Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Hindustan Times (Lucknow) - Live
‘Acting is in my genes...’
Born in Lucknow, actor Shivam Bhaargava feels his hard work has begun to pay off, with his debut release, ‘Ghost’, now in theatres. A happy and excited Bhaargava said, “I always wanted to act and knew I was moving in the right direction. The only thing in my mind was to give my hundred percent and continue reinventing myself as a performer.”
Talking about his days in Lucknow, Bhargaava said, “This is my city and I am proud of its culture and charm. Though I belong to a political and business family, still my father, Luv Bhaargava, takes out time to act. He acted in Muzaffar Ali’s last release ‘Jaanisaar’ and of late, also shot for a part in Mira Nair’s upcoming film. So, you can say acting is in my genes. After I finished school (from Study Hall and La Martiniere College), I left for my Bachelors study in Pune.
“But my love for cinema never left me and after my Master’s, I joined Yash Raj Films as a casting assistant to Shanoo Sharma and that’s where actual learning about cinema happened. It is said you learn more behind the camera then in front, so that actually did train me well. I assisted in four-five films among them last one being ‘Ishaqzaade’.”
After taking up casting for almost two years, Bhaargava decided to move on. “As I had started to understand the process of film-making after working behind the scenes, I decided to polish myself as an actor and did a number of workshops and training sessions including one with celebrity acting coach Saurabh Sachdev. Also, I did a two-month course from Amsterdam and got to learn what I love most: acting. Then I took advertisements and soon, I was offered a titular role in the film ‘Siddhartha: Love, Lust, Peace’ that is ready for three years now awaiting release.
It was such a great experience working with none other than Mahesh Bhatt who has played a monk in the film. I hope the film to sees the light of day soon. It because of this film Vikram Bhatt saw parts of the film and offered me ‘Ghost’.”
Talking about his film and others ventures, he said, “My focus is and will be films along with OTT but that doesn’t stop me from taking up good scripts on other platforms. I have done a couple of web series too and enjoyed thoroughly being a part of ‘Bombers’ for Zee 5 and ‘The Trip’ second season for Bindass on YouTube. I am lucky that whatever work I have done till date has given me different characters to portray. My debut was a dream role. The film has beautiful music and a very exciting story. As of now, I am in talks for more work. As and when something gets finalised I will talk about it.”