Actor Gaurav Arora has come a long way in showcasing his repertoire as a performer. Popularly known as Kesar Bharadwaj in the web series Asur, Gaurav has touched the chords of all emotions possible in the roles that he has taken up. Now, he portrays an extremely complex character of Sahir Singh in the recently launched web series on Voot Select, Aadha Ishq produced by 24 Frames.
In a candid chat with IWMBuzz.com, Gaurav talks about his role, on romancing two women, Aamna Sharif and Pratibha Ranta in the series and much more.
Excerpts:
Tell us about the concept of Aadha Ishq and how you visualize it?
It is an intense love story, I don’t see it as a candyfloss romcom. It is about a mother and daughter falling for the same man. It is an impossible love story, that can ever find success. If you see it, you will understand what I mean to say. This is simply impossible!! The characters and circumstances that the main characters are put through, bring across this complexity in the concept. Hence it is Aadha Ishq.
Describe the kind of variation that you see in Sahir when compared to Asur’s Kesar?
In Asur, it was a grey character. In the eyes of society, Kesar Bharadwaj turned out to be negative. But he had his own justifications for what he did. There is a lot more to him that you will see in Season 2 of Asur. Talking about the character of Sahir, as an actor, there is a huge arc in this character. It is intense, but also loveable. It is playful. Also, these are two characters from totally different spaces. While Asur is a mythological thriller, Aadha Ishq is all about old school romance.
What is the main aspect of Aadha Ishq that will interest viewers?
In today’s time, when we have so many murder mysteries, political dramas, and thrillers ruling the OTT space, this series is about old school romance. It has poetries, paintings, a love story etched in the middle of the mountains. In the OTT space, such a love story is very rare. I guess all of this will add value to the great watch that viewers are promised to have with Aadha Ishq.
Tell us about the kind of emotions you have lived as you played Sahir Singh?
I am lucky to be playing Sahir Singh. For the character, it is unrequited love. Everyone connects with broken hearts. As an actor, it allowed me to display a character with a different graph. Sahir has got these phases in life. When you see the series, you will see that there is a transition that takes place. What is more relatable is that everyone in life is not black and white. We have shades of grey. This is what works for Sahir Singh. After all, love is a universal emotion and everyone will connect with our concept and characters.
You as a character have the love of not one, but two females. Why the title, Aadha Ishq?
(laughs) You will have to watch the series to know whether I have got one girl, or two girls or did not get any of them (laughs). As I said, this is complicated love, which simply is not acceptable. You will need to see it to understand it. On a serious note, it was an honour being part of this series as it was a unit of women. My Director is a female, Producer is a female, my DOP is a female. I am lucky to be a part of this female-led team. I feel that a female director can tap into the deeper emotions of a man. This is the first time I am working with a female director (Nandita Mehra).
Talking about the other girls I worked with, Aamna has done a lot of work. But she is so eager to learn, we had a lot of readings and workshops. We became friendly and comfortable from the first go, and she seemed hungry for work. Pratibha is getting ready to fly. She is superb in her character.
The visuals in the series, all shot in snow are amazing. Take us through this shoot experience.
Truly, the locations of the snow have added a lot of value to the series. It was a really tough condition to shoot in, but when we see the outcome, we are happy that we put in all the efforts. Its look and feel are so good.
What’s next for you?
Of course, Asur 2 is certainly on its way. I have a couple of things which are getting lined up. Let’s see.
Best of luck, Gaurav!!