Medically Yourrs actor Shantanu Maheshwari: Never tried to build or break an on-screen image

Excerpts from the conversation:

The show is set in your hometown Kolkata. Was it nostalgic in any way?

Completely, and it was a great experience. I also play a Bengali, so there were many nostalgic moments throughout.

Did you do any kind of homework to play a medical student?

Not really. On the other hand, this show has given me many new experiences. I had never smoked in my life but did it for the series. The challenge to try something new was really fun. Also, since the show is based on 4th-year students, we had to get bring alive the chemistry of friends, who have known each other for a long time. So it was actually quite an enriching experience.

Did you take reference from any of your personal college experiences?

The friendship, most definitely. But with this show, we are breaking the perception around medical students. People usually feel they are always studying and have a boring life. But in reality, they are as normal as any other student and have the same issues, we all faced in college.

Like most Indian kids, did you ever dream of becoming a doctor while growing up?

No never (laughs). Neither did I expect nor did my parents. All their hopes were towards my elder brother, who was more studious. I was never inclined towards science.

X.X.X and now Medically Yourrs – do you feel the web is giving you the platform to break your chocolate boy image?

To tell you honestly, I have never been bothered about an image. Neither did I ever work on building an on-screen image nor breaking it. I work from my heart and choose projects with my gut feeling. If I like something, I do it. I would rather choose interesting, different and challenging roles than worrying about the image.

While dancing is your first love, when did you start enjoying acting?

From the moment I stepped into the profession, I have enjoyed acting. It is not that I am doing it for the sake of it or for money. I love it. I have been balancing both for a while and would love to continue doing that throughout.

What’s next?

For now, I am busy promoting Medically Yourrs. Post that, I will get back to the struggle of finding another good project. But you will definitely see more of me soon in the coming days.