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He started his career as a security guard in Delhi and is grateful to the film industry for making him an actor. He doesn’t care whether nepotism exists in Bollywood or not and feels other actors should learn to be grateful too. Here’s presenting Sarkar 3 actor Amit Sadh at his candid best!
How did you bag Sarkar 3?
Ram Gopal Varma texted me one day asking me to meet him in his office. He told me that he doesn’t know me, hasn’t watched any of my films. I started wondering, why he even called me! Just kidding! Then he revealed that Mr Amitabh Bachchan has recommended my name for the role of Shivaji Nagre. I am grateful to Ramu sir and Mr Bachchan for this opportunity.
Did you do any homework for the role?
Not much. I have watched Sarkar 1 and 2 and a fan of both Ram Gopal Varma and Amitabh Bachchan. That’s my homework. There is a line in the trailer, ‘Mat bhool ki mai Sarkar ka pota hoon’. I think this line sums up Shivaji Nagre’s character and my understanding of it. I am Subhash Nagre’s grandson, his DNA, his blood.
How have you struggled in Bollywood?
I am still struggling. There are two types of struggle— emotional and financial. My emotional struggle began right on the day I was born. God is great that I have no pain in my life. As an actor, the biggest struggle in Mumbai is being unable to pay your rent. I am in Mumbai since the last 12 years. I keep taking loans from my friends. (Laughs) I am becoming a better human being and a better actor every day. The only difference that has happened after Sultan is that I can afford to pay my rent on time. Even you have struggled in life. I don’t consider my struggle bigger than yours.
Is it difficult for those without a godfather to make it big in Bollywood?
I have a godfather. I have my God and my father. (Laughs) Whoever has said that it’s difficult to make it big (in the industry) without a godfather, is wrong. There is so much abundance in this world; you just need to know how to receive.
Does nepotism exist in Bollywood?
I will answer this in one line, you may think I am arrogant or ignorant, but my answer is ‘I don’t care’. I am thankful to the industry for making me an actor, I am thankful to you journalists for reaching my story to people, I am thankful to my manager, my makeup artist, everybody. The day an actor understands this, he or she will bow their head and say thank you. I am grateful to this industry because I have got so much love, I have learned a lot, so I don’t know about nepotism and such words. I think actors in India have started complaining a lot. You should not forget where you are coming from. We should be grateful to this country, this city, and its people. Instead of that, everybody wants sympathy, everybody is suffering from depression.
What did you do before becoming an actor?
I started my career as a security guard in Delhi. My ambition was to find a shelter for the night, where the police wouldn’t beat you up and to get food during the day. I have worked as a cleaner at a store where they would give me lunch for free. I have worked as a rock climbing trainer in the hills. Suddenly one day, somebody challenged me that I wouldn’t be able to do acting. So, I accepted the challenge and rode my bullet to Mumbai. After a while, I decided that I don’t want to work on television anymore. I left India and when I came back, the first film I auditioned for was Kai Po Che!
What else are you doing apart from films?
My web show is coming on Amazon Prime. For now, the tentative title is Breathe, which will be changed later. I play an alcoholic cop, who has a dark life and drinks to try and get over his past. But he is very good at his work. It also stars R. Madhavan.
Is it a conscious choice to not do romantic hero or chocolate boy roles?
I just played a chocolate boy in Running Shaadi. I have not yet reached that stage in life where you accomplish a lot and then say I want to do this or that. I do whatever I get, whatever I feel is good for my career. Yes but I definitely want to do a variety of roles as an actor. For example in my next film Raagdesh, you won’t be able to recognise me. I play Captain Gurbaksh Dhillon and speak Punjabi, which I have never done in my life. He was a war hero in Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. The credit goes to filmmakers that they are giving me a chance to essay a variety of roles.
How was the experience of working with Amitabh Bachchan?
Thik tha yaar! (Laughs) I just consider myself lucky to breathe the same air as Mr Bachchan. I want to say just one thing, the era in which Amitabh Bachchan is an actor, I have watched his film, worked with him and I am also an actor in the same era. This is a big achievement for me.
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