Akshaye Oberoi says Sara Ali Khan is not faking it on Instagram: What you see is what you get

Akshay Oberoi, born and brought up in New Jersey, has a journey of his own. The actor recently featured in a suspense thriller Gaslight, co-starring Sara Ali Khan, Chitrangada Singh and Vikrant Massey, and is now gearing up for Fighter, possibly the biggest film of his career so far. Akshay, however, doesn’t believe in waiting at home for a lucrative role and likes to do whatever worthy comes his way, irrespective of the screentime. If he has his way, he is even ready to do ten cameos in a year. Also read: Gaslight review: Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey are wasted on a dumb whodunnit

In a candid chat with Hindustan Times, Akshay opened up about his latest film Gaslight which released on Disney+ Hotstar recently. He also talked about his choice of roles and his strategy to work in films, besides his hunger to be seen more, and more. Excerpts:

What made you say yes for Gaslight?

Gaslight is made by a very interesting director, Pavan Kirpalani. It has a great setup, great cast and is well written by Neha Sharma. It is my favourite genre to watch as a lover of films. I feel such films aren’t made much in India. I love my character which I thought was unique, quirky thing to do.

The film was shot on a tight schedule. How was your experience of working with Sara Ali Khan, Chitrangada Singh, Vikrant Massey?

We shot in 36-38 days. This is not a summer blockbuster, its not meant to be, its not designed that way. So the budget and number of days also have to be that way. I have worked with Vikrant before, he is a great actor. We have a working relationship and this makes it easy. Sara is a complete livewire, I am yet to meet somebody with so much energy. She has a thought every second and she shares it with everybody. She is very unique, fascinating. What you see on Instagram is what you get, she’s not faking it. My favourite co-star was Chitrangada. I love working with her, she is so experienced, gracious and I hope to work with her again.

Watch: Akshay Oberoi promises his Fighter with Hrithik Roshan will be a very good film

You go for characters which don’t give away much from their appearance. What do you look for at the time of signing a project?

I always look for a quirk, something unique in a character. We are very complex individuals as human beings. Such characters are very attractive for me. You have to pay a little more attention to figure them out. You have two hours to portray somebody so the challenge is greater, but I look forward to it.

Despite your variety of work, we don’t see you that often in mainstream movies. Why?

I think that’s my destiny. It’s just the way the cards unfolded for me. I wish my films are more mainstream and more people would watch them. The path that I ended up going on made me the actor I am, which probably means that I am more prepared for that kind of mainstream success today. Maybe God gives the right thing at the right time.

So were you getting fewer offers or you have been very choosy?

I like to work a lot. I work in 4-5 projects every year. It is very difficult to make a good film or show. That’s why we still talk about classics like Shree 420, DDLJ etc because it is difficult to make a great film. Maybe my work was appreciated but the film wasn’t sold much. I am not extremely choosy, I love being on set and love acting. I am not the one who would sit at home and wait for a project, I do all interesting roles, big or small. I don’t have a lot of hangups or entitlements. I am very hungry to be seen and watched. I have so much ambition that I find it hard to just relax my mind sometimes. I am on that journey, trust me I am working as hard as possible to be in the list of people you see in the mainstream. My journey has been a little left and right, and that is why I think the performances I am able to give today is because of the depth of that struggle.

Interestingly, you seem to be the first choice for cameos. How?

These are all filmmakers I like. These are all interesting cameos. In Thar, I got to play Anil Kapoor’s boss, that’s so cool. I am young local deputy head and I get to boss him around in one scene. Imagine being able to do that with Anil Kapoor. These things make me a better actor. There are filmmakers I think are excellent and I want to work with them. If it’s a cameo which they have asked me to do, bring it on, I will do ten if I can.