In conversation with Sahil Salathia, about his journey of overnight success and much more…
Debut and winning awards in the same year, how did the life change overnight?
Life never changes overnight! It’s always a process. It’s just that you reach an upper stage every time with every target of yours that you achieve. To be honest, acting was never a part of the plan. I was spotted on a television commercial by Ashutosh Gowariker and the casting team of Everest, the casting director who happens to be one of the best ever, Nalini Rathnam. When it happened, I had definitely bagged a major acting debut which gave me an insane amount of eyeballs and attention from everyone around and for all the right reasons. We shot for it for a year and a half in different parts of the country and around and had been the best experience of my life till now. When it went on air after we had almost wrapped up filming, and then, it opened the gateway of opportunities for me. But the thing is, when you start with a show like Everest as a protagonist with a legend like Ashutosh Gowariker making it, you can’t just take up anything after that which does not fill the bracket you have started with.
Ashutosh Gowariker and Nikkhil Advani, both powerful directors, what’s your learning from them and how different it was from your International project?
To be honest, after working with Ashutosh Gowariker, Nikkhil Advani seemed like a perfect idea to be back on television. I am a huge admirer of Nikkhil Advani’s work. D-Day is one of my favourite films. I was the antagonist in P.O.W-Bandi Yuddh Ke, which was again different from what I got to do in Everest. In Everest, I was a celebrated mountaineer who was the protagonist of the show. In P.O.W, I played the character of a jihadi terrorist who is obviously nothing like anyone else. Hence, playing Yussuf in P.O.W was such an exciting experience that I will cherish for a long time as an actor. Roles like these are not written every now and then in the Indian entertainment. I have understood a lot about the craft of acting from both the directors because each one of them has a certain vision and when you become a part of their respective vision, the magic happens. I think they both are legends. Talking about my international project, it was nothing different from both the TV series that I did in India. They were all equally professional and focussed on what they wanted to achieve with the project. The difference came in with the cast and crew. The international film that I did had a lot of foreign crew and actors, but not that it makes anything different at any level. Till the time you are efficient, you could be from anywhere. In my international film, Heartbeats, I played the character of an Indian guy who is getting married to his long-term sweetheart and that’s the wedding for which the protagonist comes to India. It’s a very special part and I enjoyed it a lot.
Hosting IIFA is a different experience altogether, tell us more about it?
Oh, yes! IIFA is like India’s answer to all the international awards that happen in the west. Wizcraft is a wonderful team to work with. I enjoy hosting but don’t really take it up all the time but it’s different when it comes to IIFA. I hosted it for the first time in Madrid, Spain and after that, in New York last year. This year, IIFA is in Bangkok, so that should be fun as well. IIFA is a great platform for all the talents from the Indian entertainment industry to come together and celebrate and it’s always a pleasure hosting it.
Chal Kar Pehel had been a strong campaign. How do you associate yourself with it?
It was such a path-breaking campaign launched by Star in India. I travelled almost the entire country for the campaign. The main purpose of the campaign was to promote gender equality and women empowerment. I really think there is way too much gender inequality in our country. Chal Kar Pehel was a strong movement against that and we were extremely successful in creating awareness in all the cities.
Film festival projects are strong and impactful. What’s your take on it?
Film festival projects are always high on content and for an actor; it’s a great platform to do excellent work. One of my English films called ‘There Will Be Tomorrow’ was a major hit at so many film festivals around the world. It was even awarded at the HIV Congress in Goa since the film dealt with HIV. I played an HIV positive protagonist and it was about my journey all along. So, I think film festivals are great at promoting real talent.
You have travelled more than 52 countries. Your best 5 and why?
Yes! Travel makes me happier inside. I think it’s so important to explore this beautiful world because there is so much to learn from all the different cultures. It’s a learning process. Every time I travel, I explore something new about life.
My top 5 are:
1. South Africa, for its natural beauty.
2. United Kingdom, for its old world charm.
3. Greece, for its beaches.
4. Hong Kong, for its culture and food.
5. Maldives, for peace and the beaches.
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