Before playing Raghu Jhalani, a Sindhi immigrant in Jubilee, Alok Arora has done his fair share of intriguing projects like Meghana Gulzar’s Manto and Raazi. However, Vikramaditya Motwane’s path-breaking period drama series that has become the talk of the town owing to spectacular performances by Aparshakti Khurana, Siddhant Gupta, Wamiqa Gabi, Nandish Singh Sandhu, Aditi Rao Hydari, Prosenjit Chatterjee and Ram Kapoor as well as ethereal soundscape turned out to be the best opportunity for the budding actor.
During a freewheeling conversation with News18 Showsha, Alok Arora revealed how he got into the skin of his character and what it entailed to play a Sindhi-speaking refugee in the divided India, the ethos of the sets of Jubilee, Vikramaditya Motwane’s vision and process and more.
Here are the excerpts of the interview:
To achieve that connection and authenticity, how did you go about preparing for your character? Right from getting the look right to having a grip on the Sindhi accent to mannerisms.
In terms of the process, it is a character that is based in the 40s and 50s. So quite different from the era we are right now. In terms of the mannerisms, I observed lots of interviews of actors and people normally like politicians from that era. So that helped me with the body language. But again, those interviews were very polished ones. Those characters and people were polished. I knew there was something innately raw about them. That rawness and rustic personality is not special to one period. When you observe a person standing in current times in those areas, you can still get that body language. So observation definitely played a big part in it.
As for the Sindhi accent, there is a very interesting story. I wasn’t told as such to prepare Sindhi for this. I spoke to one of the ADs and they said overall if you see in the series, they kept it very Hindi neutral. Even all the characters are from that period. But I come from an acting background where I really believe in the authenticity. So I thought to myself that I have to give this a shot. It was that desire as an actor to be truthful to what I am doing. Thankfully, I have a friend in Pakistan and her name is Sidra. She’s also a director and AD. So I got in touch with her. She and her husband used to sit with me on a zoom call and that time Covid was going on. It was very, very bad times for people around but in my preparation, people had this free time to sit with me. I had forwarded my script to them so they helped me with the diction and expressions. So I picked that up. They are based in Karachi and my character comes from Karachi so I think that gave a lot of genuine connection in terms of dialogues. Especially for an actor, picking up accents is a very dicey game. You might go a little overboard in what you might have seen in the Sindhi accent. It has been loud and very caricaturish. So to get into fluency of it, I had to work on the language beyond the dialogues. That really helped. Even though it wasn’t a full fledged part but I think every character requires in-depth study. And for Raghu, I read books. There is a book by this Sindhi immigrant from during the partition.
So that also gave me a lot of reference. That was very interesting.
When you were on sets, did you ever feel like you are in 1950s and not 2023?
Oh totally. You have to give it to the direction and art direction and the costumes. Everything was so detailed. The moment you enter the sets, that helps you as an actor in your belief world. You just feel connected to that era instantly. And I think that started even before you went on the sets. When you are in the vanity van and they are doing your makeup and costumes, every small detail adds to it. Even the watch you wear, you feel it. So those small details changes something inside you.
The on-screen bond your character shares with Siddhant Gupta has been portrayed really beautifully. Especially the dynamics. It nowhere feels like your character is getting overshadowed by him in any way. So how did you guys achieve that camradarie?
Lot of people are telling me about my character arc and the credit has to be given to the writers and directors as to how they saw the character. And even though it’s not a primary character, lead character but I feel like every character, even the supporting ones have a very specific arc to it. But in terms of the camaraderie, I think the best part about the whole shoot was the direction. He’s a very actor’s director. We used to go to the sets and every actor has given their heart and soul to it. So it was more like being on the playfield. I am doing my stuff, you do your thing. There was a lot of give and take. And we would do a couple of rehearsals and then they used to place the camera accordingly. It was based on our movements and our dynamics. That came out pretty nice and as a co-actor, if your co-actor is given into what you are doing, that camaraderie comes out very well.
