'Undekhi' actor Surya Sharma on his new web series, struggle, inspiration & more [Exclusive]

Surya Sharma is undoubtedly one of the most promising actors in the digital space. This young actor has impressed fans with his performance in the Hotstar Specials 'Hostages. Currently, he is basking in the glory of recently released web series on Sony LIV Undekhi. Viewers love his grey shade in the series.

With Bollywood dreams in his eyes, Surya is making sure that he makes the most of his lockdown time working on his craft.

In an exclusive conversation with IBTimes, Surya Sharma gets candid about his new show Undekhi, struggles he faced to get the first break in the industry and more.

Excerpts from the conversation.

On his character Rinku in Sony Liv's web series 'Undekhi.'

In Undekhi, I play the character of Rinku, an authoritative, ruthless straight forward guy. I haven't played anything like this before in my career. And I am glad that people are appreciating my role and stint in the series.

How different is Undekhi from ongoing crime thrillers on the web?

'Undekhi' dwells deep into the lives of crime that we often read in newspapers. Undekhi revolves around the dark side of society, which we often ignore. I am glad that the makers have got such a hard-hitting subject with great panache.

Update on Undekhi season 2

We haven't got any update regarding season 2 of the show as yet.

What is keeping you occupied during the lockdown?

I am working on two-three things. Recently, I took a workshop for my acting as well as editing. As my father works near Spiti Valley and we own a small business there. So last year, I paid a visit to the place to meet my father and shot short videos there, which I didn't share on social media earlier. Now, as I have ample time, I have made a travel blog named 'Himalayan Chikos,' Himalayan means Mountain, and Chikos means brothers. It's a story of my brother and me, I have uploaded my Vlog on my YouTube channel, and I am getting a good response for the same.

How did you get into acting?

When I was in school I had watched Amitabh Bachchan's movie 'Sholay' and I was smitten by the film, the setup and Bachchan sir's acting  Since then I decided that I would want to be an actor.  After which I followed the work of Al Pacino and this added to my interest in acting. To pursue my passion for acting I starting performing (on stage)  and that's how I kickstarted my journey into this feild.

On struggles in Bollywood

So everyone has their journey, and I respect everyone's journey. I want to tell you that staying in Mumbai is not easy; more than physical struggle, there is more of a mental battle. You have to be mentally strong to survive and live alone in the city of dreams.

I got my first break after giving 800 to 900 auditions, and  my screen presence was 15 minutes only for a TV show.  I have no qualms as that was my first ever presence that taught me a lot. I was happy then too as I am now.

Any plans of doing TV

The way I work is very different from TV. Therefore, I don't want to do television. I would love to do theatre.

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