Sahib Verma On Learning From 120 Bahadur Co-star Farhan Akhtar: He Never Acted Like Big Star (EXCLUSIVE)

Sahib Verma 120 Bahadur: At Filmibeat, we love interacting with artists who are hungry to showcase their talent in front of the world. As 120 Bahadur released in the cinema halls, the historical war film earned praise for its storytelling and impeccable performances of the actors. While Farhan Akhtar delivered a decent performance, the rest of the star cast supported him in the acting department.

If you watched 120 Bahadur, you would have loved Nanha. Sahib Verma, who played the role of Nanha in 120 Bahadur, is getting appreciated for his performance. In an exclusive conversation with Filmibeat Chief Copy Editor Abhishek Ranjit, the talented actor opened up about his interesting journey, what he learned from Farhan Akhtar and how he aspires to have his own production house someday.

As Sahib shared the behind-the-scenes stories from the film, I could notice the glee on his face. It's indeed a dream come true for any artist to feature in a big project like 120 Bahadur, and Sahib Verma couldn't be happier. His honesty towards his craft and dedication made me listen to his words on loop.

Here are excerpts from the interview-

You've played a range of characters early in your career. What draws you to a role when you first read a script?

On surface level it's always exciting as an artist to play a part, but on a deeper leve,l I always try to look for a soul and connection. When I read a script and if it moves something inside me I know I wanna do the part. It's also excitement of living a life that I wouldn't get to live if it wouldn't be for that role. Because as a human being you only get to live one role one life your duties, your relationships but as an artist you get to live so many lives so many characters(especially as an actor) and if you live that honestly, you can feel the magic behind all this.

How do you approach building a character's emotional graph, especially for roles that require intensity and depth?

I don't like to complicate things too much especially my job, that is acting, I only put myself in the character's shoes and let the character do the rest. I learn the dialogue, do my homework, work on back story and all the basic preparation I allow myself to feel, and breathe and be there and let the character take me with it. It's new for me every time and surprises me too. Mostly after the scene when I return to myself I realise I had gone on a journey with it. And so I would say, the character guides me and takes me through a graph and gives me the reasoning.

I believe to build an emotional graph of any character you really have to be involved and give yourself fully, allow yourself to immerse in the character and the scene and I'm someone who is very much involved in my life, in my relationships, in my friendships, and don't deal with things on surface level so it's easier for me to do that with the character too. It comes to me naturally.

What aspects of Nanha's personality or journey challenged you the most as an actor?

Nothing was really challenging for me as I could relate with Nanha so much, he was very childlike, he tried to appear tough from the outside but has a tender heart, he feels a lot but doesn't express at times. But the only part that would be remotely difficult was that Nanha had to be huge and for that I had to eat a lot, he loves chocolate and so do I but I don't allow myself in life to eat that many chocolates, even people on set had chocolates for me and were sweet enough to know I can ask for them anytime around the shoot. Also the pain Nanha had to go through when he was loosing his friends, to experience that, I had to go to places where I didn't want to, the pain I felt was real and not a good place to be at but when I returned back I felt relieved and something inside me felt resolved so I'm grateful for that too. The training for action sequences were challenging too at such high altitude and in such harsh weather conditions, as fun it was, it was also very exhausting but ghee vala haldi doodh was my saviour.

You share strong screen moments with Farhan Akhtar. What was it like performing alongside him, and what did you learn from his process?

First of all I think Farhan is a wonderful human being, gem of a person, I really admire him, he brings calmness and energy both at once, he gives you space to be you, there's a certain ease and no restrictions around him and so it was really wonderful working with him, he never acted like he is the big actor, director, producer that he is, he was there with all of us just like he is one of us, he's a very grounded and secure person and that's why we could feel this energy. That's my learning from him, how to be on a set, and how to be a good human being. Because I believe the kind of human being you are makes you the kind of artist you'll be and I would wanna be like him. I would also want to direct someday, make music as I play guitar, do as many art forms as an artist can, have a production house like excel where they treat everyone with same level of respect and love and care for you like a child.

What genres or characters are you excited to explore after 120 Bahadur?

Playing an army officer was always in my checklist and I'm so grateful I got to play that in my first feature film, but now I'm looking forward to doing a romantic film, a crime thriller, a period drama, a musical, a horror film and want to go and experience the wide range of characters and emotions an artist can go through in acting. I'd wanna do a Rockstar and also a devdas, a rocky aur rani and also a homebound, a Bajirao Mastani, and also Andhadhun, a Dil Chahta Hai, and also a Luck by Chance.

Which actors or filmmakers have influenced your craft the most, and what specifically have you taken from them?

As a child, I was always inclined towards school annual day events, drama classes and anything related to art but I never thought of being a part of the art world. Only after watching Rocksta,r I felt this unavoidable pull towards this craft, something moved in me from the emotions, the pain of the character, the helplessness, the music,the story and I was really confused and couldn't understand what's really happening to me, so watched it again and decided to join theatre, and the rest is history.

After Rockstar I started seeing cinema in a different light and since then the list of the best directors that I want to work with started getting bigger and bigger. I wanted to do all the films, all the characters, all the parts all at once. From Imtiaz sir I learned how to look at life with a lens of love, not the surface level kind of love but Sufi love. From Ranbir, I learned how to be calm, present and involved as an artist.

If you had the freedom to design your next role, what kind of character or genre would you want to explore next?

I have always been a big fan of musicals like Taal, Rockstar, Rock On, Andhadhun, La La Land and so would love to design a character like Jordan and do a musical like rockstar. I feel music is like a key to the door that opens up to god. I believe if I work with Imtiaz Sir, he will give me something which is unfathomable in the material world.

Looking ahead, what's the bigger vision you hold for yourself in the industry over the next five years?

I think in the next 5 years I'd want to at least work with my top 5 directors, and grow more and more as an artist and as a human being and get to know life on a deeper level. And be able to give more love and respect to people around me, and be able to keep my loved ones with me, because at the end love and intent are all that matter.