‘I Lied My Way To A Role’

‘I kept saying, we’ll do it, but I had no clue how. Neither did my trainer. But we went in with the intention that no matter what, we have to do this.’

Photograph: Kind courtesy Gurfateh Pirzada/Instagram

 

Gurfateh Pirzada juggles two contrasting personalities in his recent releases, The Revolutionaries and Lust Stories 3.

It has taken him 12 years to get to this moment in his career, and the young actor admits it’s been a struggle.

“I always knew it would take time since there was no one to launch me or waiting to give me a part,” Gurfateh tells Subhash K Jha. “I just didn’t think that it would take this long!”

IMAGE: Gurfateh Pirzada in Lust Stories 3.

You’re being seen in two contrasting OTT series, The Revolutionaries and Lust Stories 3. Has it been a long struggle?

I always knew it would take time since there was no one to launch me or waiting to give me a part.

I always knew that I will have to go and audition and do it the hard way.

I just didn’t think that it would take this long! I came to Mumbai in 2014 and it’s been a good 12 years that I’ve been here.

There have been moments where I’ve had some releases and people noticed me but it’s never been enough.

‘The last two years have been very kind’

IMAGE: Gurfateh Pirzada and Ananya Panday in Call Me Bae.

You were going to be launched by Karan Johar?

That was the only time I felt things moving but that project never happened.

There would be scripts that I was reading and saying yes to, but then, the dry period came.

Tough times?

Things were difficult. Thankfully, the last two years have been very kind. I think it started with Call Me Bae. That set the ball rolling.

Then, there was Dynasty. That gave way to The Revolutionaries and then Lust Stories 3, followed by the forthcoming Adhure Hum Adhure Tum.

Tell us about that.

It’s a love triangle with Imran Khan in his comeback. It will be out by year-end on Netflix.

There is Call Me Bae 2, so I am super excited for that too.

‘I kept saying, we’ll do it, but I had no clue how’

IMAGE: Gurfateh Pirzada in The Revolutionaries.

How did you bag The Revolutionaries?

I met Nikkhil Advani sir — he was making Freedom At Midnight at the time. Obviously, you have these meetings and everyone you meet always says that oh, we will keep you in mind.

Then a year went by. I got a call from Nikkhilsir’s office that they wanted to meet me. In the meeting, they gave this whole thing about how they wanted my body to be and it was the character Nikkhil sir was envisioning in his head, somewhere close to the Hulk.

I had just recovered from a flu and happened to be really thin.

I told them I would need a month or two. They asked for my pictures and I sent it to them.

Then there was radio silence for 10 days. I found out later that they were exploring another option because they felt I was not physically ready for the part.

So you nearly lost the part?

I asked for a meeting, and went there with my trainer.

They showed us references and we kind of lied our way through that!

What do you mean?

I kept saying, we’ll do it, but I had no clue how. Neither did my trainer. But we went in with the intention that no matter what, we will have to do this.

Nikkhil sir was convinced and he told me that every five days, you have to send me progress pictures.

I think we started training the same day! I was put on a very strict diet. I was consuming 6,000 calories every day — not like pizzas or burgers but very clean 6,000 calories. There would be a lot of food.

The idea was to gain weight and muscle and also workout like crazy!

I was doing mallakhamb and all sorts of physical exercises.

‘I was really bummed’

IMAGE: Gurfateh Pirzada and Sana Thampi in Lust Stories.

Lust Stories features you in a double role with a lot of intimacy.

We started shoot for The Revolutionaries and then I got an audition call for Lust Stories 3. There was a huge buzz about Kiran Rao ma’am’s work, especially after Laapataa Ladies.

I was really bummed because the dates were clashing with The Revolutionaries. I messaged Kiran ma’am on Instagram, saying I really wanted to audition but unfortunately, I was not able to.

A couple of days later, Karan Johar sir called me. He was like, are you crazy? Why did you not audition for this? Why are we letting this go?

So I decided to shoot for both The Revolutionaries and Lust Stories 3 simultaneously. Sometimes, it was a 12-hour shift, sometimes, a 16-hour shift.

I prepped to figure it out how the twins will work. Irrespective of not sleeping enough, of being on this crazy diet, of working out and shooting two projects simultaneously, it just made me feel so alive. I hope that’s visible on screen.

I wanted to learn Bengali and incorporate that in The Revolutionaries. But I think Nikkhil sir was very clear that he wanted a commercial take and make it accessible to all audiences, so he consciously chose not to go the authentic Bengali way.

Lust Stories, of course, is very different because it was a double role and we had to make sure the two characters look different.

We didn’t have the liberty to play around with the looks a lot because Revolutionaries was being shot at the same time. So it’s something we had to do purely with acting.

It was a conscious choice to make one more smiley and lighter in the way he lives his life while the other… he moved heavier.

There were a lot of intimate scenes.

We had an intimacy coordinator to figure out how to go about it and make it aesthetic without crossing any boundaries — not only mine but also the girl’s because she was also a new actor.

‘The female gaze is super-interesting’

IMAGE: Gurfateh Pirzada and Kiran Rao on the sets of Lust Stories 3. Photograph: Kind courtesy Gurfateh Pirzada/Instagram

Was it different being directed by a woman?

I don’t think so. The only way it’s different is because it’s interesting to see the way they view the world.

The female gaze is super-interesting and super intriguing.

I was amazed by the way Kiran ma’am was instinctual in directing the camera, to move the minute she saw something interesting in the frame.

It was a mostly was a female team, except the writer. It was a huge change from the usual sets and I enjoyed every bit.

What are you seeking in your roles at this point?

It’s to do new things and parts that the normal actor is probably scared of.

People appreciate my work because I took chance with Guilty in which I played a convicted rapist.

I took a chance with Call Me Bae because he’s a boring reporter.

Class was another chance because it was an ensemble cast with new people and I was playing a Dalit boy.

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff