Actor Gaurav Amlani was recently seen in an important role in Aditya Sarpotdar’s adventurous web show The Secret Of The Shiledars, along with the likes of Rajeev Khandelwal, Sai Tamhankar, Dilip Prabhavalkar and Ashish Vidyarthi. Currently streaming on JioHotstar, the show is related to a secret dating back to the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
EXCLUSIVE: Gaurav Amlani on bagging The Secret Of The Shiledars due to his stint in Punyashlok Ahilyabai, “I had literally cut off myself from my social and personal life for that show”
In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, Gaurav said that it was a good past karma that helped him bag the show. “I had done the TV show Punyashlok Ahilyabai, whose producers were Dashami Creations,” he said. “I had a very good run with them for a year and a half. It was a very successful show. I had to gain 10-12 kilograms of weight. The role was physically demanding. I was shooting almost 25 days a month. They saw my commitment for a year and a half. I had literally cut off myself from my social and personal life. They were touched and impressed with the kind of commitment they saw in me.”
He added, “Nihad (Vaidya) sir and Aparna (Padgaonkar) ma’am from Dashami Creations told me that whenever they would make something big in film or web and if they have a good role for me, they definitely would want me. She was the first person who recommended me for this character in The Secret Of The Shiledars. She was very confident and backed me up. But I also auditioned for it because the director, creative team and Hotstar, they all had to be convinced. They liked my audition and that’s how I bagged this role.”
Gaurav was highly impressed with director Aditya Sarpotdar, although he hadn’t seen any of his works when he first met him. “Munjya and Kakuda hadn’t released. In fact, just after wrapping up Munjya, we started this project. I was told he is a very good director. And when I met him for the first time, from that day till today, I feel he is someone who knows his craft at the back of his hand. Most importantly, the passion that he has for the work he does.”
Sharing the filmmaker’s qualities, Gaurav said, “He used to stand whole day; I never saw him sitting on a chair or resting. He would have dinner with the cast and celebrate any occasion. I have seen him surviving with just two hours of sleep. His love for cinema is such that despite shooting an extensive schedule in the day, he will still go and watch something. He craves to consume good content. Main toh genuinely dhanya ho gaya unke saath kaam karke. He has already proven how good a filmmaker he is, but I can tell you how good a human being he is. In the 45 days of the shoot, despite so many goof ups, he never lost his cool.”
Gaurav was also in awe of Sarpotdar’s research. “There were a lot of things in the show that were sensitive to deal with. We used to ask him one question and we used to feel we just opened Wikipedia. He would come up with lengthy and detailed answers. He would remember dates, names, places, etc,” he said.
The Secret Of The Shiledar’s is an adventurous show that was shot in a lot of difficult locations. However, Gaurav doesn’t consider that to be a challenge for a noble reason. “I think we actors are a lot privileged,” he said. “The question about challenges should be asked to the unit. They get ready with the equipment on top of a mountain to shoot the first shot at 5:30 am! Actors, on the other hand, are being taken to the location in comfort. I have no complaints. In this project, especially, we should be the last ones to complain because the unit people stay awake all night and climb the mountain and be ready at 5:30 am. Then they work whole day tirelessly.”
The only challenge for Gaurav was personal because of his fear of heights. “In the first scene of the first episode, I am hanging on a mountain and there is a cliff below. That surely was a challenge for me. I had to do it by keeping my fear aside. I was hanging for almost 3-4 hours that day! I had an option of using a body double for a scene that shot from below but I didn’t use. When you have people like Rajeev Khandelwal with you, then you shouldn’t be using a body double.”
Gaurav is extremely thankful to God to have got a chance to share screen with legends in the show who he has grown up watching. “It is a matter of big fortune for me,” he said. “They breathe acting. Their work experience is more than my age. So, to speak about them would be like chhoota mooh badi baat. But after being around them, I realized the reasons why they are, who they are and the way they are. The professionalism with which they work, the preparedness that they come with… They used to do things at the back of their hands and we used to be in awe of them.”
He added, “Ashish sir is so passionate and wants to get things right. He would ask for more takes from the director as he wanted to do something better, despite the director being happy with his performance in the first take. But he would still go till the last extent of giving his best possible. I will regret a little for having only a limited amount of shoot with Dilip sir. But the simplicity, honesty and grounded-ness with which these people function is something to bow down to.”
Gaurav Amlani will next be seen in the Colors show Zyada Mat Udd from tomorrow every weekend at 11 pm.
Also Read: Rajeev Khandelwal calls Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s forts “engineering marvel” as he speaks about his role in The Secret of the Shiledars: “Discovered the depth of his intellect through the show”
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