Naveen Kasturia: I fell in love with Delhi again while shooting the second season of Aspirants

Not a Fukrey version, not a Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani version, but yes, he is also from Delhi. Even if critics felt he doesn't quite look the part when this guy from Delhi played a role of a character from Delhi, he'll tell you there is no one format of a Dilli ka ladka,"Dilli mein sab sadak pe khade ho kar ladaiyan nahi kar rahe hain."
In an interview, Naveen Kasturia spoke to us about his hometown, his popular roles, and how he fell in love with Delhi again.

Naveen grew up in Lajpat Nagar and before moving to Bombay 16 years back, he was working in Gurgaon and doing plays at Kamani auditorium and Habitat Centre. He says,"I'm super fond of Delhi. A lot of people might meet me and say 'you're not from Delhi', but I'd also advocate and try to tell them that Delhi is not what you see in Fukrey as Chucha. I'd tell them that Oye Lucky Lucky Oye is Delhi, Delhi Belly is Delhi, and all these Delhis exist at the same time in Delhi."
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Naveen says that he gets this comment all the time that he doesn't look like he is from Delhi. He says,"I did this film Sulemani keeda in which there are two characters who're trying to make it big in Bollywood. Usmein ek review aaya tha jismein likha tha - a
He adds, "Mere liye badi inspiring film thi Khosla Ka Ghosla. Maine woh film dekhi toh mujhe laga, I've to also make films in life. Usmein Khosla saheb ke jo do ladke hain - Bunty (played by Ranveer Shourie) aur Chiraunjilal (Parvin Dabas) dono alag hain. That film represents Delhi, I feel."
He shares, "Delhi has also changed. I've been in Bombay for 16 years now, and when I was in college, the joints and places I used to go to all look different now. In fact, until I came to Bombay, I didn't know Delhi had such a bad reputation. I grew up with my cousins and family, and while growing up, I didn't know that Delhi was considered unsafe, rude or violent. For a very long time, I used to defend that, but then I stopped getting into those Delhi-Bombay arguments."

Naveen says that in the last few years, he fell in love with Delhi again.He shares,"I think I was shooting for Aspirants, and I'd shoot in central Delhi in the morning, and I'd find the city so pretty. Woh subah 6 am ka shooting call hota tha, humne pura central Delhi mein shoot kiya hai. Woh part Dilli ka itna khoobsurat hai. Main uss waqt wahan jata tha toh mujhe sach mein aise feeling aati thi ki mujhe desh ke liye kuch karna hai. Main roz uss DM ke kirdar mein ghusta tha, waise kapde pehenta tha. I'm anyway patriotic, but that time I started thinking about doing a job so that I can contribute to the country. Maine ek dost se baat ki aur usne kaha, 'Iss umr mein toh Defense mein ja sakta hai kisi tareeqe se, lekin IAS toh ab tu nahi ban sakta."

Naveen shares that when 12th Fail was released, at a gathering he met IPS Manoj Sharma, on whose life the film is based, and he also spoke about how he felt that Naveen's character of an IAS officer in Aspirants was quite original.
Naveen says,"Mujhe lagta hai at the end of the day, actors ko bahut credit milta hai, you cannot be as good as your director or your script. Jo paper mein likha hai agar hum usko waisa hi utaar dein toh bahut achha ban jata hai. Woh kaam paper ka hai. If my character in Aspirants looks closer to reality, then it is because of the guy who has written it."
Talking about the roles he get, he says,"Sometimes I think I've been slotted into the role of a common guy trying to achieve something, but I really want to do roles set in different worlds. Only when people see me in diverse roles and settings will they start thinking of me in different parts. That's why I was so happy when I got Breathe and Mithya. I did a role in the second season of Mithya because I really liked the character and the world in which it is set. It's a really complex part. We shot most of the scenes in Darjeeling, and I had never been to Darjeeling before. Mithya ke baad Rajit Kapur mere favourite co-actor ban gaye hain. In acting, there's a lot of reaction involved. Jab aap manjhe hue actor ke saath kaam karte ho, toh kai baar aap woh cheezein kar jaate ho jo aapne sochi bhi nahi hoti hain. That happens a lot."
He adds,"As an actor, I’ve been working with a lot of people who started their careers when I started mine. However, I haven’t worked with many filmmakers who've been in the industry for a long time. I want to work with experienced filmmakers."
'Ab mujhe lagta hai sab humko ullu banaya in logon ne 90s mein. Life bilkul aisi nahi hoti hai, college toh bilkul aisa nahi tha'
Films had a huge influence on his life, and he feels that he lived a sheltered life. It was cinema that introduced him to different lives, backgrounds of people, and made him understand where a person is coming from.
Talking about outgrowing the influence of 90s Hindi cinema, he says, "Ab mujhe lagta hai life aisi bilkul nahi hoti hai. Ab mujhe lagta hai sab humko ullu banaya in logon ne 90s mein. Life bilkul aisi nahi hoti hai, college toh bilkul aisa nahi tha."
Naveen says that a lot of people think that he's one of the creators of TVF, but that's not the case. He says,"I was one of the actors. Since Sulemani Keeda, I've been trying to act. Aisa bhi hota hai ki Panchayat pe mujhe congratulatory messages aa jaate hain.I don't think I have achieved much as an actor. I've done a lot of characters, and a few of them are quite popular. But as an actor, I feel like I've just started. Now, I have begun to truly enjoy it. I want to play as many grey characters as possible. Jitna closer to real-life characters ho, mera utna zyada karne ka mann hai. Somebody once asked me, "What is your struggle?" And I said, "Finding good scripts is my struggle." Waise bhi, itni kam achhi cheezein banti hain, aur unmein se kuch mere paas aa jayein, uski possibility aur bhi kam hai."