One of the rising stars of the Punjabi entertainment industry is actor Amardeep Phogat, who has featured in many hit music videos in his career. Belonging to a Sena family, Amardeep was a national level hockey player before he decided to pursue his passion for acting. In his career, he has collaborated with some of the most renowned singers of the country including Badshah, Jubin Nautiyal, Miss Pooja, Garry Sandhu. In a conversation with News18, Amardeep opened up about his budding career, his Hindi film aspirations as well as a memorable meeting with late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Amardeep, who discovered his love for acting during a college play, talks about his transition from sports to acting, which changed the course of his life. “The process of my transition to acting was gradual. I realized that when people started appreciating my work, I acquired mastery for it, which I did with great dedication. I gradually moved away from the game due to various reasons, but I chose acting because I feel that I can play as many characters as I want. This does not happen in sports. To master the sport, you have to do the same thing a million times. But an actor gets to live a different life everyday. Maybe this was the life I loved the most. It changed me and I became an actor.”
Amardeep said that he considers himself lucky that he has to work with big names in the industry, but he has a trick to not feel star-struck. “I got a chance to work with singers whom I admired since childhood, including Miss Pooja, Gary Sandhu, Badshah, Rupali Jagga. I also worked with actors Karan Mehra and Himanshi Khurana. These are the people I’ve seen for a long time. But when I decided that I wanted to enter this field, my main goal was to work in films. And I always thought that the people I have worked with would work with me in my film. Imagine it becomes easier for me to work with the biggest stars. But yes, I am grateful that I could work with these great actors.”
Her ‘Ik Nahi Di Kudi’ co-star Himanshi Khurana rose to fame after her stint in Bigg Boss 13. When asked if he is ready to participate in reality shows, he said, “I have always wanted to work in Hindi films. Even if my videos become world famous, I will not feel like I have not done films.” Ki Toh I did something. That’s why I am working hard for it. If I have to do or refuse a big TV show, web-series, or participate in a reality show like Bigg Boss, then I will do it. I will do whatever it takes to reach my goal. I am ready to work in any medium as long as it takes me to my goal.”
During his early days in the industry, Amardeep had a chance encounter with Sushant Singh Rajput, who gave him tips about his career. Sharing the incident, he said, “I met Sushant Singh Rajput at his gym shortly after MS Dhoni’s release in Chandigarh. I think he was promoting the film in Chandigarh. But that day he was training with my trainer. Gone were my days as a struggling actor and my trainer Deep sir knew about my aspirations. He quickly called me to the gym. Sushant sir trained with me for the rest of his time that day. We were both taking calisthenics training and so we trained together. We talked and took a picture. This is a very beautiful memory. I really wanted to work with him. He was a very positive person and said a lot of nice things to me. Didn’t feel like she was a big deal but my gym partner made the conversation so much easier for me. I will never forget the half hour I spent with him. And I am very lucky to have found such a great soul.”
In an industry where a lot of singers feature in their own music videos, does Amardeep find it challenging as a non-singer? “There are conflicts in every business. In my case, when I decided to leave the theater to act on camera, I faced a lot of resistance. Punjabi is not my mother tongue, so it was a challenge during the auditions. I still don’t think much about the challenges. I am just focusing on giving my best to all my characters. I don’t want anyone to see my work and think that someone else could have done a better role than me. There is no use for other actors and singers in the industry to think about taking my job as these things are not under our control.”
Amardeep will next be seen in an untitled music video with Badshah, about which he is very excited, “I have a lot of projects. But there are some that I think people will really like. There is this song called ‘Lover Boy’, in which I am playing a character from the 80s. I have also worked with Badshah recently, which is going to release soon. This is Kamal Khan’s song and I will work with Charlie Chauhan in it. The song is superb. It will touch a lot of hearts, I am sure. I think there are two to three characters coming up for which I am very excited. I can’t wait to see how people react to them,” he signed off.
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