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Sohum Shah: I came here to become Shahrukh Khan, but maybe destiny played its part and I went on to produce Ship of Theseus and Tumbadd


By:- Aakruti Bagla

After films like ‘Tumbbad’, ‘Talvar’, ‘Ship of Theseus’ and the series ‘Maharani’, Sohum Shah has emerged as one of the most promising talents in the country. The prolific actor takes on challenging characters in extraordinary stories and nails it with great aplomb by getting under the skin of the character, with the ease of a chameleon.

The actor is all set to reprise the role of politician Bheema Bharti for Maharani Season 2.

Ahead of the release of the series, Absolute India News caught up with the actor for an exclusive interview. Excerpts:

On preparation for the character for Season 2

Despite having diverse filmography, Sohum Shah believes that Bheema Bharti in Maharani 2 has been the most complex character so far. Talking about the same, he shared, “In season 1 my character didn’t have much to portray in terms of feelings, but for season two, I had to tap on 6-7 different kinds of emotions. One will witness that with every scene my character graph goes a notch higher. People will be surprised after seeing these shades of my as I have not done something like this before”.

On adapting the Bihari accent

Be it speaking Marathi in Tumbadd or having a Bihari accent in Maharani. Sharing what goes behind getting the accent right, the actor said, “For me adapting an accent is a complicated thing. I have taken professional coaching for it. But all I can say is, the hard work around this is worth it because when you see the final product you feel like you have achieved something”.

On his love for acting and taking up challenges

When asked Sohum about, acting or producing, what he enjoys the most, he said, “Acting is my first love and I primarily concentrate on it. Producing is not my agenda. But the kind of projects I have done it, say Ship of Theseus, Tumbadd or my upcoming projects, I produce projects that are not easy to make.”

On dealing with challenges that come along with such subjects

Talking about the challenges that one can face, Sohum said, “Taking challenge is one thing but being prepared to deal with hurdles that come on the way is a different thing. Like for Ship of Theseus challenge was to reach the audience, Tumbadd took seven years to get ready and it required patience. Being a believer in fate all I can say is it’s sometimes the script that chooses you and things eventually fall in place. Like I came here to become Shahrukh Khan, but maybe destiny played its part and I went on to make Ship of Theseus and Tumbadd.”

On the advent of OTT

While talking about the emergence of OTT and if it has eased and paved more opportunities to produce content. Sohum said, “When it comes to producing content, it’s still arduous. Talking about reach, even OTT platforms have their criteria. It seems easy, but they don’t entertain all kinds of content. But if a product is made for OTT, it is assured that it will cater to a certain section of the audience. Also if the product is rich in content, it manages to strike a chord with the audience”.

On Tumbadd 2

On a parting note, we asked Sohum about Tumbadd receiving rave responses and is season 2 on cards. Giving an update on it, Sohum quipped, “It took me seven years to make the first one. We are still trying to crack the right storyline and have 3-4 ideas, but nothing concrete has happened yet. We are working on ideas. Also Tumbadd one has set a high bar of expectations, so we are sceptical about whether we can fulfil that or not.” (Sic)

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