Apr 26, 2026 4:35pm IST
Sidhant Gupta Says No to Roles With ‘Basic, Average Content’, Turns to Action in ‘Teen Kauwe’ (EXCLUSIVE)
When it comes to cinema, there is no space for frivolity, believes Sidhant Gupta. From the 2015 TV show, “Tashan-E-Ishq,” to “Freedom At Midnight,” the young actor’s onscreen outings have fetched him immense praise. He will next be seen in the espionage drama, “Teen Kauwe,” with Bobby Deol, Ronit Roy and Fatima Sana Shaikh. Minutes into our conversation, Sidhant reveals how he wants Indians to reign over the world of cinema. “India made ‘Alam Ara’ in 1931. Why aren’t we No.1 in the world? I think about these things,” says the actor who played Jay Khanna in “Jubilee.”
Gupta is still adored as Kunj from “Tashan-E-Ishq,” a romantic drama that aired on TV in 2015. When we remind him of it, he says, “I know it still has a great following. I was part of the show for a year. It always feels special to know that people remember the serial and my character.”
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The actor prefers to maintain a low-key attitude when he is not working. He admits that he is someone who gets an adrenaline rush from playing challenging roles. He tells us, “After ‘Jubilee,’ I took up Jawaharlal Nehru’s role in ‘Freedom At Midnight’ and Charles Sobhraj’s character in ‘Black Warrant.’ And not the quintessential, regular stories that were offered to me because mujhe lag raha tha ki sab log wahi kar rahe hai aur aise filmein mai dekhta hoon aur bolta hoon ki yeh kyun bann rahi hai yeh film (I thought everyone was doing them and wondered why these projects were being made in the first place).”
Like millions of aspirants, Sidhant, who hails from Jammu, came to Mumbai to become an actor. After “Tashan-E-Ishq,” he disappeared for a while to resurface again with “Jubilee,” where critics and audiences fell in love with his portrayal of Jay Khanna. Describing the journey as magical, Sidhant says he wanted to find something special in acting that hooks him to the craft in an almost spiritual manner. “I don’t know how to explain it (my journey). I trained with someone in London and it’s a long story. As a person, I think about big things. It's like the first-ever cricket match India played was in 1931 or 1932, right? And we were number one in the world,” he states.
He feels that everyone who is a part of the industry should aim to put across work that resonates with our rich legacy. “And I think just this fact requires a lot of reflection. Because in cinema, I feel we are still trying to reach a standard that has already been achieved. I am on that journey,” he adds.
We ask Sidhant if it took him long to unlearn the kind of acting he did on TV, and he responds, “I don't want to explain these things, but I can draw a comparison. When you pick up a piano, and you just somehow learn, for instance, the ‘DDLJ’ tune or the ‘Happy Birthday' song. Then, when you start to understand the piano, it takes years to achieve the expertise required for an original narrative to come out of it through you. It's the same thing. So, when you come here and get a television show and start playing a character, it becomes your understanding of acting, right? And while you're having fun with it, there's so much to artistry that's there to learn and understand. So, I understood that if I really want to do some magical work, I really need to understand what this craft is.”
Does his proclivity to play tough characters stem from a desire to gain more credibility as an actor when compared to his peers ?“It is not about showing off my acting skills; it's about risks. You don't get anywhere if you don't risk it. If you keep playing it safe, then you are caught in the same struggle. I just don't want to, even though I feel everyone's struggling, I don't want to feel that it's a struggle. And that's why I choose to risk everything. I prefer to see the bigger picture. Great content is very limited. And such projects will go to established actors/stars first. And then the mediocre content will come to those who have been there for a long time. And the basic, average content will find you. Those are the steps, right? I don't want to do basic, average content. And so, I chose the roles that no one else would possibly do. So, I chose Nehru, a 56-year-old man, and then I chose Charles Shobraj, who is a killer. And it paid off. And now I have opportunities. It is about finding the right content for yourself,” he replies.
He assures us that “Teen Kauwe” too will be spoken about for a long time. He says, “I had a lot of fun making it, and so I think that fun will translate and you'll enjoy it. I'm not allowed to speak too much about it. “Teen Kauwe” is an espionage show, and I'm doing action in it.”
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