Chetan Sharma, who is a part of Netflix’s latest film

You have a theatre background. How did theatre help you evolve as an actor?

I gained knowledge and skills for characterisation, stage blocking, projection of voice, understanding text and emoting. Working with different directors gave me an early understanding that there can be multiple approaches to the same character.

What kind of response are you receiving for Meenakshi Sundareshwar?

Meenakshi Sundareshwar’s Sai Kumar was quite surprising for fans and they expressed their amazement through stories and texts on social media. Some new followers went back to watch Pagglait and appreciated my role.

How do you prepare for your roles and switch from one character to another?

For me it is largely about learning and unlearning. I always try to associate some attributes to my characters, irrespective of how well I get used to them.

Tell us about your role in Aparna Sen’s The Rapist.

My role is of Latif, who was raised in a slum and squandered his days doing petty crimes. He is a friend and accomplice of Prasad and these two commit a heinous crime which has tumultuous effects on not only victim’s but their lives too. The film is a careful study of what makes a rapist, capital punishment and fixation of society to tragedies of others and their ugly obsession with shrinking someone’s identity to a mere tag.

What’s next in the pipeline?

I have this film Ko Aham, directed by a young filmmaker Shireesh Khemariya. It’s based on Ashok Jamnani’s novel by the same name. It is a spiritual and philosophical quest of a boy for unanswerable questions and purpose of life.

You are a voice-over artist too. Tell us about that.

While I was doing theatre in Delhi, some senior artists noticed me and suggested that I do voice-overs. Initially it was a bit difficult as it is a very different art form but I tried to acquire the skills. Later, I was able to do voice-overs for some Discovery channel shows and films. My major break in voice-over was giving voice to Anthony in the TV series Sopranos for HBO.

After working in all mediums, which one is your favourite and why?

Films and theatre are my all-time favourite because of their originality of format and scope for exploration. Though I can’t deny that a series on OTT provides us with enough time for research and screen time to actually explore the arc of characters and incorporate layers to them.

Who is your inspiration in Bollywood?

I really looked up to Irrfan Khan and Om Puri. The extent of conviction and truthfulness of their performances has always moved me. Although our history of cinema has brought us many masters of art and still continues to produce, these two veterans shall be special for me for many reasons.