MUMBAI: Sony TV's popular and most-watched show Punyashlok Ahilya Bai has been working wonders on the small screens ever since the beginning.
The show recently witnessed a leap with new characters being introduced.
Gaurav Amlani and Aetashaa Sansgiri have been roped in to play the lead roles of Khande Rao and Ahilya Bai in the show.
The actor is known for his performances in projects like Pyaar tune Kiya Kiya, Your Honour, and Husband Material.
Gaurav has also been a theatre artist apart from proving his mettle in acting with TV and web shows.
The handsome hunk's performance is being loved by viewers, and he is appreciated for his stellar performance in the show.
TellyChakkar got in touch with Gaurav, who spoke at length about his character in Ahilya Bai and much more.
ALSO READ: Gaurav Amlani reveals more about his latest project 'Punyashlok Ahilyabai'
What made you agree to this character?
There was no reason to say no to this character. I couldn't think of any one reason because playing a historical character is no different from playing a normal human being. It's about the emotions that come to the performance in the end. The best part about the show is that the treatment is very real. If we talk about epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, the way they are talking and the way the whole story is shot is very different. I might have thought about that. The show is within a very real space. I was very excited and I didn't find any reason to not go for it.
Any new challenges you faced while portraying the character of a warrior?
Yes, definitely! I had taken some action classes for the sword-fighting and horse-riding sequences, as there were a lot of horse-riding scenes that I had to do. I had to brush up my horse-riding skills because just to ride a horse is one thing, but when you are shooting for a show like this, there are so many other things. I have to do multiple things for various sequences along with horse-riding. So, there are technical things. Sword fighting and horse riding were new to me.
What kind of challenges have you faced as an actor?
There have been phases in the beginning where people just look at you like photographs. They even talk to you as if they are talking to pictures, forgetting that people can hear and feel as to what you are saying. I also transformed my look very recently. I used to carry a very different look. I was doing different types of characters back then because that's the way I used to get roles.
Talking about in general, especially on TV, some people were very harsh, initially. They were like they needed groomed people for the lead.
When I had moved to Mumbai, that's when I was getting trained for working on my craft. My dad is my acting guru. I remember this interesting thing that had happened. He would see me spending a lot of time in the gym. He would always find me sleeping, eating and watching things. One day, he asked if I was going to Mumbai to become an actor to which I said yes. He questioned why I was training like a bouncer. That hit me hard and I was like, "What do you mean?" He said being an actor he wants me to spend a good amount of time on my craft. He told me to be generically fit and work on my craft because there are so many people in Mumbai who think that biceps are the key to becoming an actor. People forget that every role has a different requirement. An actor needs to be like clay. This is what my father told me. My father said that if I go with a six-pack abs I might not fit in many roles which makes sense.
I started working on my craft more than my body when I came to Mumbai.
People just want model-type people and this is just about TV. That really broke my heart and I I decided to not go for TV for a very long time.
Well said, Gaurav!
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