2024-04-07 07:42:21
Sunny Hinduja, who has been seen in series like ‘Family Man’, ‘Aspirants’ and ‘Railway Man’, was recently seen in a negative role in the film ‘Yodha’. The actor shared many stories of his life in this interview and told how he used to go by buses for auditions and pass the time by eating bananas.
Actor Sunny Hinduja, who came from FTII, tried a lot to get the opportunity to act, but ultimately his struggle bore fruit. OTT series like ‘Family Man’, ‘Aspirants’ and ‘Railway Man’ proved to be turning points for him. These days he is in the news for his negative role in the film Yoddha, a special conversation with him.
You have come from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), how much has this institute groomed you?
I believe that even if any art is innate in you, if you polish it, it becomes more brilliant. I still believe in learning. I think there is only one panacea for all things and that is hard work. I consider myself very fortunate that I got admission in FTII, I am from an institute where stalwarts like Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Bachchan come from. Today, if I have been able to understand even a little about acting, it is because of FTII. I have read the interviews of these famous actors and they say that it takes ten years to understand acting and how many more years to become an actor. It was very beneficial for me to get training from this institute.
You also saw a lot of struggle, how was that period?
I think, struggle makes you beautiful. When you are in the lowest phase of your life or career, you are closest to Allah. In times of struggle you think in two ways. Either you think of laying down your arms or you think that perhaps I am not ready at this time, I will have to work harder. But I was lucky that because of the people I was with at that time, my family, friends, I was able to pass that phase. When I was still studying in FTII, I was offered a film and I felt that I had reached my destination. After that film, I did many more films, but these films could not reach the cinema halls. After four-five years of coming to Mumbai, it seemed that everything had gone to zero. There was a time when work had stopped coming. Even if I got it occasionally, it would be almost nothing. I have traveled a lot by buses. I used to catch bus number 35 for auditions in Dadar, Churchgate or Famous Studios. Once, I had to reach one such audition by five o’clock. I left Andheri at 12 o’clock and reached the audition at quarter to five. I was stuck in traffic. In those days I used to fill my stomach by eating bananas. At that time my wife supported me a lot. Many times it happened that I had only 200-300 rupees in my account and no idea about further money, but we celebrated sadness also. We used to have dinner with that remaining money. Many times there was no money to pay the rent, but at the last moment, some small advertisement would come from somewhere, due to which the rent would be paid, then God also supported us and we also did not lose courage.
How do you consider OTT as the turning point of your career? You earned a lot of name from series like Family Man, Aspirants, Railway Man?
If ‘Man’ comes in the name of the show, then it is necessary for me to be in it. (Laughs) I believe that OTT has proved to be a boon not only for the audience but also for the artistes. Here the audience gets diverse content, while the filmmakers and artists also get to experiment with subjects and acting. New talents have also got a lot of opportunities. I think this platform has been instrumental for all of us.
Recently it was World Theater Day. You have also done a lot of work on theatre, any special memories of theatre?
When I had just come to Mumbai, we were doing a play here. I can’t remember the name of that play directed by playwright Salim Arif and written by Gulzar Sahab. But there were different stories in it and we sang and performed those stories. There was also a story of Kamathipura in it. To give life to that story, we went to Kamathipura and slept on the footpath there. We spent the whole night there and we were observing what kind of atmosphere there is and what happens in those streets. Then the next day we did that play. I understand that theater is very challenging, there are no retakes here, you are on the stage and the audience is in front of you, there is no scope for mistake.
How was the experience of doing villainy with a hero like Sidharth Malhotra in a film with a commercial setup like ‘Yodha’?
At this time, I consider myself very lucky that I am getting work, I am being given different roles. I had a dream of being a part of commercial cinema since childhood, so I always wanted to do such a film. On top of that, being a part of a film by a maker like Karan Johar was an even bigger deal. Yes, I am getting praise for my role. Siddharth is a sweetheart and he is a very loving person. He is a down to earth actor. He had seen my work in Aspirants. He liked my work a lot and he also shared this with me. He praised my work on the very first day on the set and from there the relationship between us became very comfortable. He provided a lot of support not only to me on the set but also to the new director duo Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha.