Caught in a straight line

Jasmine Singh

“No matter where I go, they tell me, I have a rich look and I can’t play a gareeb, or some Bihari character on screen.” Sahil Anand, the ‘so far so good actor’ hasn’t been able to detach the tag of Chandigarh Punjabi munda that he gets to play in almost every film. Which is why he hasn’t experimented with any other character (given his rich Chandigarh looks!).

However, with a show, Roshini Ek Nai Umeed, Sahil on Star Plus will finally get to play a doctor. And would you want to bet on where is this doctor (Sahil) from? You walk away with a ‘rich’ goody bag! The actor plays a doctor from Chandigarh. He laughs, “I would ideally want to play so many different characters, but somehow everyone wants me to play the Punjabi Chandigarh boy,” he admits for the Nth time.

From doing fairly okay in Hindi films to playing a doctor on TV, what was he thinking?

“The reason I said yes this to this role and TV drama is because it doesn’t have any saas-bahu melodrama. My character is interesting and I quite enjoy being an on-screen doctor,” shares Sahil. Does it sound like a dream come true, a profession he always wanted to be in?

“Oh no,” he brushes off the if-it-ever-existed possibility. “I come from a family of doctors though, but I never wanted to be one. I did my engineering, and thereafter took up acting, which I am loving.”

Sahil loves to act for sure, and he doesn’t feel the need to join any acting school, he hasn’t done it so far. “You wouldn’t believe but my acting school is different, it is called auditions,” he leaves us wondering as to why and what. “Whatever I have learnt about acting, I have learnt it from the auditions I give. In fact, I love to give auditions, especially for the ad films from where I started my career.” As he looks up to Ranbir Kapoor, Sahil doesn’t want to give an impression that he is all for TV now. “I have two Bollywood releases lined up, one is Hai Apna Dil to Aawara and Love Day. I would be balancing both TV and films.” The actor has everything sorted out, just like his relationship that he is so candid about. “I am dating a girl from Chandigarh, she visits me in Mumbai often. “So, it’s nice,” says the Punjabi Chandigarh rich-looking actor!

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