Saurabh Sachdeva: I was nervous about working with Kareena Kapoor in Jaane Jaan but she was really there for me

Saurabh Sachdeva is the antagonist we love to hate. He plays Kareena Kapoor’s greedy husband in Jaane Jaan, an underworld don in Bambai Meri Jaan and a transgender goon in Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Haddi. However, there is more to Saurabh than just playing the villain as he is also an acting coach who has trained actors like Richa Chadha and Varun Dhawan. Also read: Jaane Jaan producer says Kareena Kapoor worked like a ‘thorough professional’ as she shot film after birth of Jehangir

Saurabh says he was initially into teaching acting but took a long time to gather courage to come to Mumbai become an actor himself. He finally made it big with Sacred Games. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Saurabh talked about his three new thrillers which will now be followed by the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Animal. He also opened up being an acting coach. Excerpts:

You are portraying different kinds of villains in different projects, all releasing around the same time. Did you plan this?

No, I didn’t. It is a coincidence because the projects which were coming to me, I was reading the scripts and I liked the characters. They were prominent characters and I selected them and said, “Okay, let's do it”. All of them releasing at the same time, that’s a coincidence.

Your strangling scene in Jaane Jaan, with Kareena and the child actor, was the high point of the film. Tell us about the filming of that scene.

Yeah, it was well choreographed. There were action directors working with me and Kareena and we were doing exactly what they said. There are many people who handle the game on set and then on the editing table. As an actor, you need to be a little uncomfortable to get into the character. It looks real because that’s the power of good performance. When the actors believe in something, then it looks real to the audience and that’s our job.

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So how was it working with Kareena Kapoor and Sujoy Ghosh?

I really felt very nice and good. She was very humble and open. She was also making me comfortable when I was on the set. I was nervous about working with Kareena but she was really there and was saying, “yes go ahead with this character, we should justify this.” So we were very comfortable with each other.

You play a transgender in Haddi. Tell us about your role.

The writer and director say that this is the character they wrote for me. This was offered to me because they kept me in mind while writing this.

What made them choose you for the role?

They were also part of Sacred Games and Manmarziyaan so they knew how versatile this actor was and could pull something like this.

You look quite convincing as Haji Maqbool in the web series Bambai Meri Jaan. Many others have played the character before. Did you observe any of them?

No. Thank you for that because that was my director’s vision and he wanted the character to be like that. The writers have written the character so well. Initially, it was difficult for me to understand what the director wanted, but thank God that lockdown happened. When we shot again, we were on the same page and from there, whatever my director was guiding me, I was doing and from my own understanding as well. We also did workshops which helped me.

How did you go on to become an actor from an acting coach?

I started as an actor in 2001 with Mr Barry John and after one year, he asked me if I wanted to teach. Teaching is a very big responsibility. Initially I said no, but then I loved it so much that I was teaching with him for almost 17 years. Now I have my own school for the last six years but it’s almost 22 years of teaching.

Simultaneously, I was doing theatre with him in Delhi, directing my own play and doing a lot of other stuff. When I got a chance in Mumbai, I didn’t have the courage to go out and talk to people like you who can ask me any question. But when I found my courage in 2017, I moved out from Barry John and opened my own school and also started working as an actor. I auditioned and was selected for Sacred Games. Now I do both the things simultaneously. When I am acting, my team handles the acting school.

You have trained Varun Dhawan, Tripti Dimri, Richa Chadha and many others. Share something about your experience as a teacher.

They were all very powerful. They made it because they have the courage, they were doers and were always on their toes. They wanted to achieve something.

Are you playing a negative character in Animal as well?

You will see. It's a different kind of character.