Addhyayan Suman is currently seen in Ek Badnaam… Aashram Season 3. The popular web series premiered on MX Player on June 3. The Free Press Journal caught up with the actor for an exclusive chat.
Opening up about how the Aashram series is a saving grace in his career, Addhyayan shares, “I went around asking for work, but most of them didn’t offer me work. I used to get angry initially since people didn’t even respond to me. I am grateful that Prakash Jha sir sort of opened doors for me. We live in a world where it’s all about commercials. The fact that I am not a star was the reason for my calls not being picked up. I took everything with a pinch of salt since I knew that time would never remain the same. A lot of people are calling me after watching Aashram, and among them are those who never answered my calls.”
The actor is receiving lots of love for Tinka Singh. When asked how does it feel to be back, he explains, “I think people were waiting to see me in a role like this. They were waiting for a show like this to come on OTT. It was very heartening for me. For me, success is not about how much money my films made. It is about how I fought my way up from the lows in my career, personally and professionally. I am a working actor, and that’s all that matters in the end. I don’t believe in terms like ‘star’ and ‘superstar’.”
Addhyayan then spills the beans on his character prep for Tinka Singh. He reveals, “For me, it was all about the observation. I have known so many people who are NRIs and have a fake accent. Tinka Singh is a very eccentric character. He is a little cuckoo. Even Shahid Kapoor also played a similar role in Udta Punjab, so I didn’t want to ape him in any way. I usually don’t watch too many references. When I met Prakashji, and he narrated the role to me, I felt he sort of sowed the seed that resulted into a tree. It was so liberating to work with him because he let me be. People have even asked me whether I sniff cocaine in real life since that scene of mine in the Aashram series became so popular!”
When quizzed about what kind of scripts is he looking at now, he says, “I want to do something which gives me goosebumps while reading it. No one can preempt what will work or what will not. It is no more about a big film or a small film, it’s about a good film.”
On a parting note, he talks about how his father, Shekhar Suman, reacted to his role in the web series. “Aashram came in two parts till now, which was supposed to be in one part, and my entry came in the eighth episode, and I was worried. I also thought that my screen time is less. I remember watching the show at midnight, and I went into depression. My entire work shifted to season two. My father told me to go to sleep as my life would change tomorrow morning,” he concludes.
