The very thought of wearing a tie to work terrorises me - Samridh Bawa

If you tune into Channel V’s The Buddy Project (Sunshine Productions), you will see Avijeet (Manish Nawani) and Omi (Samridh Bawa) with daggers drawn. In reality Manish who was the guest editor of Tellychakkar.com considers him to be one of the sweetest persons on the sets. Excerpts from the interview Manish took of Samridh… How did you get into acting? I wanted to act ever since I was in school. I was an introvert and a shy child. In fact, I didn’t have the courage to say ‘hi’ to anyone. Nevertheless, I always wanted to act. I would lock myself in a room and act. I conveyed to my parents that I wanted to act. At one point of time in my childhood I wanted to become a doctor or an army man. That was just a passing fancy though. Later I insisted that all I wanted to do was act. Initially my parents thought that my wish to act was just a phase which I would outgrow just like I had once fancied of being an army man or doctor. My parents finally agreed but suggested that I should complete my studies first and perform well. I wasn’t a good student initially. So, I left everything else and only concentrated on my studies, and performed super well. It was a shock for my parents ,and they then understood that I was serious about acting. Would you like to speak about our rehearsals in the makeup room? You (Manish) and I have bonded very well from the first day. From the very beginning we decided to rehearse together. On The Buddy Project I play Omi and you play Avijit. In the rehearsal rooms we swap roles. You say Omi’s dialogues and I say Avijit’s dialogues. That in a way helps us to learn our lines better. We also improvise to make our lines more lively. Please tell me as to how it was to act in your previous show Kya Huaa Tera Vaada. Let me say at the outset that Balaji Telefilms has been very kind to me. On Kya Huaa Tera Vaada it happened to be a negative role which I enjoyed doing. I would however hear things like, “You don’t look like a negative character.” I took it up as a challenge. Don’t you think that a negative character is far juicy than a positive character? Of course. That is the very reason as to why I took up the role. I grew my stubble to fit into the role of a negative character. This track of mine became very popular. Also I got to act with big names like Mouli Ganguly and Mona Singh. This role hiked my popularity too. However as it was a multi-starrer show the focus wasn’t on me. I got a call for The Buddy Project. I went for the audition and got through. It was a regular character. I asked my Balaji team, they were very kind, they immediately allowed me to do it. I was intrigued by Omi’s character. I had never done a character like him before, it was so unique. You are the only actor in this show who wears a kurta. That surely gives you a uniquely different look on the show but makes you sweat too, right? When I got a kurta as a costume, initially I was very happy. It is after all a very colourful and aesthetically designed kurta. On the negative side the kurta makes me feel very hot. You have many outdoor shoots. Nor can you take off the kurta and keep it aside as it takes a long time to put it on and take it off. Two people need to help you to take it off, one of them being myself. I agree. At the end of the day the kurta is wet with perspiration. I too wear leather jackets which are quite warm but I can take it off and keep it aside… I agree. You are interested in maintaining a good physique. Do you get too much of time to work out now that you are doing this show? Honestly, fitness is very important to me. I love to gym. Nowadays I however have a cut to cut shoot. I leave for the sets in the morning and return late in the night. So, I hardly find any time whatsoever to work out nowadays. My metabolic rate is very fast. So I tend to lose weight very quickly. Omi is a character who should not go on losing weight. So whenever I get time, maybe in the morning from 8am to 8.30am, I work out. My first priority is shooting. My second priority is working out. I do make it to the gym daily no matter what. You sometimes get peanut butter bread, sprouts and fruits for the whole team. Whereas I get meals for the whole team. I get whatever I cook like dal or chicken so that we get to eat the right kind of food. That is good fun too… Indeed, you have been very sweet to me. I can’t cook. You don’t speak a word of English on the show. So many people think that you don’t know the language…. It has been so many times that people have thought that I can’t speak English. I find it tough to snap out of Omi. Omi is supposed to speak Haryani but being a Punjabi, I don't know how to speak even Punjabi, in fact speaking Haryani is even more difficult for me. In fact being a Delhliite I have that dilli wala tone. I use it and I have invented my own dehati dialect for Omi. In fact I am so immersed in the role even off camera nowadays I speak poor English though in reality I can speak good English. One day when I was speaking good English, a co-actor was stunned as to how I could speak the language so well. I was reading out aloud a comment in English. I explained to him, “I am not Omi. I am Samridh.” You speak very fast whereas Omi speaks very slowly. How do you manage to talk slowly on screen? While during all kinds of roles, I have to speak much slower that I usually do. Omi however speaks fast too. He slackens the speed of his dialogues only when he speaks to Avijeet. Omi pulls his leg very coolly. During those times I have to speak very slowly which I admit is very tough for me. In fact speaking slowly is just as tough for me as talking in poor English which is mandatory to play Omi is. You are very close to your sister. Both of you were living in the same apartment when you were in Mumbai. Now that she is married and living in Delhi, do you miss her? My sister is very caring. In fact she is like a mother to me. I am close to my parents but even closer to her. However she always asks me on phone if I am okay and am eating well. Many people are under the misconception that you didn’t have to struggle as your sister works for a production house. I however know that you had to struggle a lot. Please tell us about your struggle… Many people would tell me that as my sister was a Creative Head with a production house, I would get work fast. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have to work hard though. All she could do is recommend me. After that I needed to bag a role on my own. I had to wait for roles to materialise. I did have to go through a lot of mental struggle just like anyone else. My first break was with a reality show Get Gorgeous 6. I have had to go through repeated auditions for various roles. Slowly things changed for the better for me. You once told me that the very thought of doing a corporate job in formal clothing scares you, which is why you decided to struggle all the more in acting… Yes, the very thought of wearing a tie to work terrorises me. Acting is a far better option. At one time I thought that maybe I would have to do a corporate job. However I got the role in Kya Huaa Tera Vaada right at that time. Is there any actor who inspires you to act even better than what you are doing right now? I would choose Hrithik Roshan and Rajpal Yadav. I do not copy them though. I admire them though. Do you think it is funny that we are on screen rivals and good friends off screen? Yes, people may find it difficult to believe that we are best friends in real life. In fact whatever I tell you, you won’t mind. We advise one another and are there for one another always.