The likes of Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan have defined the norms for playing a Bollywood hero in Hindi cinema, says actor Siddhant Chaturvedi who aims to carve out a space for himself by mixing the concept of heroism with content.
It was his dream to be a Bollywood hero and Chaturvedi, known for his movies such as "Gully Boy", "Gehraiyaan" and "Phone Bhooth", plans to do it by breaking the mould.
"I don’t want to define myself as a conventional Bollywood hero... What I’m trying to do is to find and build my space, redefine it a little bit, break the mould a little bit, where it’s a good combination of content and heroism for me.
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"I’ll keep trying. Also, it’s trial and error for me because I’m quite new. It’s a coming-of-age understanding of things I want to do,” the actor told PTI in an interview.
Chaturvedi said it would be futile for him to think that he could match Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan when it comes to playing a hero in Hindi cinema.
“You cannot want to be like them because you can never be like them as they are too great. I just want to keep trying till I get my own mould. That’s the dream where many people can watch and enjoy it. And wherever or whatever it is, you never know because you can’t plan this," the actor, 30, said.
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One of Chaturvedi’s upcoming features is Yudhra”, a romantic action-thriller. The film is directed by Ravi Udyawar of “Mom” fame and backed by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment.
“I would like to do full blown (action films). I’m a huge fan of all these action and commercial films," he said.
Chaturvedi's latest movie is “Kho Gaye Hum Kahan”, co-starring Ananya Panday and Adarsh Gourav. The Netflix film follows the story of three best friends who juggle life as 20-somethings in Mumbai, where romance, ambition and heartbreak collide with the addictive draw of social media.
According to Chaturvedi, one of the reasons for saying yes to the movie was the opportunity to play a character of his own age.
“I was 24-year-old when I did ‘Gully Boy’, and I had this alpha image. Then in ‘Gehraiyaan’, I was 27 and I was playing this mature character. So, I wanted to play something that is closer to my age.
"Also working with Zoya and Reema, they write the best scripts and produce the best films. Lastly, playing a stand-up comedian was very scary for me. So, all these things excited me that I want to do this.”
“Kho Gaye Hum Kahan” is dubbed as a coming-of-digital-age story, where social media is shown to be an important element in the lives of the three friends.
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The actor compared social media to a city street where people gather, engage in conversation and often discuss various topics.
“Social media is a chowk, where people talk over tea. It is similar to how people in small towns sit and talk at a chowk. So, on that chowk which is Instagram and Twitter (now X), people talk about you, even if you are not present to listen.
"There you can interact, praise, and all of that. If you are good at your work, then there will be discussion about it and these things are important as an actor. 'Chai pe charcha', that’s what social media is.”
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When asked how he navigates the social media scene where the personal life of an actor often takes precedence over their professional life, Chaturvedi said he tries to keep things private as much as possible.
“My mother says, ‘Jisse aap bahut pyaar karte ho usse chupa ke rakhna chaiye, nazar lag jati hai’. So, I really believe in it. I don’t like anything about my personal life going out but it’s difficult now.
"As I grow in life and the more films I do, there will be more people interested and trying to get stuff out. And I‘ll have to protect it for me as an actor and for the person I’m with because I don’t want any noise in the relationship. It has to be pure. If I was no one and she was also no one, we would have been still (together),” he added.
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“Kho Gaye Hum Kahan” will be streaming on Netflix from December 26.
