'Sacred Games' Actor Saurabh Sachdeva Feels Scared While Acting In Front Of An Audience

Acting and theatre gave him an opportunity to express himself, as he was otherwise a private person. As a result of one thing leading to another, he found himself instructing aspiring actors and occasionally taking on acting roles himself.

From being an acting coach to acting in films and then eventually opening his own acting school, Sachdeva has had a long career that consists of numerous highs and lows. In an interview with Outlook, he discusses the change in cinema since his debut in 'Maroon', his role in 'Sacred Games', and why he feels much more comfortable acting in front of a camera than on stage.

While talking about how the cinema has changed since his debut and the rise of OTT, Sachdeva said, "Obviously better content is coming up and writer has more freedom to express himself, and they elaborate on it. And the production house is also putting a lot of money into it because people have gone to the mobile and their small gadgets. We all know that it's not new to anybody. Now, if you ask me, I would still want to go to theater and watch because theater is in a collective conscious experience where you all go together and experience the emotion together."

He added, "And I think that it is in us as a gene, as a human being. We want to tell the story and we want to listen to the story together because it gives us a collective experience. We cry together, we laugh together in that dark room, and it's a magical place. So it's not going to change in those terms. But yes, on the story level, it has given more power to a lot of storytellers. Also, actors like me and a lot of others are getting a lot of work."

When asked if he has received comparatively more projects after 'Sacred Games,' the acting coach turned actor said, "After 'Sacred Games,' yeah. I'm getting a lot of options definitely immediately after 'Sacred Games,' I got 'Manmarziyaa' and got to work with Anurag Kashyap. He was so kind and he liked my performance and he said, let's do another film. I got filmed there and then 'Taish' happened and a lot of other films also happened which are on pipelines to not release. And then now this ('Ranjish Hi Sahi') has been released. So yes, people have started noticing my work and they are really appreciating and good feedback is coming and they can see the versatility of my performance. They see that he brings every time new look to the character, new behavior, new attitude to the character, which I am also enjoying. That is what my experiences from last so many years. Experience is like a bank balance. I was doing my work for last many years (20 years) and now it's giving me results and people say, how do you have so much in your bag? I say a lot because it's my experience, it's a coach."

He added, "For 'Sacred Games,' I had to work on set for 4-5 days, and never thought the series would get so big and people would like it. I think it is also because of writing, the protagonist seldom says my character's name and I think that stays with the audience, they want to know who the person is and I guess it worked out for me."

Sachdeva has been an acting coach for 20 years and when he thought about getting on camera it was new and came with its own challenges, speaking about his experience working in front of the camera he said, "Yeah, honestly, the first time I started acting a long back, I did one serial and I was very bad.  So then I was with Mr. Barry John and I started working with him in his theater group. And then he made me a coach, one of the coach, he asked me to be a coach and I was very scared of that because coaching is a very big responsibility. So first I said no, and then a few of my friends told me that he is asking you, you should give it a try. And then from there I started teaching and experience here when I started. Now, after so many years in front of camera, my experience, I was more clear what I was doing because of my teaching and my understanding of acting. And I was more relaxed in front of camera. I was more open to being in front of a camera, which initially I was not. I was very scared. But now I feel very comfortable."

When asked about what he prefers, stage or theatre, this was his response: "I feel very uncomfortable on stage, till now because I feel the reaction of the audience the immediate reaction of the audience shakes me, and feel a little scared. Holding the audience's attention while performing on stage is tough. I just become comfortable in front of the camera because I think there is only one actor and there is a camera and not many people to watch you. While on stage they are really looking at you really watching. While on stage I think about whether the audience is liking or not liking. But I'm more comfortable in front of the camera, that is sure."

Talking about why he got into acting and what prompted him to start his own acting school, Sachdeva said, "Always wanted to be an actor but I was scared, didn't have the courage to express myself, I am dyslexic and was worried about acceptance from the audience and the industry, and there was also self-doubt whether I would be able to do a film. So I was in my comfort zone that is teaching and I love that, but later realized I am in a shell. One of my teachers told me you need to take risk to go big. Then I got out of Barry John acting studio and started my own The Actors Truth which is the name of my school, then I recieved a call from Mukesh Chabra's office which said 'if you want an audition for a series,' then after many small roles landed up doing Isa and I was on."

While talking about his experience working on the web series 'Ranjish Hi Sahi' directed by Pushpdeep Bhardwaj, Sachdeva said, "My experience was very fun because on the set there was a lot of young energy. The director (Pushpdeep Bhardwaj) himself was very young and very energetic and his team was very energetic and he was giving all the freedom and he had all the things in his mind and he was very clear about what he wanted. So I enjoyed it."