Udit Arora prioritises his craft over all else – little wonder then that his OTT releases have met with such success.
The actor is enthralling audiences in Homi Adajania’s Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo after charming them with his rooted portrayals in The Crash Course, Bombay Begums and Jamtara 2. In Homi’s series, Udit plays Dimple Kapadia’s adopted son Dhiman, and his portrayal of the character has come in for a lot of praise.
Love for acting
Udit always had a love for storytelling. He says, “I realized that an acting career was something that I seriously wanted and could pursue. I can’t live without it. I have to do it in some way. It’s an exploration of my own self.”
The 30-year-old believes that acting allows him to live different lives, which is exciting and fun. “I like acting. Whether it’s OTT, a film, or a theatre production. Of course, these are different mediums, but acting is the same if you’re honest. There are just a few things to keep in mind – if you work in theatre, you must project your voice so that it reaches the audience. And with a camera, you really have to speak with your eyes,” he says.
Getting under the skin of characters
Experimenting with roles is always a great learning experience. When you get under the skin of various characters, you learn a lot about the acting process. “I stay physically fit by exercising, but Homi asked me to gain some weight for this character, Dhiman. I had stopped going to the gym and I was doing yoga and eating very light food. But because of Dhiman, I had to eat a lot, work out a lot, and gain some muscle mass,” reveals Udit.
Talking about his roles, he says, “I feel that no judgement should be passed on the characters I’m interested in. I despise it when writers create characters with preconceived notions and judgements about who they are.” He says, “I admire Dhiman’s fearlessness. I’ve always wanted to play a gangster character, who is full of lawlessness and is also fearless. I went through several auditions for it. I was called into the office of casting director Anmol Ahuja and his team four times. They tried me out for it, and eventually Homie called me.”
Udit has had the good fortune to work on some really cool projects, but he feels “playing Dhiman was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my career. Dhiman is raw, rugged, and unapologetically lethal, but he has a very soft heart that beats for the one he loves.”
Sharing screen with Dimple
“I was just elated,” he says about sharing screen time with Dimple Kapadia, whose work he has always admired. “I had recently seen Tenet, and she had killed it with all of these amazing actors. She was very fresh in my mind at the time. For me, it was like a dream come true."
Asked if the talented actress has eclipsed him, he responds, “Not at all. She is a truly incredible actor. She is one of those sincere actors who doesn’t conceal anything while filming. It reflects professionalism. But besides that, she talked about scenes, how the show was going, and how she was feeling while playing that role, with us actors — at least with me. There isn’t any sort of pretense. She devotes a lot of time and effort to her craft, characters, and setting. That’s what I discovered about her. She still puts in a lot of effort at this age. And I feel that if I’m able to do just 10% of it at her age, I’ll be successful.”
