Playing Krishna led me to the path of spiritual awakening: Siddharth Arora

Varanasi-lad Siddharth Arora, who essayed the role of Lord Krishna in the television series Krishna Kanahiya (2015), says playing the divine character changed him considerably as a person.

“Playing Krishna taught me to be selfless, to invest in actions and put in efforts without bothering about the result. In fact, I well understand the principle of karma, now. We all know about Bhagwad Gita and its teachings but when you get to live that persona then the learning is entirely different,” says the Mukti Bandhan and Laado… actor.

The actor further says, “Preparing for such roles is an empowering and meticulous process. It’s about the inward journey that one has to take. When I play a deity, I refrain from watching previous iconic roles so that I don’t get influenced by any. To understand the heart, mind and soul of the character I read a lot like I did when I was playing Krishna. After all it was Krishna who chose me to play him and led me on the path of spiritual awakening.”

Recently, he got another chance to play Krishna. “I have also shot a video for Anup Jalota’s bhajan in Varanasi where I play a dance teacher and the girl is a devotee. Later, they both evolve as Radha-Krishna.”

Arora also played Raja Bhoj in Singhasan Battisi and is currently essaying the role of lord Shiva for a show. “Playing mythological character comes with lot of responsibility. Like, I am playing Shiva who is considered the most revered God so I had to prepare a lot — on physical, mental as well as spiritual level. Hailing from Benaras too turned out to be a blessing in disguise for me. The more I am learning, reading and researching the more I am getting to know him.”

He was in Varanasi since 2020 lockdown. “Pandemic has taught us to have a back-up plan in place. I had dabbled in the tourism industry and was focusing on my hotel business. I was auditioning and attending acting workshops too but then the entrepreneur in me took the front seat though acting too will continue as and when good projects will come my way.”

Talking about his current show Baal Shiv, he says, “I was in Delhi for some purchase and the makers asked me join the auditions. Later, I was called to Mumbai. Since I have played mythological and historical characters before that rhythm and graph helped me and more over coming from Hindi belt does give us an edge on language front.”

The actor wishes to be part of some good OTT projects in near future.