This week on Buzz By the Bay, we have Chayan Chopra, a budding actor. Originally from Delhi, the 24-year-old played the character of a gay student, Dhruv, in the Netflix series 'Class'. While off screen he is a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), he is also taking steps into the acting world. In this conversation, he talks about how he prepared for 'Dhruv', his family’s apprehensions about the role and how the series encouraged many homosexual youths to ‘come out’ to their parents. Excerpts from an interview with Anushka Jagtiani.
You play a school boy who is gay, the son of the principal, a professional swimmer who then falls in love with a Kashmiri drug dealer. How did you prepare for the complex role?
When this opportunity came, my concerns were about portraying 'Dhruv' in the most authentic way. The starting point was to talk to my friends who are gay and had difficult experiences with regards to their family and friends. In terms of research, I was reading J Krishnamurthy, Osho and Sadhguru on gender and sexuality. (Apart from all this), the biggest credit goes to director Aushim Ahluwallia.
Were you apprehensive about playing a gay character?
I really didn’t have many apprehensions. When I play a character I like to check out the graph; is it the same or does it change over the end of the project, and Dhruv had a great graph.
I read in an earlier interview that your parents were apprehensive about what society might say?
They have an issue with the entire film industry overall. They want me to go back to consulting or anything corporate.
You got a job with the BCG, which is very hard, and left it later.
Yes, I got the job right after college. Even the college I went to – Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (New Delhi) – is very competitive. For me, it wasn’t like 'oh, I hate my job and I want to follow my passion'. I don’t think acting is my passion. It’s a hobby which I take very seriously.
