‘I Focused On Studying Charles Sobhraj’

‘The
opportunity
to
live
as
the
Serpent
excited
me.’

Sidhant
Gupta
seems
to
be
shaping
into
a
quite
a
bio-picker.

In
Vikramaditya
Motwane’s
well-reviewed
Web
series

Jubilee,
Sidhant
played
a
Dev
Anand

doppelganger.

Right
after
that,
he
played
Jawaharlal
Nehru
in
Nikkhil
Advani’s

Freedom
At
Midnight.

Now
it
is
the
vile
but
charming
Charles
Sobhraj
in
Motewane’s
next
series,
the
excellent
prison
drama,

Black
Warrant.

“I
must
strive
to
ensure
the
newness
is
reflected
in
every
character
that
finds
me,”
Sidhant
tells

Subhash
K
Jha.

You
have
changed
your
phone
number.
Congratulations
on
a
new
beginning?

Thank
you.
I
had
to
change
my
phone
number
to
preserve
some
peace.

This
new
beginning
feels
right.

I
must
strive
to
ensure
the
newness
is
reflected
in
every
character
that
finds
me.

Was
it
tough
playing
Charles
Sobhraj,
especially
with
that
peculiar
accent?

The
accent
was
hard
and
the
psychology
was
complex.
In
chasing
the
mystery,
I
became
one
myself,
and
that
felt
charming
in
a
way.

After
Nehru,
Sobhraj
is
quite
a
leap.
How
did
you
land
the
role?
Did
you
watch
other
actors
who
have
portrayed
him?

They
are
two
entirely
different
skies
—
one
contributed
to
society,
while
the
other
took
away
from
it.

I
focused
solely
on
studying
Charles
Sobhraj.

Vikramaditya
Motwane
called
me
and
offered
me
the
role.

The
opportunity
to
live
on
his
set
again
as
the
Serpent
excited
me.

Are
you
satisfied
with
the
progress
you’ve
made
so
far?
What
can
we
see
you
in
next?

I’m
satisfied
when
I
go
to
bed
but
wake
up
feeling,
‘It’s
not
enough.’

It
keeps
me
going.

As
of
now,
I’m
reading
stuff
that
is
coming
my
way.