“When on set, nobody is a star or a newbie, we all are actors”

The recent blockbuster Gold has left us all with immense pride for the country. The movie has performed extremely at the box office well and has been receiving good response from the critics. With a star cast so varied, some doyens as Akshay Kumar, and some debutants like Lakshya Kochhar, all have delivered a ground breaking performance . This new entrant in Bollywood caught our attention on his recent visit to the city of lakes, his hometown Bhopal.
We spoke to him about his expectations, performance and the response that he received from Bhopalis. Moved by his stellar performance as a debutant, working with a team of experienced actors calls for extreme courage and hardwork. He shares, “When I was offered the role, I was excited to work with the team but didn’t think of myself as a novice and others as ‘Gurus’. I am an actor and we all are actors before being the stars.” His acting has surely left us all surprised and nobody could say that he is a beginner. After having worked as an assistant director, and acting in movies like Mastizade, Lakshya wanted to know how a big budgeted mega project works and didn’t have any second thoughts signing up for Gold. “It’s better to have a small role in a good film than being offered the lead role in a bad film.” The newbie shared his thoughts on the role Suryakant Pant, that he plays on screen for Gold. “It wasn’t the role I aspired for, it was the role that I got. For first film, you don’t really choose. But I wanted to make an impact with whatever on screen time I got and I believe so far I have been able to achieve it.” Shooting for the first film is a journey full of ups and downs for Lakshya some days have been harsh but the rest have been amazing as the star cast spent three good months in the United Kingdom shooting for the film. “It was like a summer camp for me. There were all boys all around me, we used to play day and night and the local boys from London used to take us out to visit places. That time has been the most special while shooting for the film.” Not all are fortunate enough to share the screen with super stars for their first film, having done this Lakshya shared that he was confident enough that the movie would do good because of Akshya Kumar but it would do this good with critics that the actor didn’t imagine. Lakshya visited the town for Raksha Bandhan and received a warm welcome from Bhopalis, “ I have been receiving so many messages and wishes after the release of the film, my friends, extended family and the local population are excited to see one amongst them do so good, my happiness is bound with their happiness and it is really rejuvenating.”

Pics by Vishesh Sharma