‘I’m Not Shah Rukh Khan Yet’

‘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.