Sidhant Gupta is basking in the glowing reviews for Jubilee, he describes his journey to success

Actor Sidhant Gupta has been trying to make a lasting impression in films and TV since 2012. He's made a mark with films like Badmashiyaan and Bhoomi, also in the TV series Tashan-E-Ishq, but it's Vikramaditya Motwane's Jubilee that has put the spotlight on his talent. He speaks about his fascinating character on the show and taking inspiration from Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor.


Jubilee is like your actual beginning as an actor. Where did this spectacular performance come from?

This kind of reaction is so overwhelming. My heart is dancing. In fascination, I found my surrender. The story, the world, the character fascinated me but it’s the truth in the writing that I could trust and somehow let go of my identity knowing I won’t get lost.

You have been around for a while. Badmashiyaan was released in 2015. What went wrong?

Lack of intention. I didn’t know why I was doing what I was doing. All I needed was some courage to be vulnerable. I didn’t know at the time that my vulnerability was my strength. I kept hiding it like everyone else around me. Now I just share it.

There is a lot of talk about the Bollywood mafia controlling the industry. Have you experienced any bullying?

Yes, but thankfully now is the time for a new direction, a new voice and that has to be collaborative.

Your character Jay Khanna in Jubilee is ebullient, upbeat and unstoppable. How did you create a graph for this character?

That’s the magical part, the graph kept creating itself, at least it felt like that. Not knowing how to give up was the only common thread that connected me with my character and that’s also the core. I just held Jay Khanna very close to me at all times and a voice created itself.

How and why did Vikramaditya Motwane think of you for this pivotal role on Jubilee?

I believe he took his own time but once he made up his mind, he let me fly with with it. THANK GOD for him.

What was your preparation for Jubilee? You surrendered completely to the character.

From 'who is this guy?' to 'I want to be this guy' to 'Why isn’t everyone this guy?' to becoming this guy. My character Jay gave me more than I gave him.

What was it like working with seasoned troupers like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Arun Govil and others?

I feel I must have done something right to be working with them, thanks to the readings that I could move beyond the seniority and image. Also, the space that our director created on the set only allowed the characters to bring in life, and we all really lived that.

How much of Indian cinema's past did you explore to play Jay Khanna who seems to have the energy of Dev Anand?

I would have been deprived of that era if it wasn’t for this series. For a year and half, I only heard songs from the era of Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar and they’re gold! My research was more about finding the essence and energy of Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor from their conduct off screen, to be able to create an original Jay Khanna.

After this new beginning, what are your short term and long term plans?

The long term plan is find more content to add to the intention of why I want to do this work all my life. The short term is to breathe more life, worth sharing through this work.