Adarsh Gourav starred opposite Shanaya Kapoor in the survival thriller Tu Yaa Main last month, and their coming together marked quite a unique pairing on screen. Adarsh Gourav himself points out that the height difference between them is one of the things that make it an unconventional pairing, but he feels glad that there are makers like Bejoy Nambiar and Aanand L Rai, who are taking such risks.
He says, “It takes so much so much guts to cast a lead actor who’s shorter than the lead actress of your film because you’re directly challenging so many stereotypes that are present in the society, that have been a part of it for so many years and suddenly you’re like ‘this can also happen’. It is an experiment and it is a risk to make a commercial film on an actor like me and I’ll always be very thankful to Bejoy and Anand sir for taking that risk.”
Watch the entire chat here:
But the current generation of actors in Bollywood are defying many stereotypes and pre-conceived notions. Ask Adarsh if he feels that it is indeed the case with Gen-Z actors as they enjoy challenging the norms and he says, “For me, it’s just about being able to enjoy my work and deriving joy out of this.”
He elaborates, “It’s a very conscious choice I’ve made to act in my life. I have a finance degree, I could have done my MBA and worked in a company or I could have pursued music which I am kind of again doing now. I started my masters as well in finance but I dropped out after my first year and then went to drama school. I feel like I do this because it gives me immense joy and personal satisfaction. And it’s not about proving anybody right or wrong. It’s about doing it for the right reason, whatever your reason is. And my reason is just pure joy and it’s why I do what I do.”
While he has quite a calm demeanour in real life, with his characters like in Tu Yaa Main, Adarsh asserts he gets to explore his wild side. “Isliye to karta hun main. Wo shaitaani ka baahar nikalna bahut zaruri hai and I think acting is a great outlet for me. I try to be neutral and calm for most part of my life so that I preserve that energy for the characters I play. Then once in a while, when I get an opportunity to play a character like Alaflowpara, I try to stay as authentic as possible, more than trying to make something big out of it. It needs to be truthful for me,” he ends.
