Did you know Secrets of the Shiledars Actor Gaurav Amlani's first acting performance was with Nawazuddin Siddiqui?

MUMBAI: With back-to-back impressive performances in shows The Secrets of the Shiledars and Zyada Mat Udd, Gaurav Amlani is emerging as the talent to look out for in the industry. But interestingly, the actor’s tryst with acting actually started with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, even before the latter became a star.

Gaurav's father, Mr.Lalit Prakash, who is also his acting coach, used to be a theatre actor. And in one of his plays titled Katha Kans Ki, he worked with Nawazuddin, who was directing the play and also portraying the titular character in it. “I used to go to the rehearsals with my father as the whole environment used to fascinate me,” he shares.

One day, the team required a child actor to play a young Kans in the play, and the opportunity came to him. “Nawazuddin sir remembered me coming to the rehearsals with my dad. He asked for me to audition for the part, which he liked and eventually the part came to me. The first time I stepped on stage in my life was with Nawaz sir. It was just us two on the stage during the scene with one spotlight on him and other on me, as the scene showed a conversation between Kans and his childhood version,” Gaurav shares.

The thrill of the stage and the appreciation that came afterwards, made home in the actor’s heart. “I was just 8, but I still distinctly remember how it felt. The seed of acting in me was sown that day, and my father also recognised it. He started training me slowly with small techniques and creative exercises. He would ask me to observe strangers, mimic them, send me dressed differently than I would do so that I could overcome my inhibitions. The seed that Nawaz sir sowed, my father nurtured,” he insists.

Gaurav went on to work on screen as well as a child actor in the film Pinjar with Manoj Bajpayee. He also did an episodic show with Govind Namdev named Mundan. He was also a part of shows like Parchaiyaan and Junior G. Eventually that love for acting grew manifold as he grew older. The actor went on to star in films like Manmarziyaan, Shiddat, and got his big break in the show Punyashlok Ahilyabai which made him a household name for his portrayal of the great Maratha warrior, Khanderao Holkar.