face after the Amazon Prime series Jubilee, in which he played the ambitious self-serving director Jay Khanna, a flawed character who managed to charm his way into our hearts.
Now, he is back in our living rooms as Jawaharlal Nehru in Sony LIV's historical drama series, Freedom At Midnight.
In a free-wheeling conversation with Rediff.Com Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya, the actor, who has a ready laugh, a languid way of talking and an interesting take on politics and films, talks about what brought him into the industry, his emotional connect with Nehru and being among the 50 sexiest Asian men.
"While I was on the set, I kept thinking to myself, 'Why does everyone want to be an actor and not a politician?'" wonders Sidhant, as he leads us back to the turbulent '40s.
Director Nikkhil Advani has shared that among all the actors in Freedom at Midnight, you took the longest time in prosthetics and make-up, almost three to four hours from the time you arrived on the set.
Yes, that's true, maybe because I have a young face and Jawaharlal Nehru was an older person.
Can you imagine with all the helter-skelter going on in the world right now, someone just sitting in a chair for four hours every day?
(Laughs) Nehru certainly taught me lots of patience.
Getting ready to play him was like a meditation session.
After being with this series for over a year, you must know a lot more about politics in the '40s. So, what's your take on Nehru, Gandhi?
I will answer your question with an overview.
While I was playing Nehru, I was completely in awe of all these great men.
There was so much happening at the time and these leaders, they were our heroes, rather our superheroes.
Today, if someone spits on us, we are ready to kill them, but these men, without raising a hand, led the country to freedom and that's easier said than done.
While I was on the set, I kept thinking to myself, 'Why does everyone want to be an actor and not a politician?'
It's such a heroic role if your intentions are right, and these leaders came with very pure intentions, to give the country its independence.
They were completely selfless, they only wanted what was best for India.
Politics entered the picture only later because someone had to run the country after the British left.
Yes, I keep wishing more people became politicians rather than actors because coming into the mainstream and bringing positive change is such a great feeling!
Did you ever toy with the idea of getting into politics too?
I found my talent as an artiste and I'm too deep into it now.
Maybe if I had been inspired earlier, I might have been conflicted between getting into politics and becoming an actor.
But before that could happen, acting chose me.
There's still time, many actors have gotten into politics and some have brought about desirable changes.
I do think of this great country that we live in and some of the changes that are required to make it even better, but I would like to do what I can in my own capacity.
In this journey, while playing some great characters like Nehru, maybe I can promote cleanliness to begin with.
Start with the basics and stop people from splitting on the streets.
Do you identify with any of Nehru's character traits? Were you inspired by him in any way?
The most beautiful thing about playing Nehru was that I began to see the world beyond religion, caste and class.
He looked at everyone as a fellow human being, interacted with them as one human being to another.
In this complex world where we are so full of frustration that we can't even smile at someone passing by, that's the most beautiful emotional connect this role has given me.
Also, in every interview, every speech, Nehru underlined the fact that fear is our worst enemy.
He kept warning us not to befriend fear as it limits us, rather we should conquer it, only then can we bloom.
He wanted us to conquer it because only then can we bloom.
Physically, Nehru's most distinctive feature was his nose, and Nikkhil's make-up and prosthetics expert, Jagdish Dada, was very clear that the actor playing him should have a long, sharp nose. How does it feel to know you have such a distinguished nose?
Wow, tell this to my friends who would always tease me about my nose!
(Chuckles) They would joke that if I was swimming in the sea, doing backstrokes, people would think a shark was coming.
You're being modest given that for four years straight, from 2016 to 2019, you were in the British publication Eastern Eye's list of '50 Sexiest Asian Men'. How does that feel?
(Guffaws) If after playing 56-year-old Jawaharlal Nehru, they still see me among the 50 sexiest Asian men. I will have no fear of growing old.
You've been acting for over a decade now, have featured in films like Badmashiyan, Bhoomi and Operation Romeo, but it's only over the last one year, since Vikramaditya Mowane's Jubilee made Jay Khanna a household name, followed by Nehru in Freedom At Midnight, that your career has really picked up.
How much has life changed after these two OTT series?
Well, there are many more opportunities than ever before and I'm grateful for the acceptance.
I wish the same would happen with all those who have come to this city chasing after a dream and are struggling to get good roles.
I've been through that journey myself so I can empathise with them.
Artistes have to be consistently striving, ready to take on the responsibility of a good role when it comes along.
There's still endless work that I need to do on myself.
I give everything to the characters I play and they end up giving me a lot more than I expected.
When will Jubilee and Jay Khanna be back in our homes?
I'm really hoping it is soon.
I can't get into the nitty gritty, but I'm sure given all the love, he will find a way back into homes.
The two seasons of Freedom At Midnight were shot together, so when can we hope to see season two?
(Laughs) That's for SonyLIV and Emmy Entertainment to decide. I'm not Shah Rukh Khan yet.
Your father Sukesh Gupta was a forest official, your mother Sandhya, a fashion designer and social activist, your brother Sanat and sister-in-law Himani, have their own fashion design business and you were studying for a commercial pilot license. You had an interesting choice of professions, what made you turn to acting?
Honestly, at that point in my life, I had no idea what I wanted to do.
I saw an opening in CP (Commercial Pilot), it looked like a good route and so I decided to explore it.
Then I started getting modelling offers and somehow that felt more interesting than flying and started to pull me.
But after a while modelling got boring, I wanted to do something more and I wondered, 'Why not acting?'
That's how it all began.
When you are young, you go with flow.
Have you ever flown a plane?
No. I was doing my on-ground studies when modelling happened.
I was supposed to go to Canada for my practical training but I chose to do this instead.
But I wish I get to fly a plane in this life.
I don't have a pilot's licence, but maybe I can still get one.
My eyesight is still good, I'm looking out of the window right now and I can see the farthest building clearly.
I would like to go to space, see the world from up there.
