EXCLUSIVE! Chandan Roy Sanyal On Success With Aasharm, Ray & Sanak: Its All Coming Together

Chandan Roy Sanyal was recently seen playing an out-and-out villain in Vidyut Jammwal-starrer Sanak: Hope Under Siege. The film premiered on Disney+Hotstar on Friday, October 15, 2021. The actor recently opened up about the filming process and what's next for him in a conversation with Filmibeat.

Chandan is also known for playing another villain in Bobby Deol's web series Aashram. While talking to Filmibeat, Chanda revealed that while he enjoys playing negative roles, he does not approach them as villains. "I don't treat them as villains so I don't have to play them in a certain way like shouting and screaming. I approach it differently which is why it also becomes interesting for the audience. Otherwise, villains are all bad guys, they all make the same kind of faces," he said.

Talking about his success with recent releases he added that he is grateful for success with back to back projects like Aasharm, Ray and Sanak. "Right now I am focusing on the new season of Aashram since it is one of the biggest parts of my career and will continue to look for something new," he added.

Here is an excerpt from the interview,

This is not the first time you are playing a bad guy, so what sets your character from Sanak apart? What do you like most about playing bad guys?
Some of my best characters have been bad guys, they have also got a lot of attention from female fans as well, which isn't bad. It is one of the traits I worked on for my character in Sanak. I have also tried to add other traits to him like he is funny as well as has a strong goal in mind. In Ashram, Bhupendra is just a bad guy, he thinks from that mindset, here Captain Saju Solanki is different. There is a lot of heavy action, so I have tried to mix it all together and present a three-dimensional character.

I don't look at these roles as negative, but just characters. I don't treat them as villains so I don't have to play them in a certain way like shouting and screaming. I approach it differently which is why it also becomes interesting for the audience. Otherwise, villains are all bad guys, they all make the same kind of faces.

What kind of prep did you go through when going head to head with an action hero like Vidyut Jamwal? What was it like shooting for heavy action sequences with Vidyut?
Yeah, we had many scenes of hand to hand combat and fights sequences with guns as well. It wasn't easy, we had to do a lot of preparation but ya it was a fun experience. Vidyut is so good with what he does, and I also had to work hard to be able to do those scenes with him. For a film to work, a hero and a villain, both have to work hard. I took it upon myself and trained for months with an action director and his team who had come from America. There were a lot of mock fights, I also got hurt a couple of times but it worked out well in the end.

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You have already begun shooting for season 3 of Aashram? The show has garnered you a lot of love from fans for your ruthless and mysterious character, how are you feeling about returning as Bhupendra Singh?
We started shooting for Aashram, I just finished one schedule for it. Aashram is one of my biggest roles and I am excited to explore more shades of Bhupendra in the new season.

The pandemic has been heavy on everyone in one way or another. How have you been dealing with the lockdown, especially since your biggest shows were released during the pandemic?
It hasn't changed a lot of things, but it was very depressing otherwise. Everyone was going through a difficult time, we were stuck inside and everyone was fearful. There was a lot of gloom all around, but luckily I had an amazing year. When the world was going down and I was almost going down with it, OTT rose up. It brought in new excitement, when Aashram: Chapter 1 came out and got a lot of attention we had realised the power of the medium. It made me ten times more noticeable, and with that success, I realised that I needed that kind of role to feel alive again. I had been working on different kinds of roles, but I knew something was missing. I have never won an award or got a lot of recognition for my work so I was feeling a bit down, but then in 2020, I realised that it is all coming together.

What is the one thing you are looking forward to since things are now going back to normal?
I think it is amazing that things are going back to normal. I am looking forward to how things were in 2019. I had travelled to New York for a month and after that haven't stepped out. I love travelling and to take that time out for myself, I started it as an annual tradition in 2006. 2020 was the one year I couldn't go out, so hopefully, in 2021 I get to go somewhere.

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What are your plans for future projects? Will you be announcing more films or shows in the coming months?
I am reading a lot of scripts. Like I said luckily Sanak, Ray and Aashram, worked for me back to back and I am really grateful for the stuff that is coming my way. Right now I am focusing on the new season of Aashram since it is one of the biggest parts of my career and will continue to look for something new.