He shot to fame with his appearance on a reality show and though Siddharth Sharma have acted in a few shows before, ‘PuncchBeat’ is the biggest platform he has got to showcase his acting skills. In this exclusive interview, he talks about his new show that will soon stream on ALTBalaji, the experience of working with Vikas Gupta and Ekta Kapoor, the love he is getting for his music video ‘Leja Re’ and his desire to do films.
You are playing Ranbir in ‘PuncchBeat’. Can you share something about your character?
Ranbir is the most popular boy in the college. The boys admire him and the girls swoon over him. He is very close to his family and extremely protective about the people he loves. He believes in brotherhood, friendship and the power of love. His life takes a turn when Rahat (Priyank Sharma) and Divyanka (Harshita Gaur) join the school.
You always had a good physique but you seem to have worked extra hard to build a muscular look for the show.
Yes, this is something I had to do to play Ranbir. I always thought I would be playing Rahat as he is shown to be physically weaker than Ranbir. I have always been athletic but never heavily-muscled. I was shocked when I was told that I would be playing Ranbir. I wondered how I can look stronger than Priyank. The team assured by saying that I can build a body in a month but I must play this character as they thought I would be able to bring out the different shades in Ranbir’s character very well. I worked out extensively as I had to look broader than Priyank.
Priyank Sharma and you have been on a reality show together. It must have been very comfortable to work with him since you have known him from before.
Priyank and I have been friends for a while but even if we did not know each other from before, working with him or for that matter, working with the other cast members would have been the same. When I am acting, I tend to get too involved with my work and forget what is happening around. My entire focus is on doing my best. Personal equations do not really come into play when I am working.
The show has been produced by Vikas Gupta and will stream on Ekta Kapoor’s ALTBalaji. How was the experience of working with these two heavy-weights?
Vikas has not just produced the show but he was creatively involved with it. He was the one who cracked the basic idea for the show. I have known Vikas for a very long time and he has always given me advice about taking my career forward. I did not get the opportunity to meet Ekta many times but I remember a particular conversation I had with her when I met her at the gym both of us used to go to. She told me that the story of Puncchbeat is very close to her heart and it will be a very big show. She has a lot of expectations from the show and I hope it lives up to her expectations.
Your music video ‘Leja Re’ is still getting a lot of love.
Yes, being a part of that video was an amazing experience. Radhika (Rao) ma’am and Vinay (Sapru) sir showed a lot of confidence in me. I got to dance in the video and was portrayed like a Hindi film hero. I have just started my career as an actor and it is great to receive so much love for my work at such an early stage.
The Hindi film industry has produced a handful of high-school based films like ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ and ‘Student Of The Year’. People have already started comparing the show with these films. How do you look at this comparison?
As they say, there are only just five stories in the world. Whatever you hear or see, is a mixture of it. People are bound to compare every film or show with something they have already seen but that does not mean the two entities are completely similar to each other. It is not fair to compare ‘Puncchbeat’ to these films as it is a web series and hence, has a broader story to tell. I am sure once people watch the show, they will not compare it with anything they have seen earlier.
Does boxing play an important role in the show?
Yes, it does. Priyank and I trained hard to portray boxing authentically. Dance is also an important element in the show. You will see Harshita (Gaur) and Khushi (Joshi) dancing in many of the episodes.
You gained fame with a reality show. Do you think it helped you in your acting career?
Reality shows can help you become famous but only for a short period of time. Your career as an actor is completely dependent on your hard work and conviction. At the end of the day, it is your talent and what you do in front of the camera takes you ahead. Reality shows might give you a few opportunities but after a point, you have to prove yourself by working hard and staying focussed on your goals.
You have only been a part of youth based shows so far. Is there a possibility of you doing a daily soap?
I am not really thinking about doing TV shows at the moment. I do not differentiate between mediums as I believe at the end of the day, what matters is that you should get a good platform to showcase your talent. I just want to do good work. Having said that, every person has some goals in his life and I am interested in doing films now. Films give you more time to prepare for your role and that is what excites me the most about them.