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EXCLUSIVE: Sahil Salathia REVEALS why he chose to do Paurashpur: Script is good, my character is layered
Sahil Salathia, who is known for his roles in P.O.W. and Panipat, is making his OTT debut with Paurashpur and is all gaga about his role and the series.
The year 2020 has been quite unpredictable for the entertainment industry. While on one end the Bollywood industry witnessed a complete shutdown with shootings getting stalled, threatres closed for months and big releases getting pushed, the OTT world saw a great hike in its viewership. This year, several big movies made their way to digital platforms for release. On the other hand, the OTT medium also came with a variety of intriguing content in every genre which made 2020 a little bearable despite its adversities.
And while, 2020 is set to end, a new web series has made its way to OTT platform and is creating a lot of buzz around. We are talking about Paurashpur starring Shaheer Sheikh, Annu Kapoor, Milind Soman, Sahil Salathia, Shilpa Shinde, Poulomi Das, etc. The trailer was released earlier this month and it has received a tremendous response. Besides, TV heartthrob Shaheer Sheikh making his debut on OTT has added to the excitement about Paurashpur. Amid this excitement, Sahil Salathia, who plays a pivotal role in Paurashpur, in an exclusive interview with Pinkvilla has opened up on his role, preparation and what made him to this period drama.
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
Tell us about your role in Paurashpur?
My name in Paurashpur is Bhanu and I am playing the nritya guru but it’s not as simple as it sounds. It’s a very very layered character and there is a reason why I am doing it because as a creative person as an actor, this part has been extremely fulfilling for me because there are too many layers to him. Besides, every character in this series is intermingled.
And your preparation for the role of Bhanu
For being a dance guru, you have to be very poised which I am not. I am very goofy, I drop things, food and my dancing is also like shaadi wala dancing. In this case, we did full dance rehearsals. We had Saroj Khan’s granddaughter Sana Khan on board and I did my classical dance training with her. Even the way I talk, not just me, everybody as it is a period drama of a different era, the accent is very well taken care of.
The trailer of the series has been well received. How was your reaction to this?
I am very overwhelmed but I always knew it. Like this is the first time I am working with Ekta ma'am and she is so legendary. For me, the filmmaker or who is the main face behind the series or the movie is very important and that’s why I have done the work I have done. This is the first time on Indian OTT that you will see a period drama of a different era. That itself makes it very unique and playing a protagonist in the series, it’s been wonderful and it’s been a pleasure working with the entire cast.
This will mark your debut in OTT world and of course your first project with Ekta Kapoor, what made you give a nod to it?
The script is just so good and my part in the series which is very layered. Not a lot of parts in India are written the way Bhanu is written. So, I couldn’t have not done it. I had to do it.
Paurashpur boasts a stellar cast of Anu Kapoor, Shilpa, Shaheer Sheikh, Milind Soman. How was the experience working in a multi-starrer project once again?
It was great I had screen time with almost everybody. They are all great. Milind is such a cool guy, Shilpa and I get along so well, Annu ji is such a legend. Besides, Shaheer and I both are from Jammu so that’s the common interest that we have. I had a great time shooting with them, it was like one big family because when you are doing something as complex as Paurashpur, you have to get along well with everyone.
Was there any moment of intimidation?
Never. I am a very confident actor and I genuinely believe, you will look good only if your co-actor is good because acting is about action-reaction. So, it has to be two good actors coming together. It’s not about who is going to shine over whom, it’s always a team effort. So, for Annu ji, it was a pleasure to be in the same film. There was so much to learn from a legend like him. Besides I had a great time shooting with everyone.
The trailer shows you having intimate chemistry with Shilpa Shinde and Milind Soman. How was the experience working with them?
It’s been an absolute pleasure filming with both because all our characters, they are all very interestingly intermingled. The dynamics of the three, they keep changing. So, speaking about chemistry with both, it has been extremely fulfilling because they are both wonderful actors and I get along well with both of them.
We see you playing the role of a gender-fluid person in Paurashpur. Do you think bisexuality is one of the least explored topics in the industry?
Talking about the LGBTQ community in our series, we have been extremely respectful and very responsible when we are representing communities. So, we have done a pretty good job at that. Like Milind is playing the third gender, in my case, Bhanu is a fluid person in terms of sexuality. Talking about India, it is underrepresented in Indian cinema. But look at how underrepresented it is in our society. Like so many people are looked down upon it or they are very confused about it. So, I think it is not just in the films, it is about society as well.
Given the social stigma attached to the LGBTQ community, do you think cinema can play a major role in removing this stigma?
I think we have always made caricatures out of people. In our series, we have been very respectful and there are no caricatures. We didn’t make a joke out of anybody. Nobody should make a caricature out of people and maybe Paurashpur will be the new trend where there will be more representations of different communities in a respectful way and there will be no caricatures, not putting people in boxes, like how it happens in international cinema.
From Everest to Panipat and now Paurashpur, your journey has been all about versatile roles. how do you choose the roles?
For me, the script is the most important and secondly the filmmaker. I did P.O.W. with Nikkhil Advani because he is the legendary filmmaker, Panipat and Everest were both Ashutosh Gowariker and this time I am working with Ekta Kapoor. So they are all very wonderful and respected names. Script is the most thing and the second important thing is who is bring he script on the screen. Having said that, it’s not like I am not going to work with new filmmakers. Sometimes they are great energy. But I prefer to work with legendary filmmakers because they have too much of a vision.
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