He Makes People Forget He’s A Legend

Aditya Roy Kapur is reprising his role of Shaan Sengupta in The Night Manager Part 2. Directed by Sandeep Modi, The Night Manager Part 2 has released on Disney+ Hotstar today (June 30). This is the final chapter of the web series, which also stars Anil Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala and Tillotama Shome in pivotal roles. The Free Press Journal caught up with Aditya for an exclusive chat. Excerpts:

Confidence, nervousness or anxiety… What is going within you as The Night Manager Part 2 premieres today?

The kind of anxiety and nervousness I was feeling before the release of the first part of The Night Manager is not there to that extent. At times, you feel that by word of mouth performances were seen in the first season. However, I am not as anxious as I was in the first season. The bar has been set and the expectations are higher. In that sense obviously there is anxiety to meet those expectations.

What have you taken away from this character and how did you enjoy the whole process?

Something doesn’t change but it’s how you act for a given character. In certain ways, it’s more gratifying for you to get to explore certain characters. You get to live in that character more and sometimes you feel that you are completely in the character.

Could you elaborate a bit more?

Yes, you move at a different speed. There is a larger amount of work and less time in hand. The clock is always ticking. In films, you are sometimes allowed to indulge yourself a little bit more. But other than that I didn’t find much of a difference.

How was it working with Anil Kapoor again after Malang. Did you two share an even better camaraderie now than before?

We had a wonderful experience in Malang (2020). When we got on to this show, Anil sir got the sense of how I work and he would always help me. I was nervous as you are working with a legend, but sir makes it a point to make everyone comfortable and forget about him being a legend.

OTT releases or theatrical films, what do you like more?

I have been watching myself on the big screen falling in love with what I am doing. There are pros and cons to both the mediums. I love sitting at home and watching different series. I also enjoy laughing and crying watching films in theatres. Both serve you different kinds of entertainment and maza.

What do you look for in a script? You have done action and are very popular in the romantic genre too. Your thoughts?

I think I look at different things that I have not done. I am open to doing different things. I want to explore a lot, sometimes we want someone to look at you that way and someone who may have seen you doing comedy will feel – yeah, he is very good in the comedy genre. You have to take that up. Sometimes the director can see more in you.