Skand Thakur: I would love to make my film debut opposite Sanya Malhotra – Times of India


Skand Thakur proved he is more than just a good-looking actor with his performance in Jaydeep Sarkar’s ‘Ishq Mastana’ in ‘Feels Like Ishq’. ETimes recently caught up with the budding actor who, in an exclusive interview, opened up about working with Tanya Maniktala, actors he looks up to in Bollywood, being an outsider in the industry and more. Excerpts…

‘Feels Like Ishq’ has been receiving praise from all quarters. How does it feel?
I feel blessed and lucky that everyone is talking about my performance in my first project itself. I have really been enjoying this. I am really lucky to have got such a platform.

How did you come on board for ‘Ishq Mastana’?
It was just another audition. Kavish Sinha was casting for this film. The director really liked me. After the audition, he wanted to have some zoom calls with me. If they were normal days, we would have met up but due to the pandemic, we had to have online meetings.

How is Tanya Maniktala as a co-star?
Tanya is a beautiful co-star. She is very sincere and hardworking. That is something that I really took from her. She was very really focused and did not let any petty issues come in the way of her performance. The first time we spoke to each other was on a zoom call. She was really very sweet and that’s how she turned out to be on the sets too.

Was it fun shooting for the film?
It was a lot of fun shooting for this film because this was the first time I was shooting with all the COVID protocols put in place by the Government. We had a small team so we bonded really quickly. Everyone knew everyone on the set. We also bonded on the fact that we all needed to have each other’s back. We were shooting with half the man power so everyone had to take care of everyone.

What kind of reactions have you been getting for your performance?
I was nervous because I thought people will be like what a good-looking film or a good-looking pair. I really didn’t want people to just talk about my looks. I wanted them to talk about my performance. I have a few filmmaker friends and actor friends. They are all very honest with me. If they didn’t like my performance, they would have told me. The best compliment was when someone said that it didn’t look like my first big project.

While people are now making their way into the digital space, you have started your career through OTT. What do you think about this space as an actor?
In the past one and a half years, OTT has gone to another level because of the convenience and range that it offers. As an actor, I don’t think space really matters. What really matters is the kind of work you are doing and how well you are doing it. OTT can do wonders for you as much a feature film in theatres would do. We have seen this in the past year that if you are a good actor, people will appreciate you.

Did you always want to become an actor? Tell us something about your background…
I decided I wanted to become an actor after my 12th grade because I was planning to run away from studying, from my parents pushing me to become an engineer or a doctor. I was an active kid on stage since school. Then I started doing theatres and that’s how it progressed.

With all these talks about nepotism, and insider-outsider debate, what are your expectations with the industry? How do you plan to explore opportunities?
Till now, I have been going through processes that any normal outsider who does not have any contacts with the industry goes through. I went, auditioned and gave my best. Then I used to come back and not think about it. I used to work on myself. It is completely clear to me that if you are a good actor, if you are good at your job, you will get opportunities. It is on you how well you do then. You have to make the most out of the opportunity. That is exactly what happened with me. I worked with some great people. My co-star Tanya was already an established actress. People already knew her.

We have been seeing this in the past few years, good actors are unstoppable. They will keep on performing, they will keep on shining and move ahead with rigorous pace. I personally know people who were in the same process as I am right now and are doing wonderful in their career. I have never personally experienced the nepotism and insider-outsider situation. If I do, I will surely talk about it.

Were you a movie buff growing up? Who did you idolise?
I guess everyone is a movie buff in India and I was no exception. We just have different taste in the kinds of films we watch. I have idolized a lot of actors. Now that I have come closer to my art and myself, I have started idolising multiple people who I can learn from. Ranbir Kapoor is really someone I look up to. I would love to spend time with him and talk about our craft. During my younger days, I was a big Salman Khan fan. From the recent actors, Sanya Malhotra is really pretty and talented. Prateik Gandhi is a great actor. I would love to work with him some day.

If you get an opportunity to debut in films, who would you like to be paired opposite?
I would love to debut opposite Sanya Malhotra. Even Sara Ali Khan is really beautiful and a great actor.

Name one recent film or series that you absolutely loved?
I just finished watching ‘Shershaah’. Films related to the Army are really special to me. It was a beautiful film. I had a friend of mine who was a part of the film. Anthology that I watched was ‘Ray’. It was the best thing that I have seen in a really long time. I absolutely love Manoj Bajpayee sir. He is one of the finest actors we have. He is a gem.

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