Sukant Goel was stuck on cyclone-hit Havelock Island while preparing for ‘Kaala Paani’ role

Mumbai: Actor Sukant Goel, who is known for ‘Monica, O My Darling’ and ‘Ghost Stories’, will be seen portraying the role of Chiru in the upcoming streaming series ‘Kaala Paani’.

The actor shared that in order to prepare for his role in the series, he embarked on a trip to Andaman and Nicobar Islands to understand the places, its culture and the people. And while on his trip he was stuck on Havelock Island as it was hit by a cyclone.

The actor who portrays the role of a local tour guide- Chiru wanted to thoroughly prepare for it and thus went to the Andaman islands to understand the culture and soak in the surroundings to understand more about his character.

Speaking about his journey and preparations for the role, Sukant said: “I had a particularly interesting prep for my character, Chiranjeevi. I was reading my lines one afternoon and I thought they sounded very ordinary.

“I thought anyone could do this. How should I make him look like he belongs to the islands of Andaman and is different from most other characters in the show who are from the mainland. I asked my wife on instinct, what should I do, shall I go to Andaman and she said sure.

“So I got my tickets and the next day I was in Port Blair. Thanks to some close friends I found a contact in Andaman who turned out to be just the guy I needed.”

He continued: “We roamed the ends of Andaman in his taxi. He was an extremely resourceful fellow. There was always a ‘yes’ around the corner with him. While I didn’t go with any particular agenda to Andaman, just being there for a week probably helped me understand the region and its people better.

“It has a fascinating history and a peculiar demography composed mainly of Bengali and Tamil people with a commonly spoken twang of Hindi called Andamani Hindi. The islands depend heavily on tourism and that forms the integral industry there. Biswapati has written my character as a local fellow with great ambition in the tourism industry.”

He further mentioned: “Between my friend, Chiranjeevi and the islands, something seemed to meet. I got into the character. And then the cyclone! Last 2 days. Cyclone hits. Networks down. Sea roaring. Incessant rains. Flights being cancelled. I’m stuck on Havelock Island. The feeling of being stuck there is real and it can hit in a matter of minutes.

“Thankfully, some hustling and I was on a boat to Port Blair. Mind you! Not without a choppy sea. Somehow I got my flight back, praying for it to not be cancelled until we took off. When I returned for the shoot a week later, I felt more at home.”

‘Kaala Paani’, a survival drama series, is set to premiere on Netflix on October 18, 2023.

–IANS