After making waves internationally with his debut film, ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’, Abhimanyu Dassani has been on a roll. The young actor recently bagged the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his second film, ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’. In a tête-à-tête with ETimes, Abhimanyu opened up about the biggest compliment he received for the film, making his parents proud, his sister Avantika’s acting debut and more. Excerpts…
You received your first Dadasaheb Phalke Award for ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’. Did you anticipate it?
It was extremely surprising. It was extra special because the day I received the award was my grandfather’s birthday. I am also very proud of the team that worked hard towards the film. It is the only reason why my character got an opportunity to shine.
Your debut ‘Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota’ won international accolades, your second film 'Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ has bagged you a Dadasaheb Phalke Award. How proud are your parents?
They are extremely happy for me and proud of me. I have bagged two awards for two films. I believe that everything that we do, at the core, we just want our parents to be proud of us. Giving them this joy is the most important thing for me.
How has the character transformation been like for you as an actor?
It is a very hard process to detach from the person that I am and transform into someone else who has a different personality, different likes and dislikes. It is very important to have friends and family who keep you sane and grounded. Even your team and your director help you a lot to transform into that particular character.
Your chemistry with Sanya Malhotra had become the talk of the town when the film released. Did you guys bond on the set off-camera?
It was wonderful working with Sanya. I think she is an amazing actor and moreover, she is a wonderful co-actor. There were no performance insecurities. Everything was teamwork. She is so experienced. She was really fun on sets. We were together for about three months where we shot back–to–back. We used to go on jogs and workout together post-shoot and even the director would join us. The thing we most bonded on was food. We ate a lot of delicious food together.
What is the biggest compliment you received for ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ and from whom?
The biggest compliment I received for ‘Meenakshi Sundareshwar’ was from R Madhavan sir. A lot of people found similarities between my character and him. After watching the movie, he tweeted about it and said that he loved the film. We have grown up watching him. We are still huge fans of him. We have to put some reference points of the character, of the person being like Madhavan. I am grateful he actually noticed it and appreciated it. It was deeply humbling and encouraging at the same time.
Both your films were released amidst the pandemic. Did you ever feel discouraged?
No, not really. We could not have done much other than to accept how things are. The uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic brought was for everyone. Life is unfair to everybody in some way or the other. Some benefited from the pandemic, some didn’t. Life goes on. You just have to be patient. Play well when your time comes.
A lot of negative things were highlighted about Bollywood as an industry in 2020. Did you ever feel you came in at the wrong time?
There was obviously some kind of impatience building but my family and friends kept me in check. I have told this in my earlier interviews as well that this is a long term thing. It is not about being the hottest thing right now. This is not the game I am playing right now. I am playing a different game. So these things don’t really affect me.
Your sister Avantika has made her acting debut with 'Mithya' on OTT. How supportive have you been as a brother?
You will have to ask her how supportive I have been. She has seen me go through my training and process in the last few years. I have been at it since 2009. I have advised her to surround herself with good people. I have told her to just enjoy herself and forget about everything else, to let go of the illusion of control.
What’s next?
Well, I have ‘Nikamma’ with Shilpa Shetty and Shirley Setia. I also have ‘Aankh Micholi’. I have got an opportunity to work with some great actors. The films have some great songs so I hope people will be dancing to some of our songs at the weddings this year. There are a few more projects in the pipeline that I cannot talk about right now.
