Gold success interview: Sunny Kaushal speaks about his process of becoming Himmat Singh
He might have made his debut in Bollywood in Gold right now and garnered praises from all corners, but being a great actor and human runs in his family. As you might have guessed, the talk is about one of the most promising actors in Bollywood i.e. Vicky Kaushal’s brother and a nice human being Sham Kaushal’s son Sunny Kaushal. The actor, in an interview with The Asian Age, spoke about his journey towards Gold, its success, his best scene as an actor, director Reema Kagti and much more.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Marking your debut with a movie like Gold and it becoming a success, what does it feel like?
Oh it’s surreal. I actually did not imagine such a response but it’s a great validation for an actor.
Your acting has also been appreciated. Is there any compliment that has stayed back with you?
All the people have been very sweet. Their compliments have been very positive and amazing. So the best kind of compliment is that people didn’t see me. They came out with Himmat which is such a great compliment for any actor. I was so unknown that people did not expect anything.
When the movie was being made, did you expect it to become such a huge success?
The cast and crew always want a movie to be a success, which is why you make films in the first place. You want it to reach out to the maximum audiences. I don’t understand the number game. For me success is when a lot of people are appreciating a film and that happened with Gold. So I didn’t really think much except that I have to go and play hockey in a film. We wanted to share our experience with people but the response has been really overwhelming. I’m not used to this kind of experience.
Have you always been inclined towards sports? Why did you take up Gold?
No I was never into sports. I took up Gold it was a part that nobody would say no to. I wanted to work with Reema ever since she made Talaash. I was an assistant director for Gunday and then I was approached for this role eventually.
Were you approached only for Gold or got other projects as well and then took up the film?
I had auditioned for Gold and it was on 23rd December 2016 when I got a call saying I was selected and playing the role. Then I grew a beard and started practicing hockey. Then I stopped auditioning because this is the only film I wanted to do.
You aren’t the fierce Punjabi in real life like shown in the movie. How did you manage to do that?
Nothing, I just used to ask someone to piss me off and then went on to do the scenes (laughs). But there was a process. There was a reason why my character had that angst so I just used to tap into it and stay angry the whole day.
So did that anger come out at home too?
No, no. I don’t get angry so easily. I am a normal human being but I get angry very rarely and not like pulling the collar of someone’s shirt. I will always talk it out and try to sort it.
Did you have to go back in time and imagine what you felt in order to go ahead with the scene?
No, that’s not my method of acting. I usually cry and forget it. Believing in the kind of frustration Himmat Singh went through was my only way at moving ahead with a scene. I don’t believe in recreating my life moments but rather tapping into what my character feels or goes through. So I just understood the frustration in 5 minutes and went ahead with the scene.
But how did Reema see the character in you?
I have no idea. You’ll have to ask Reema. I guess it was when I was auditioning for a scene and my co-actor who was playing a police guy beats me up. Then something hit me and we had a fight in which I ripped off his shirt’s button. I guess that’s when Reema was a little impressed.
Are you happy getting such a contrasting character?
Very. There couldn’t be a better place for an actor to be than what they aren’t in real life.
Do you have a memorable scene in Gold?
I was just going to tell you about that. Both of these scenes are with Amit. Firstly I would like to say that’s he such a great co-actor to be with. There’s this scene where Himmat is not able to play in the finals and he’s frustrated. The corridor scene was a challenging scene for me because after playing hockey matches the whole day, Reema asked everyone except me to wrap up. Then she came to me and said that I have to do that scene. As an actor, I would have usually prepared for the scene, but there I was caught off-guard. She said that the environment was right so let’s go ahead with the scene. Since I was unprepared, that one scene came out with such honesty. Reema just asked me to feel the frustration and do whatever I want. The whole scene is that you’re broken, you remove it and then you pick yourself up and fight for yourself. As an actor I think that scene is my most memorable since I went all out and cried. The first take also went on for a while because I actually started crying and then it struck me that actually I’m in the middle of a scene, after which I got up and picked myself up.
Do you have Hollywood dreams as well?
That’s too far-fetched. Right now I just want to work. But never stop dreaming. So I would love to do Chinese and Japanese films also.
Have you been approached for any other movie?
I’m just going for a look test after this interview.
