Arunoday Singh On The Chargesheet: I Think Anything Around Love And Sex Is Complicated

ZEE5’s new web series ‘The Chargesheet: Innocent Or Guilty‘ which reelased on 1 January 2019. Arunoday Singh stars in this series alongside Shiv Panditt, Tridha Choudhury and Sikander Kher among others. Arunoday Singh has showcased his acting skills in a wide range of films like independent films like Buddha In A Traffic Jam to popular movies like Main Tera Hero. He also moonlights as a popular Instagram poet. We sit down for a chat with him about his character on the show and his ongoing divorce.

Watch the trailer here.

Int: So what drew you to the character of a politician? 

Arunoday: There’s a really coiled intensity to him. You don’t quite know what he is upto. You don’t know what he is doing. He can be really still, very passionate and quite mysterious at the same time.

Int: It is quite a mystery, what is his character name on the show?

Arunoday: His name is Ranvir Pratap Singh and he is a mystery. You don’t get to know him very well. In fact, nobody gets to know him well but he knows exactly who he is. Ranvir is not simple and it was quite a challenge to portray him.

Int: The story is a murder mystery set in the 80’s. Do you feel it is still relevant today?

Arunoday: I think anybody being killed for anything apart from natural causes is always relevant. It’s a human thing to want to know why we do the things we do to each other as humans.

Int: So what did you do to bring the feel of the 80’s on set?

Arunoday: My job is to imagine. All the other things were cosmetic things for example, the cars, the costumes, the way the suits were cut, they way people were styled. It is not a very period heavy piece and it didn’t require that much.

Int: What was the bond like between the actors on the sets because the show is kind of intense.

Arunoday: It was fun because everyone relaxes after the shoot. I don’t relax. I’m always intense, no kidding.

Int: You have a knack for picking out popular movies like Main Tera Hero and balancing them with roles in movies like Buddha in a Traffic Jam…

Arunoday: I don’t think it is a knack, I get lucky I think. I just pick the best of whatever I get. The platform doesn’t matter to me.

Int: While googling you, one of the related searches is ‘tallest actors in Bollywood’. Do you get that a lot?

Arunoday: I am quite tall, but most of my best friends are taller than me.

Int: Do you feel it kind of limits your roles in Bollywood? 

Arunoday: It does limit my choices a little bit, because I can’t play everybody. I can’t play every man. Sometimes because I am not conventionally Bollywood, options are limited. Like leading men roles are for conventional Bollywood actors. There are rare instances when they would be okay with me as the second lead. Just because it puts the dynamic off. But I would rather be tall than not, so I’m not complaining.

Int: So do you gravitate towards darker roles or it’s the kind of roles you get? 

Arunoday: I get interested in the people I get to play. I go with my instinct and whatever I get, I am supposed to get and whatever I do, I’m supposed to do. And I don’t think about it anymore, because that way lies madness.

Int: You play dark characters on screen, but online you write sad, romantic poems on Instagram. Which side is truly you? 

Arunoday: All of it. It’s all me. I can’t play someone who is not me. Even in the darkest characters, I can’t play a serial killer like anyone else, I can play only a serial killer like I will be a serial killer. So it’s all part of me. It’s never simple, we’re never just one thing.

Int: This show is a murder mystery but it focuses on the subject of infidelity. What are your opinions on infidelity in a relationship?

Arunoday: I think anything to do with love and sex is complicated. And it will always be complicated. It will never not be complicated. People try and do their best to not hurt other people but we’re messed up things humans. I don’t believe in going back to a relationship after the other person has cheated on you. Because once the well is poisoned there is not point going back to it, trust me. I am going through a divorce. And getting a divorce sucks, but that’s life.

Int: You really try and explore all the mediums. Do you enjoy working in film, web or theatre more? 

Arunoday: My job stays the same on set, character work, subtext, breaking down the script. It all stays the same for me. A film releases, doesn’t release, it’s not upto me. I have my job and I love my job and it stays the same. Theatre is different and you cannot compare them. I do theatre to remind myself that I can still act.

Watch out for his power-packed performance in the upcoming show ‘The Chargesheet: Innocent or Guilty’. Till then catch up on another series around crimes and politics ‘Rangbaaz Phirse‘ streaming now on ZEE5.