vendredi 10 juillet 2015

"I always wanted to be an actor" Darshan Kumar



Darshan Kumar can’t get over Priyanka Chopra and understandably so. The middle class Delhi lad, who had been struggling to find a foothold in the Hindi film industry never ever dreamt of acting opposite Priyanka Chopra in his first ever film. He excitedly tells me about his first meeting with her. “The audition with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Omung Kumar was not as difficult as meeting Priyanka for the first time. We were supposed to do a photo shoot together to get our look right. I was quite nervous. But the moment she met me, she put me in a comfort zone and I forgot my nervousness. I didn’t feel that I was working with a star.” He gushes further, “I learnt an important lesson from Priyanka – however big a star you become your love for your work should never diminish.” He’s bowled over by her tenacity. “The film has a lot of fight sequences. She would shoot all day for those scenes and by night she would train herself for two to three hours everyday to keep in shape. I haven’t seen this kind of hard work and dedication in anyone.”

Darshan understands the film revolves around Priyanka but says his role is pivotal too. “Mary Kom needed her husband’s constant support to become what she is today. He is Mary Kom’s real-life hero.” He’s happy he got a chance to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali so early in his career. “It’s every actor’s dream to work with Sanjay sir. He makes larger-than-life cinema. From him I learnt to be dedicated and disciplined in life.” That philosophy has helped him in his vocation. “I was always clear in my mind that I wanted to be an actor. To hone my skills I joined NK Sharma’s Act One Theatre Group right after college and did a lot of plays.” Darshan doesn’t believe he has really struggled in the last seven years but says things took time to work out. “You need to be patient in the course of your journey and keep improving at your job. I did the same. I spent my time learning to act. Naseeruddin saab (Shah) gave me an important advice – Till you think you suit a particular role or character and can do justice to it, never take it up. Whatever you do put your soul into it. Only then can your act be powerful. And I wanted to do something big which I ultimately got.”

Mary Kom is Darshan’s first release but he signed NH 10 before that. He plays a grey character in the film. Anushka Sharma has produced the film and Darshan is in awe of her multi-tasking skills. “Anushka is very friendly and bubbly. It’s a wonder how easily she handles everything.” He doesn’t believe in limiting himself to a certain genre. “The actor in me can fit into every character. I want to challenge myself and do a variety of films. My dream is to do Hollywood films too. 
The actor’s biggest inspiration is Amitabh Bachchan. Now that isn’t surprising. He heartily narrates an incident. “I and my brother Surjeet would run off to watch Mr Bachchan’s films on a friend’s VCR. Mother used to scold us and once she caught us red handed and thrashed us good. Normally I used to howl even before she got out her stick but this time I took it all quietly. Then, when out of concern she asked me if I was okay, I royally replied, Mard ko dard nahin hota.’ That’s how crazy I was about the movies.” Today, his father Attrer Singh, a retired government officer and mother Kamla Devi, are happy for their dramebaaz kid. “I hadn’t informed my parents about Mary Kom. They got to know about it only when they saw the promos. When I called my mother, she started crying... They told me they both felt so proud…” Now that’s a priceless moment.

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