Rohit Saraf on Reinvention, Revolution and Finding His Inner Freedom Fighter (EXCLUSIVE)

For years, Rohit Saraf has occupied a familiar space on screen, playing the charming, sensitive urban boy, often navigating romance with an ease that feels almost instinctive. But with Nikkhil Advani’s upcoming freedom fighter series “The  Revolutionaries,” he is stepping decisively outside that comfort zone. 

Playing freedom fighter Sachindranath Sanyal meant transforming not just his appearance, but his physicality and approach to performance. Saraf trained in Malkhamb, Kalaripayattu and Lathi, reshaped his body over 15 months and, perhaps most importantly, found the freedom to build a relatively lesser-known historical figure from scratch.

For an actor who admits he was once “so bad” at history that he failed every standard, the irony is not lost on him. What emerges is a conversation about reinvention, rebellion, romance and the thrill of discovering just how far he can push himself as an actor.

Is it true that you were a bad history student in school?

I failed history every single time. I am not even joking. I was so bad at it; I just could not remember. The dates were the problem. Because there were so many years that one had to remember, and I was terrible at it.

How did you approach playing Sachindranath Sanyal?

For me, what was really exciting was that I hadn’t read much about Sachindranath Sanyal. Actually, when you go on the internet, there is very limited information that one gets to read about Sachindranath Sanyal. So, I actually ran in all directions with it because I had the liberty to.

What was really exciting is that Nikkhil sir sort of enabled me to do that. It was really exciting to build Sachindranath from scratch, as not much is known about him. So the amount of freedom I had to actually build it was very exciting. Right from the way he is, the way he talks, to the way he walks, to how he looks.

When I met Nikhil sir for the first time, I read the first four episodes, which had a fair bit of action. I asked him, ‘How do you envision him?’ So he said, “You’ve seen ‘Fight Club?’ Have you seen Brad Pitt in it? That’s what I want Sachindranath Sanyal to look like.”

So, it was really exciting for me to jump into it. So yes, I would assume that the other characters, which are far more known and you have a lot of information on, would be relatively difficult to kind of explore. This was like, I was in a playground and it was so much fun.

Were you a rebel growing up?

I had nothing to rebel against. I was very supported. I remember when I was four or five, my dad would always say that, you know, my son will become an actor. My school was so incredible in supporting me through my journey of wanting to become an actor. I remember I moved to Mumbai when I was in grade 10, you know, before my board exams. And they were absolutely fantastic. No school allows you to not attend school in 10th grade, but they were incredible about it. You know, Dolly Jaitley ma’am, my principal, she was incredible. If you are reading this out of somewhere, thank you so much. I cannot tell you how much value you have added to my life. So, thank you for that.

How do you see your evolution as an actor?

I think it was a very obvious sort of evolution of what I have kind of wanted to do. It’s been a few years now since I’ve been playing, you know, for lack of a better sort of umbrella, I think, an urban boy. Different from one another but yet pretty similar. Very close to who I am in real life and therefore, you know, there were a lot of similarities that one can draw between each character that I have played over the last couple of years.

Of course, there were, you know, constant sort of calling that I would get where I would go and do something like “Vikram Vedha” because I just wanted to have fun and I wanted to do something new or, you know, something else. But at the same time, I think this was a very exciting next step towards what I want to do.

What drew you to ‘The Revolutionaries?’

The first thing that made me jump up was Nikkhil Advani. I think I’ve grown up watching his films, and he’s going to hate to hear it because he might think that I’m being ageist. But really, we’ve seen his films growing up and to be able to get an opportunity. Also, I think Nikkhil sir is incredible in this genre. Nobody does it like him.

What was really thrilling for me was that I was getting to sort of do what I like doing best, which is romance, but also at the same time taking it a notch up by playing a freedom fighter.

It was a very obvious sort of metamorphosis that happened for me. I feel even visually, I look different in the show than anything that I’ve ever done before. I did a very small share of action in “Vikram Vedha,” but I wouldn’t count it much. But this one is out-and-out action. There are so many exciting sequences that we really worked hard for.

How intense was your preparation?

The process itself of becoming Sachindranath Sanyal was so exciting for me. I have never done something where I have had to intensely prepare for something because it’s been so close to who I am in real life. Sachindranath Sanyal, on the other hand, my body literally transformed. In 15 months, I worked towards transforming my body. For three months, it was intense prep of, like, different, different art forms like Malkhamb and Kalaripayattu and Lathi. We worked so hard on it.

What do you want to do next as an actor?

I want to keep doing what I do, what I have been doing for the last couple of years. I value it and cherish it deeply. But I also want to keep taking a step towards new or more exciting opportunities and I think “The Revolutionaries” was exactly that.