Vikramaditya Motwane is the brain behind Jubilee. So an actor on his sets, what are some really enlightening things that you got to learn about this craft? And obviously what are some of your observations about him?
As a director, Vikramaditya Motwane is very specific and clear in his mind about what he wants as a director. When you are doing a character, your gaze is just in the relation of your character. But a director has the whole view of the project. Initially, it was a little unnerving for me because he is a man of very few words. So you don’t know whether he is liking your work,not liking your work. Because he doesn’t say anything. And that would leave me wondering whether I was able to deliver what he wanted me to deliver. He would say okay here and there but as an actor, you still need affirmation. I had like 15 days of work on it but on the second or the third day, I realised that if he is saying okay, he got the best he wanted. In terms of learning, I learnt how to be so cool and level headed. When you are helming such a huge project, you gotta be calm. I’ve never seen him losing temper on sets. That creates a very conducive environment, something playful. I mean I am sure there has been lots of ups and downs and that I was in the background but never on the sets. Infact, not only him but the whole direction team, the whole unit made the set such a pleasurable atmosphere to work on.
What were your equations with Siddhant Gupta? And can you take us through something memorable during the course of shooting Jubilee?
Most of my scenes were with Siddhant, we had a very playful chemistry. Even though we start as a power dynamic, and I feel the dynamic still sustains throughout between two males. But from being like a foe, it turns into friendly male dynamics. But still with one upmanship. So that’s the beauty of the relationship that even though they turned friends, there is still that one upmanship. I think one of the most prominent memories would be when we were shooting. When we went in the fifth episode where I go and want to break down the sets, in that scene I am pushing Ram Kapoor. So he was like if you want to push me, just push me with all the force. And that’s how he falls down as well. Not only once but it happened a couple of times. And even with Siddhant, when we were in the physical aggressive fight, both of us were getting so much energy. Couple of actors even enquired whether I was alright and that pumps you up. That commitment to the work. Personally, my favourite portions or the scenes that I shot for was one where I go in the office and he tells me to get out. That particular moment I really enjoyed playing that. And one was the transformation when Jai’s film is ready to go out and there is a transformation of my character when I say ‘Samose sab mein free baat de’. I think these two moments are really interesting. But my whole acting stint was very pleasurable.
How did Jubilee change your life? What do you expect out of the success of this project?
One of the good things that’s happening is people messaging you, congratulating you, appreciating your work. But for me, at this point, it is just the beginning. I am really eager to find more good work, more interaction characters, more meatier projects. Jubilee has certainly given me prominence and especially in a project which is so big directed by Vikramaditya Motwane. Atleast I know people within the industry would be watching it. They are going to have a keen look at it. I hope this series builds that trust in people towards me that they can feel I’ll do justice to whatever role that has been given to me.
What was it like preparing and playing a legendary character like Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Manto?
Manto was not first project after I graduated from FTII. Again, you see me come on the screen for just one dialogue but it is not just the length of the character, the preparation I did was the same. I personally learnt a couple of poetry by Faiz. I read quite a lot of them. As a poet, when you try to understand him, he used to change his poetry after a point. If you notice, Faiz Saab writes about romanticism but there is a point where he changes into revolutionary, socialist person. I watched interviews of him. There is a gesture of Faiz which I incorporated in Manto. That gesture I picked up only after watching interviews of Faiz. I could see that in the couple of interviews, he was playing with his hair. So every part, irrespective of the length deserves preparation, especially if it’s a historical character like Faiz.
What kind of genres do you want to explore after Jubilee?
I really want to explore all the genres.
Anything which gives me more space to show my acting talent. Something which is more prominent. Be it any genre, how can I limit myself to any one genre? But interstingly I did Manto, I played a small part in Raazi and then Jubilee. So I am seeing that I am boxed into this period genre right now and I want to break out of it. The auditions that come my way, they are mostly period oriented projects. But the film I am doing currently is not period and I can show more of my acting spectrum.
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