Vivek Dahiya: I would love to work in an action film like War with Siddharth Anand

Actor Vivek Dahiya, who has predominantly worked in TV, seems be finding a new space for himself with OTT shows and films. The actor, who had worked in State of Siege: 26/11, was also part of the Akshaye Khanna movie State of Siege: Temple Attack recently.

In a candid chat with OTTplay, Vivek shared his experience working with a new set of cast members including Akshaye, his love for films and more.

Talking about reprising his character as an NSG commando in State of Siege: Temple Attack and the preparation for the same, Vivek tells OTTplay, “For this time, I didn’t have to work on the mannerisms and the body language, which were required in the earlier series. So, this one was relatively easier. Of course, every story has a different approach. This time the team in the film was led by Akshaye, while Gautam Rode and I were primarily supporting him.”

When asked about the differences between shooting the 26/11 and Temple Attack, the actor says that it was not really very different. “Both the stories happened at different places and spaces but ultimately they are somewhere of the same kind. While the series was directed by Matthew Leutwyler, who is from Hollywood the film is by Ken Ghosh. They both have a unique way of telling stories,” Vivek added.

In the film, the relationship of the characters of both Akshaye and Vivek go through a rough patch. Ask him about working with Akshay and the actor says, “It was good. The subject in itself is very serious and while shooting something like this, actors tend to be in a character off-camera as well. Akshaye has been known as someone who doesn’t talk much, he’s not very chatty. I, on the other hand, love to talk and share a good camaraderie with my co-actors and then get down to serious work when it’s required. But every day during lunch, we used to talk and laugh together and chat about a few things as well, while when the shoot was on there were only important cut-to-cut conversations that used to happen.”

Who used to bring the best lunch on set? Vivek is the one person who often brings amazing food on the set. However, for this film, he couldn't do the same because the shooting was outside of Mumbai, he says. “I am a big foodie, so I used to pack so much food prepared by my amazing cook. But the shoot was outdoors (outside Mumbai), so we usually ate outside and the ‘dabba’ scene was not there.”

Ask him if it matters who his co-actor is while taking up a new project, the actor replies, “Yes, it does. You need to know that you’re surrounding yourself with the right team, whether it’s a banner, producers, the director, DOP or the actors. And it matters, when you have a serious actor like Akshaye on the project, it elevates your content.”

When we asked about how he feels about the sudden burst of content on OTT, Vivek says, “It’s good that it is happening. It is only going to push us out of our comfort zone. And I’m talking about the whole industry as well. The higher the competition, more quality content is going to come out and shine.”

Talking about some of his favourite directors with whom he wants to work in the future, the actor reveals, “I would love to be part of an action film like War, so I’m going to go with Siddharth Anand and I would love to work with (Rajkumar) Hirani Sir.”

If he had to choose between OTTs, films and television, Vivek tells us, “Films would be my first preference. I love watching films more than a web series.”

Expressing his views on censorship on OTT, he said, “No, I don’t think there should be any censorship on OTT. It’s about time that we let the creators make and express themselves the way they want to.”