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Almost a year after headlining the romance comedy Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, and over a year since we last saw him as the tech geek, die-hard romantic Rishi Singh Shekhawat in the series Mismatched, Rohit Saraf will now be seen sporting an entirely different look and personality from the ones audiences have come to know him for.
The actor will next appear in Nikkhil Advani's period drama The Revolutionaries as Indian freedom fighter Sachindranath Sanyal, headlining the series as part of an ensemble cast, alongside actors Bhuvan Bam, Pratibha Ranta and Gurfateh Pirzada.
In an exclusive conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Saraf talks about his initial interaction with Advani for the series, his rigorous physical transformation and why working with the director was both enabling and rewarding.
When Saraf thinks back to the first time he met Advani for The Revolutionaries was, while he was shooting for Sunny Sankari Ki Tulsi Kumari, he recalls feeling a natural pull and progression from where he was at that point in his career. "I wanted to do bigger, more exciting things." And when he met Advani, he recalls one of their initial interactions about the series going something like this.
"When I met Nikhil sir for the first time, I remember him asking me: have you watched Fight Club? I said yes, I have. And he said, well, I need you to look like Brad Pitt in the show."
While this was a daunting task for the actor who previously hasn't had to sport such a physique or undergo this drastic a transformation, it was just as exciting. "Nikhil sir would randomly say, 'Okay, take off your kurta...' so I had to be fit through the entire filming process. He promised me that there would only be three shirtless sequences, and we ended up shooting 11 or 12!" he reveals.
Playing a character from the past can often come with the staunch responsibility of mirroring their every action and mannerism. Asked if he was able to add his own twist while playing Sachindranath Sanyal, Saraf said, "Always. On Nikkhil sir’s set, always. I would believe that it's almost like a prerequisite," he says.
"He really lets you have that much fun. He gives you that kind of liberty to really juice the character out and he plays along. He really enables you, and that's extremely exciting."
From his first interaction with him to the way he prepped him for this role and encouraged his own take on it, it becomes clear that there is a certain level of palpable admiration the actor carries for Advani and working on his set.
"Nikhil sir truly stuck to what he promised from day one, and that has been so beautiful to experience," says Saraf. "There is no better feeling than feeling rewarded for the hard work that you've put in. The Revolutionaries hasn't even come out yet, but I already feel rewarded because of how exciting the process of making it has been."
While Advani's last directorial Freedom at Midnight, of which two seasons have been released, revisits the pivotal years before India gained its independence and the adversities during the partition of India, The Revolutionaries tells a more vivid story of those on the frontlines of the fight for freedom and their relentless pursuit through arms and undying courage. The series will stream on Netflix on September 11.