Jackie Chan and Akshay Kumar are his idols and he claims to be a long race horse. Hitesh Agrawal, a boy from Surat, had come to Mumbai with dreams and determination to make it in the Hindi Film industry. Hitesh, a student of Whistling Woods has bagged a lead role in Shabaash- You Can Do It. The film is slated to release on November 20.
In an interview with us, Hitesh talks about his experience in Whistling Woods and his experience while acting in his debut film.
What is your film ‘Shaabash You Can Do It’ all about and what is your role in it?
Shaabash-You Can Do It is an inspiring story that addresses youth centric issues such as ragging, campus feuds, interpretation of love and relationships, competition, etc. with a very fresh and simplistic approach. It’s a film of an underdog and how a loser changes into a winner. In the process of metamorphosis, my character of Neil, a small town boy goes through a sea change. Neil has come to city for studies and gains immense confidence by learning various forms of arts like yoga, gymnastics, dance etc. In fact, I find a great deal of similarity in my real and reel life character.
Could you share memorable moments from the sets while shooting for Shaabash You Can Do It?
What I had learnt from Whistling Woods was the method acting, which means that actor does what is there in script. But while shooting, I noticed that others were not just going with what was written but improvising it simultaneously. I would sit down and memorize my script. So, one day my director Shankar Mondal suggested my leading lady Mansi in the film not to rehearse with me for my scenes. Then, I would rehearse on my way to the shoot and give my best and started taking liberty with my performance at time to bring the natural influence. That was the practical training.
Who has been your inspiration for acting?
In India’s 95 percent of population aspires to become actor, so I am no exception to that. But very few get opportunity to fulfil their dream. I feel fortunate enough to get the platform to reach my dream and be an actor. Since at a very young age, I used to be in an awe of action stunts done by Jackie Chan and Akshay Kumar; I would always to dream to be in their shoes. So, to chase my dreams, I joined Shiamak Dawar Dance Academy and did theatre with Indian Drama and Entertainment Industry.
How did you move towards hard core film acting?
I gathered enough courage to seek my father’s permission to join Whistling Woods for a course of one year. And to my surprise my father gave a nod to me and due to the supportive nature of my family I gave acting a shot and joined Whistling Woods.
How did you prepare your self to be an actor?
Apart from the rigorous training which I was undergoing in Whistling Woods, I was training myself for hard core actions stunts separately as well. My day would start with gymnastic, marshal art, jumping, free running early morning on the beach and later special stunts. I am now an expert in Parkour, an art that Akshay Kumar has used for thumps up advertisement. I have also undergone four years of yoga training and practice. Currently, I am further honing on my dancing skills with Lewis Terrance.
Why was the need to go over board with your training? You could have done this all in stages?
No, I had limited time to do my training because my family would not have given me so much of grace period. I have survived on four to five hours of sleep for two years but in the end I have so much more to offer my producers. I am sure- I will be able to make a niche for myself in action.
How was your experience during Whistling Woods training?
Whistling Woods is somewhere I learnt acting. I did monolog in front of Nasserudin Shah and he awarded me the best student actor. It was so inspiring to be appreciated by someone like him and it became my driving force to work more hard. It also gave me strength to fight with every situation and increase my confidence level as an actor.
What are your criteria to select a movie?
I am big fan of Jacky Chan and Akshay Kumar for both of them compliment the genres of action and comedy excellently. They are my idols. I am too new to fiddle with the creative aspect of the script because the people associated with it are far more experienced and talented. Neither can I afford to be choosy about the scripts. Nevertheless, I am looking for a combination of good script, decent production house and a well crafted character for myself.
Nowadays there has been a flood of Star kids coming in industry so, what in will make you survive in the huge competition?
Newcomers with no film background have survived. SRK, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone Manoj Bajpai, John Abraham, Ritesh Deshmukh, Shreyas Talpade are the living examples. I am lucky- I got my first chance even before I had left the campus of Whistling Woods and now I hope for a longer innings in the industry.
-Sampurn Media
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