Three years after his debut with Loveyatri, Aayush Sharma is gearing up for the release of his second film, Antim: The Final Truth. film, which also stars his brother-in-law Salman Khan and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, is slated to release on November 26. In a conversation with News18.com, Sharma talks about his initial reservations of Salman being a part of the film as it would spark another nepotism debate, his experience working with the superstar and explains his career Why depends on the decision of the film.
Your look in the final is completely different from your first film Loveyatri. How has been the response so far?
I am really excited and the response has been positive. When Loveyatri released, people said very good things about my work and said that I am a chocolate boy hero. But I wanted to show my range and the last allowed me to do it as I am playing a gray character in it. We have been working on our look for almost three years now and I am glad that the hard work has paid off.
Director Mahesh Manjrekar mentioned in one of his interviews that he felt he has to work on you a lot but was surprised to see you dressed up so well.
My character is such that I had to internalize it. A lot of people have mentioned about the physical transformation but I don’t think much about it. The physique is for cinematic purposes only so that it looks believable. Many times people said that I am an antagonist in the film, I always said that she is not a negative character. Every character in this film is gray and my character is very gray. People questioned my choice of playing a negative character in my second film because then filmmakers could give me similar roles. But I was not stereotyped as a lover boy with LoveYatri. I had to create chaos in my head with how he reacts to certain situations that you usually don’t. I didn’t want to portray my character as a forced antagonist and that’s what Mahesh sir liked. He is a seasoned director who specializes in this genre. So in the back of my mind, I also had a little comfort that even if I’m going to be wrong, he’ll show me the way.
How did you create the chaos to get into character?
I had to lose all my inhibitions. We are usually polite to the people around us but the first thing I had to do was to be firm with everyone. I had to develop an attitude where if you like me, it’s good and if you don’t, it’s your problem. I stopped taking approval from people and that was the first step towards creating Rahuliya’s character. The other thing I did was a small exercise in which you intentionally break a glass, the first time you judge yourself but when you do it over and over again there comes a point where you start enjoying that madness that you are creating. And that’s where my character came from. When I was creating madness in my mind I stopped judging my actions.
Salman Khan has a loyal fan following. Are you ever worried that thrashing him in the film will anger his fans or get a negative reaction from them?
I won’t deny that I was worried. I was strongly against the idea of killing Salman bhai back on screen. It’s a huge seniority leap. Early in the process of making this film, I was worried about the fact that he was in the film. There are going to be many assumptions about it, including the fact that we are a family, he is making this film to help me with my career and to promote another conversation on nepotism. Initially, I was against the idea of being a part of Salman bhai’s final. I didn’t want him to do the film and I told him. In fact, I went to convince everyone in the family not to do this to him. It was also because I was doing something completely different from Loveyatri and the other thing with his presence was whether I would be able to do justice to the film and match his craze or not.
Also, the antagonist in a Salman Khan film is of a certain ability. I am just a newcomer. But he was confident about doing the film. He told me, ‘Aayush you need to find out how you do justice to your character and that’s all that matters. You need to explain to people why you raised your hand on me in the film. It was a huge challenge and I was very apprehensive about his presence. I remember when we announced the film, I was getting a little trolled saying, ‘We don’t want Aayush in the film.’ When I asked him, he said there are hardly 5000 tweets and if they don’t watch the film, then it doesn’t matter.
Did you ask your wife Arpita to convince Salman not to do the film?
I’ve done this on several occasions. I asked him to explain to the brother that it was a huge challenge. She explained it to him but he wanted to do the film. Today, when I look back, I am really grateful that they placed that kind of faith in me. He is a great artist and he could have worked with any actor and filmmaker, but he put his faith in me which is really a big boost. I remember when I did my first scene in the film, I asked him if I was doing a good job. He said, ‘Don’t take my advice… I am an actor myself. If I tell you what to do, you will start copying me and I don’t want to have two Salmans in the same frame. Viewers want to see Aayush Sharma vs Salman Khan.
How was the experience of shooting with Salman?
Honestly, it’s awesome. I never expected to share screen space with him. I didn’t expect an easy ride. But he made sure he never gave up on the project and made me as furious as he wanted. He could have cast any other actor but he placed this trust in me and that was the biggest sign of his love for me. I won’t deny that there was a lot of pressure.
What are the expectations from this film?
The moment I came to know that Salman bhai was doing the film, I had put all the chips, so I knew either I would go bankrupt or I would win big. I have waited for three years and want to make the most of it. This film is a national spotlight for me. But I remember he told me not to think about the whole film. He said that if I do even one scene and people say that I have done well, then it will be my victory. This is a make or break film for me.
You already know that this is a Salman Khan film.
Yes. I am always aware of it and I have no objection about it. I would be foolish to say that if he hadn’t been in the film, I would have got a theatrical release. It doesn’t happen because I know that as an actor, I don’t have that kind of ability to bring the audience to the theatres. In the current circumstances, without his presence, the film would have been released on OTT. It is one of the advantages of working with a superstar that because of his humble presence people will come and watch it and if they like it they will come and watch my other films too.
Lastly, when Loveyatri was released, you mentioned how the filmmakers were wary of working with you because they felt that if anything would go wrong, Salman Khan would not work with them. Have things changed?
There is a certain kind of reservation which will always be there because I belong to a family. But I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am ready to work with all filmmakers. Salman bhai has given me a platform and trained me too but that doesn’t mean he will always take care of my career. I want to get their advice on whatever work I do but I really want to work out. I want to explore myself as an actor because I have always felt that I am a student and the more opportunities I get, the better I become at my craft. I am hopeful that my work in Antim will translate into getting more films.
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