The chill factor
Mona
rime thrillers have ruled the roost, especially at web portals. As the latest in this genre – Undekhi – gets closer to its streaming, its lead actors, Harsh Chhaya, Aanchal Singh and Surya Sharma, talk about their experience of shooting in Manali.
The popular face of entertainment world, Harsh Chhaya, would be seen in a negative role in Undekhi, a journey he enjoyed thoroughly. “In any story, there are good characters and there are bad characters. Someone has to play the villain. I played a villain in Undekhi and tried my best to ensure that I make people cringe. That’s the job of an actor.”
Short & entertaining
Crime thriller is one genre that Chhaya enjoys. “I recall watching this German crime thriller dubbed in English during my school days. I thoroughly enjoyed that.”
Television has given way to OTT and like most others, Chhaya is making most of web series. “There is a variety of shows. Last few weeks I watched many shows.”
As for keeping the chin up in turbulent times, the actor says, “The entire world is in this together. There is little one can do but face it with positivity.” With the world coming to a standstill, he is using his time to write short stories and then record them and posting on YouTube.
As for Undekhi, he says, “We have made an effort to make it an engaging, fast-paced show. The ball is in the audience’s court.” Does he get anxious around releases despite three decades in business? “Yes, the viewers keep me at the tip of knife. Some hits, some flops, that’s what keeps me going.”
Knock on the soul
Aanchal Singh, who plays Teji Grewal on the show, finds the experience as a knock on the soul. “Playing a righteous girl, who wouldn’t overlook any sort of injustice, made me feel that we all need to take a stand.”
The shooting in Manali left her cold and rich in experience. “The days it snowed, it would get so cold that I would jump in between scenes to keep myself warm. I had to try hard not to shiver while delivering dialogues.”
The girl, who spent her formative years in Chandigarh, says the city is her second home. “Jakhmi brought me back to city. My aunts, my cousins, the lake, 17 plaza, are all close to my heart.”
Call of the mountains
Surya Sharma, who has won hearts with his performance in Hostages, is excited about his role in Undekhi. He plays the character of Rinku, around whom the narrative revolves, who is the decision maker in the Atwal family.
“What I really love about Rinku’s character is his endless love for his father.” For this Himachali boy, the shoot in his home state turned memorable because of untimely snow. “Snow has always meant off-roading and getting back to cozy home, but to shoot in minus temperature was another experience all-together. That his parents made it to the sets made it even more special.
Is he the one to ‘undekha’ justice? “Not really, I studied in a boarding school. So, I have been independently taking decisions since young age. And I have always stood by the truth, which has landed me into trouble at times,” he laughs.
He recalls one incident. One afternoon he sneaked out of his hostel to have lunch, and he saw a rickshaw-puller beating his wife. He tried to intervene and man fell down. “Suddenly, the wife was screaming at me, ‘how dare you touch my husband’. I was like, ‘hello, I was just saving you. I realised that sometimes it’s better to overlook certain things.”
The lockdown has put Surya in the learning mode. Right from attending acting classes to editing, he is making the best of it. In Chandigarh, with his brother, he longs to hit the mountains. “It’s in the hills that I find myself. Each year I take a break and spend time driving and camping. Wish I could do that.”
Undekhi streams on SonyLiv from July 10.
