The mental makeup of any actor has to be strong: Aditya

Aditya Redij is glad to be back on TV. The actor, who has been part of popular shows including Na Aana Is Des Laado, Preeto, Junoon, Bandhan and Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai, is looking forward to his new show Porus. He loves the fact that he got to learn a lot on the job. “I learnt to ride a horse riding, which I love now, and scuba diving on the show. We shot in Thailand, and you have to be a certified scuba diver if you want to shoot in the water. It was a lot of fun. These are perks of the job (laughs),” he says.

Acting is considered a glamorous profession but Aditya feels that the audience only sees the presentation on screen and not the behind the scenes exertion. He says, “Sometimes, it’s rewarding and not so rewarding at other times. Dealing with the paraphernalia that comes with being an actor is the essence of the job. You are put into situations emotionally and physically that you have never been in your life. The reward, in terms of appreciation from the audiences, is what one strives for. That’s what an actor lives for. One might think physically demanding scenes might be taxing but the emotional scenes actually exhaust you. You get so engrossed in the heightened emotions for a say a long dramatic scene, which may take days to shoot, that it tires you out. The mental makeup of any actor has to be strong.”

Aditya shot for a scene with a prosthetic on his head for 18 hours for a major sequence.

The actor also fell ill with dengue while shooting for his TV show and was hospitalised for 15 days. “The doctors said I might have to be shifted to the ICU but thank God I got better. I was asked to rest and not exert myself for two months but I had to start shooting a month after my recovery. It was tough for me as the shoot, the role, and the costume was tougher than usual. We had horse riding, scenes in water, and being in a heavy costume all day. It was challenging.”

One might think physically demanding scenes might be taxing but the emotional scenes actually exhaust you. ADITYA REDIJ, ACTOR