PremiumI am not getting offers and that’s why I am not seen that often in Bollywood, says Sushant Singh | EXCLUSIVE
The versatile actor Sushant Singh, who will be soon seen in the hard-hitting series ‘The Freelancer’ spoke exclusively to OTTplay about the reason why he is not seen that often in Bollywood these days
Last Updated: 12.43 AM, Aug 19, 2023
The versatile actor Sushant Singh made his debut in showbiz with the hard hitting ‘Satya’, which was followed by his extremely memorable role in ‘Jungle’. In a career spanning many years in the entertainment arena, he may not have truckloads of films and shows that he can boast of. At the same time, the ones that he has done are definitely the ones which will always be memorable till eternity. Testimony to this are his roles from ‘Rakhta Charitra’ series, ‘Lipstick Under My Burkha’ and even the Jahnvi Kapoor starrer ‘Good Luck Jerry’. How can one forget his extremely powerful hosting in ‘Savdhaan India’ and his stellar performance in the OTT space with ‘Rana Naidu’, ‘City Of Dreams’… the list is endless.
Well... it’s the same Sushant Singh who is now all set to steal your attention with yet another arresting performance in the much-talked about ‘The Freelancer’. OTTplay met up with the stellar performer for an exclusive interview.
Sushant, to start with, in a nutshell, what's your role in the series ‘The Freelancer’?
I play the role of Inayaat, who is an ex-cop and who had to retire from the police force because of an injury… although we have not shown that. He is not in the pink of his health. His daughter’s name is Aaliya, with whom the communications stopped post her marriage. Gradually, we discover that she has suddenly gone missing. I try a lot to search for Aaaliya, but all in vain. Even though my character seeks the help of the legal system, nobody is ready to help him. At the end of the day, I suddenly remembered my best friend Avinash, who was also a colleague in the police force. Avinash happens to be the central character of ‘The Freelancer’, played by Mohit Raina. When all the roads get shut down, I can only think of Avinash, whose whereabouts no one knows. The challenge lies in tracing out Avinash and to pass on the message that my daughter Aaliya is missing.
How did you bag the role?
It could be because of my association with Neeraj Pandey. I had worked with him since he was a baby. I am really thankful to him for thinking to cast me in this. Rest of the things, only Neeraj Pandey himself can tell as to why he chose to cast me.
What was your immediate response/ reaction after you were offered the role?
My immediate response was that of happiness and excitement. Besides being an established director, Neeraj Pandey also has an extremely good production house that makes very decent stuff.
What are the parameters that you see before saying yes to any project?
Only two parameters. The script should excite me and should make me curious and should make me happy. In addition to that, what is my character and if my character is pivotal or not. There are times when you may have two or three scenes and your character is pivotal. And at the same time, there could be times when you may have around fifty scenes, wherein your character may not be pivotal.
The series is based on Shirish Thorat's novel ‘A Ticket to Syria’. Have you read the novel?
Even though I am a voracious reader, unfortunately, I have not read the novel. But I will soon read the book.
Most memorable moment while shooting for the series
I am an artist. And that’s why, for me, every scene that I do is very memorable.
How has been your working equation with Mohit Raina?
Working with Mohit Raina was a cakewalk. We knew each other for quite some time now. I have seen him grow to where he is today. He is a nice, sweet young boy.
Why is it that we don't get to see you that often in Bollywood?
I don’t know. I have not been receiving many offers for movies. The reason for this... I really don’t know. I have got very few offers in the last few years. And the ones that I got were not suiting me. Of late, I did ‘Good Luck Jerry’, in which my role was a bit different and challenging. I am not getting offers and that’s why I am not seen that often in Bollywood. Simple!
Do you think that the advent of OTT platforms has proved to be a blessing for everyone?
Yes, of course. It’s a blessing for all the creative people and even the technicians and even for the audience. It’s definitely a blessing! The advent of OTT has been a rewarding experience.
What, in your opinion, is the flip side of OTT?
Lots of web series. No films as of now. All the web series are in Hindi only. There is one web series that is being made by Excel Entertainment and its for Jio Cinema. Then, there is the second season of ‘Rana Naidu’ and also an exciting series with Sanjay Sharma, the younger brother of ‘Gadar’s Anil Sharma.