Epic transition

Apart from the diction, you also had to work on getting the physicality right?

I was free for almost a year after Navya – Naye Dhadkan Naye Sawaal went off air. The day Navya… got over, I began training for Mahabharat. If I didn’t have the time, then may be I’d have never been able to do justice to that character. We worked on my diet and everything. I weighed 78 kgs when I was doing Navya.., but now I’m 91-92 kgs. That was one of the drastic changes in me. Moreover, Mahabharat has made me a better person. It’s brought discipline in my life and I’m more focused now.

Did you watch the earlier version of Mahabharat on television as a reference point?

People have a specific image of Arjun in mind — that of a larger-than-life character. I had to break that image and make him look real and human. The way I thought I could play Arjun was by understanding him and his journey. So, I started reading about him. I deliberately kept away from watching any version of Mahabharat on television to avoid getting influenced by them. I started building the character afresh, and it took me time to get it.

You think the gap of a year post Navya… helped the viewers accept you as Arjun, considering your character in that serial was of a boy-next-door?

People never forgot Navya.., so the biggest challenge for me was to break my image of a chocolate boy. Nobody could imagine me playing Arjun. Initially, there was a lot of negative feedback, people said things like he looks like a kid. But Arjun has his own journey. It started off with him coming out of Gurukul, and now he’s learned to assert himself. And I’ve grown with the character too.

Doing a daily show on television is anyway hectic for actor, and then you are doing a show like Mahabharat. How gruelling is it?

I have to just remember one thing — that Arjun has actually done all this. He had to run through the jungle, he had to ride a horse for days and fight with people. So, if I have to act his part, then I have to do all of it. I’ve felt that the more I put myself into difficult or harder conditions, the more it’ll look real. So, we were actually shooting in a real jungle, where we couldn’t even get a vanity van. We stayed in tents. Sometimes I feel I’m living his life, that’s how close I feel to Arjun. And now, it’s so hectic that I even forget to call my family sometimes. But they see me on TV each day, so I’m the only one missing them. It’s fun because the other four actors playing Pandavas are like four brothers, and we all work out together, eat together. It’s only when I’m shooting alone that I get bored and want to go home!

ankita.kanabar@expressindia.com