Sohum Shah is known for playing varied characters in projects like The Ship of Theseus, Talvar, Tumbbad, Maharani, etc. He is lately receiving rave reviews for his character of an unusual cop Kailash Parghi in the Amazon Prime Video show Dahaad, which also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Gulshan Devaiah and Vijay Varma.
In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, Shah said that the major reason why he came on board Dahaad was that it was produced by Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby Pictures. “One would never want to miss out on an opportunity to work with them. Whatever they make, it’s always good,” he said.
Of course, the actor was also impressed with the character he was offered. “I found the character very endearing,” said Shah. “I felt that as an actor, I can contribute something. Whatever is written, I can take it even further and do something new. I am tired to doing intense (roles). I have done a lot of intense roles, be it Maharani, Tumbbad or Talvar. I thought this is a correct role to do something different. So, I instantly said yes.”
Shah’s character of a cop doesn’t shy away from taking bribe. But his sensitive side also gets explored in the show. “There are such people,” he said. “They have a lot of conditioning and influence of things around them. It is no big deal for him to take bribe because he can see it happening in the society. They are not like Ram. They have all the colours. I found the character very relatable. I have seen a lot of such people who look shady, cunning and bad from the outside but they also have another side to them.”
Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, two of the creative minds behind the show, are mostly known for making urban content. But with Dahaad, they have explored a story taking place in the interiors. Shah said jokingly, “First of all, if they hadn’t made this rural content, I wouldn’t have got to work in it. If it was an urban show taking place in New York, how would I have fitted in? (laughs). I got to work with them, and we developed a friendship, so I might get more work from them. Dukandaari chalti rahegi.”
Shah is all praise for Kagti’s directorial skills, but he was also impressed with her nature. “Once the call time was 7:30 am. I hadn’t had breakfast properly and I hurriedly went for the shot. After giving the shot, we had to do a retake. In between I was hurriedly eating something. Reema saw and said that I should have breakfast first and then we would shoot. I found her sensitivity kamaal ki. She used to look after everyone on the sets,” he said.
The characters that Shah has played over the years are diverse and so are his projects, which include Ship Of Theseus, Tumbbad, Bard Of Blood, The Big Bull, Maharani, etc. When asked about his approach while preparing for each character, he said, “I am not a trained actor and this works in my favour,” he said. “So, I don’t have a fixed approach. Every character has its own journey. For some characters, you are required to try different things. But there are some characters for which you don’t need to do much except understand it, else it would become too technical; they require spontaneity. So, I feel it all changes with every script and director.”
Sohum hails from a small town Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan. He was initially a businessman and then took the plunge into acting. “Before coming here, I had seen only four English films – True Lies, Jurassic Park, Titanic and Speed. I didn’t know who is Marlon Brando or Al Pacino. And now I am working in a show by Excel. Toh is se badhiya journey kya ho sakti hai? I was a businessman. I feel business and art are opposite each other. To learn acting from here has been a wonderful journey,” he said.
But Shah has had his share of struggles, which also included feeling intimidated initially in Mumbai. “At times, I found this city a lot intimidating. When I was new, I used to feel scared to even enter a café and order a coffee. From there I am now giving interviews, talking to you and working in an Excel show. So, this has been a wonderful journey,” he said.
Not many would know that Shah started his journey with an underworld film called Baabarr (2009), where he played the titular role. He was shocked to know that this writer knows this film and has also seen it. He jokingly said, “Arre aapne toh gadhe murde ukhaad diye. Aapne Baabarr bhi dekhi hai?”
On a more serious note, he added, “It had a good story, but it didn’t turn out the way it was intended. When your film doesn’t do well, you feel bad. I also felt the same. It was a learning lesson for me. I learnt about what not to do.”
Also Read: Sonakshi Sinha opens up about preparing for her role in Dahaad; says, “Once that uniform comes on…”
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