Shashank Arora: Characters that are closer to you are tricky

Mumbai: Shashank Arora stepped into acting in 2014 with the neo-noir crime thriller ‘Titli’ and was later seen in films such as ‘Rock On 2’ and ‘Superboys of Malegaon’. The actor shares why characters that are closer to the performer are tricky.

“Workshops were what really helped me, and my prior training has thankfully made me vulnerable enough to play the part. Atul Mongia, who does the workshops, is a genius. All the other credit goes to my acting professor, Rob Reece, who taught me all the craft I know,” shared Shashank on ‘Titli’.

Later, Shashank Arora starred in the iconic film ‘Rock On 2’ and made the most out of his opportunity.

Speaking about the film, Shashank said, “I played a classically trained musician. I played the sarod and a bit of the bass guitar. Characters that are closer to you are tricky as well because one tends to get lazy in their portrayal. But the character in ‘Rock On 2’ was quite far from me as well. Banarasi sarod player who is trying to make it into the music industry, but definitely not as complex as Titli.”

In his latest release ‘Superboys Of Malegaon’, the actor plays the role of a small-town dreamer who aspires and defines loyalty in friendship.

“What brought me to Malegaon are people who value stories and feelings over money and a bunch of friends who put everything on the line to make a film. That’s what brought me to Malegaon.”

“My reaction to what you call this ‘bizarre breeding ground of filmmaking’ is the same when I look at Mumbai, which might seem different to those who live here, but is actually a more bizarre breeding ground,” shared Shashank.

He also shared that he had to work with restrictions in the film.

“With any character which actually existed, you have a tighter parameter. My director, Reema Kagti, gives a balance of instructions and freedom. It’s up to the actor to make use of them,” he added.

Shashank shared the screen space with Vineet Kumar Singh and Adarsh Gourav and called them the “finest actors” in the country.

“The journey so far has not been easy for me. I knew nobody when I got here. But Kamal Hassan recently called me his favourite actor so I guess it’s going well,” he said.

–IANS