Aayush Sharma: The audience makes you a star

“Today, there is an influx of great content and artistes. I realised that if I was going to pitch myself as a star and do the same thing again, I would just fizzle out. So, I wanted to project myself as an actor first and leave the rest to the audience” — Aayush Sharma
With ‘Antim: The Final Truth’ that hit the screens recently, Aayush Sharma presented himself in an image, which was a far stretch from what we saw of him in his debut film, ‘LoveYatri’. All the blood and sweat that he put into his intense character as the brutal gangster, paid off, as he won appreciation for it. Now, the young actor is keen to prove his mettle in every genre possible. In an interview with BT, Aayush gets candid about his struggle after the failure of his first film, the lessons learnt from his second one, bulking up to match Salman Khan on screen and his filmi dreams. Excerpts…

‘Antim’ saw your growth as an artiste and you even underwent a massive physical transformation for the part. Very often, an actor’s physicality gets spoken about more than the real thing – performance, role, et al. Were you apprehensive about that?

It’s true that most of the time, the focus is more on an actor’s physical transformation. However, Rahulya (his character in ‘Antim’) didn’t require as much of a physical transformation as mental. The first aspect I had to work on was not to care about what people thought of me. As an actor, you are always concerned about what image you project, and the perception people build of you. The character of Rahulya required me to shed all those inhibitions. When I heard the narration, I felt that I was the antagonist, but it eventually turned out to be my story. In order to get into the skin of the character, it was essential for me to not judge Rahulya. I also read the book, The Courage To Be Disliked, which helped me prepare for the character better. Along with the mental transformation of becoming the character, I worked on the physical aspect. I was aware that I wouldn’t be able to justify the high-octane action sequences if I did not transform myself to look the part. I had Salman Khan opposite me. His screen demeanour and stardom are so huge. To justify even sharing a frame with him, I required a massive physical transformation. That involved putting on 16 kilos to look convincing on screen and be able to pull off the character.

After playing the quintessential hero in ‘LoveYatri’, you played a gangster in your second film. Was that a conscious decision to refrain from being repetitive at the start of your career?

My first outing wasn’t a success at the box office, and my calibre as an actor was questioned. I wasn’t defensive about the criticism and I worked on my shortcomings. Today, there is an influx of great content and artistes. I realised that if I was going to pitch myself as a star and do the same thing again, I would just fizzle out. So, I wanted to project myself as an actor first and leave the rest to the audience. Their acceptance is the only way for you to attain stardom. You can do as many films as you wish to, but till the time the audience accepts you as an actor, there is no way you can become a star.

How frustrating was the period after your debut film failed to make a mark?

Failure teaches you a lot more than success does. Success tends to make you complacent, but failure pushes you to work harder. If you ask me today, I am grateful that my first outing wasn’t a success at the box office. Had it been, I probably would have stayed in the same zone and become repetitive. That experience taught me that for every film I need to put in the same effort I put in for ‘Antim’. It also prepared me to accept that if I fail once, it’s not the end of the road.

After ‘Antim’, do you feel the pressure to match to the expectations that people now have of you?
My priority is to ensure that my performance doesn’t falter. I understand that people watched ‘Antim’ with zero expectations, but they have expectations of me now. So, I am going to make sure that I work harder so that they can see a newer version of me in the next film and are pleasantly surprised.

Sharing screen space with your brother-in-law, Salman Khan — did it ever unnerve you?

Fortunately, I have been trained by him, and for me, itmeans that while we can have fun at home, on the set, it is strictly professional. When I started working on this film, I realised that this is the biggest platform any actor can get. You have Salman Khan in a film being directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, whose story revolves around your character. Being a superstar, Salman (Khan) bhai knew the importance of this project for my career as well. But he never told me what to do or never instructed me to perform a scene in a certain way. The first thing he told me was that he had never played a grey character in his career and asked me to find out for myself. He could have guided me through this film, but what about the next one, or the one after that? So, he told me to hone and master my craft.

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