Anuj Sachdeva has been working in the film and television industry for a very long time. The actor opens up about the amount of criticism he receives and how manages to work through them and not get bogged down.
Evolution for an artist is a continuous process. As time progresses, an actor learns more and develops as a human being as well. One is therefore aware of the changes that experience and maturity bring in one’s life. Actor Anuj Sachdeva talks about his journey so far and how he has been taking criticism head-on.
“An actor has to constantly evolve. I always figured out how to hold the scene. It’s really important to be in the scene. The silence in between an act is important for good performance. An artist only manages to come out as a good actor at the age of 30 or 35. After this age, actors can understand the depth of the character better,” he says.
In presenting an actor or a scene perfectly, there are a lot of people working behind the screen. However, at the end of it, only the actor gets all the limelight.
“A lot goes behind the scenes and there are so many people: makeup artist, costume department, writer, spot boy, light department etc everyone is important for the act. Director is like a captain of the ship. The one who is important for the camera are actors so the whole limelight is on them. People who are associated with the project also get benefitted in the longer run. They also get popularity on the basis of their work. Nowadays, creatives do get much credit. At the same time, behind the scenes if anyone makes a mistake about the costumes or something else, actors have to manage. Sometimes actors don’t get enough sleep even then they have to perform. There are many such situations, but an actor still needs to be confident and excellent on screen. So, actors deserve this fame,” he adds.
Feedback is important for an actor. But many can’t take criticism. They only want to hear nice things about their craft.
“I take criticism openly and seriously, but never get bothered by those who only comment on your post just to pull you down. Some actors get affected by trolling because we put a lot of effort into the performance. The feedback is like a result of the exam. If an actor did any mistake in his performance then he has to improve his mistake in the next performance. Feedback helps us in our next steps,” he explains.
Actors have their individual ways to break the monotony in their profession, Anuj Sachdeva too has his own. “I always take a break from work to relax and rejuvenate. I also do activities that I've never tried and because of that my mindset changes. I dance, sing and do a lot of things. I always try to learn new skills; also go out to new places to get out of character and work. I like to meet new people. It’s something new that you have to add in your routine,” he says.
On what one should do to bring variety in one’s acting, he adds, “It’s important to break the laziness and the bad attitude of success. Motivation is important, ambition and greed of success helps you to stay motivated. Staying uncomfortable in your life and taking tough decisions is important. As an actor you are also living different lives on screen, but you have to add something new in every character that you perform. Workshops also help in bringing variety. The first thing you have to do is to observe as it helps in improving your performance.”
Anuj Sachdeva also shares three tips for upcoming actors. “The first thing is to be yourself. Don't copy anyone. Second thing is constancy. Try to work on yourself. Keep adding skills in your life. And thirdly, have patience. Life of an actor is uncertain. And, patience comes with faith,” he ends.