Siddhant Chaturvedi, soaking in the love for playing MC Sher in Gully Boy, talks struggle, auditions and the road ahead
Siddhant Chaturvedi
Bachpan se bechaini thi ki jeetu har baazi main, Bhaaga dauda toda foda dooba man marzi mein, Jaane kitne saal se main, Bina kaam ke main, Karta raha khud pe mehnat, Jee jaan se main," rapped Siddhant Chaturvedi, during his Gully Boy audition. He had written the words the night earlier, and they got him the part of MC Sher in the movie, a character that is getting him accolades, interviews, and heart emojis by the thousands on social media right now.
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"Yes, my followers have increased exponentially, and the calls I have got from family, friends, and even people I admire in the industry, have been overwhelming," he laughs, as we chat over the phone.
But even though he would like you to believe it happened overnight, Chaturvedi says he has been going for auditions for six years now, ever since he was a 19-year-old student. "I must have given almost 300 auditions. I got some roles but was replaced. There were also roles I could have done, but I knew they weren't right for me. I was studying CA on the side, but I knew that was not my passion. My dad, who is also a CA, understood my dilemma and supported me. So I just kept working on myself.
The poem that I rapped, which says, 'Karta raha khud pe mehnat,' was inspired by my struggle. I may not be like the rappers in the movie, but I had my own challenges," says the 25-year-old, who had never even heard rap before the chance to audition came to him at a party. "I had just done Inside Edge, produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, also the team behind Gully Boy. I went for a success party, and Zoya [Akhtar] saw me dancing. She came up to me and asked if I was from Mumbai, and I said in the Bambaiyya way, 'Haan bachhi, apun idhar se hi hai,'" says the boy from Goregaon. "I wondered if I had crossed the line. But then, there was nothing to lose. She said I had swag, and I should audition.
And then I did. In a way, it did all happen overnight. I always wanted it to happen like that." Once he got the role, the real prep started. He had to gain weight, and appear buff, so he could appear older to Ranveer Singh's Murad, and play the part of a veteran rapper convincingly. He went from a 70kg lanky youngster to a 90kg hottie. He also had to get the body language right.
"I would watch videos all day long - sometimes in slow motion. I watched every gesture, even how they moved their lips. I learnt everything. My brother - who is 14 years old - then introduced me to rappers like Chris Brown so I watched those videos, too." Right now, as he gets accustomed to the love he is getting (especially from the ladies), he is already looking for his next challenge. "I start meeting people and reading scripts next week. I want to keep pushing the bar.
I can't be cashing in on the success of the movie, as the real challenge begins now. I have always had a vision, and that is not to do many movies, but do movies that are grand and solid."
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