Anud Singh Dhaka of ‘Psycho Saiya’ said: Was a clapperboy, Irrfan Khan said – you should become an actor

Actor Anud Singh Dhaka, who has been grabbing the attention of the audience with his powerful performance in the web series ‘Psycho Saiya’, recently talked candidly about his career, experiences and acting journey. Anud, who has been fond of acting since childhood, told how famous actor Irrfan Khan saw him for the first time and seeing the hidden potential in his acting, said, ‘You should become an actor.’ For his role in ‘Psycho Saiya’, Anud described the hard work as well as the experience of working with co-stars like Ravi Kishan, Tejasvi Prakash, Surbhi Chandna and Srishti Srivastava as extremely inspiring. How was your journey from a small town to Mumbai and how did you decide to take up acting? I wanted to become an actor since childhood. I used to consider myself a hero while standing in front of the mirror, however today when I look at the old photos, I feel that there was a lot of misunderstanding. My family also knew that I was leaning towards acting, but I was also preparing for IIT and wanted to go to Mumbai. Ultimately IIT didn’t happen, so I continued my studies and then moved from Bhopal to Mumbai in 2013. The beginning was not easy, neither money nor any special support. Many times he spent days sleeping on the ground. But my only aim was to act, so I never made a backup plan. After coming to Mumbai, I studied at St. Xavier’s College, survived on scholarships and along the way understood how the industry worked. Gradually, through small tasks, auditions and struggles, I have reached here today. Was there any turning point during the struggle that reassured you that you are on the right path? A big turning point came when I got a chance to work as an assistant director in the film ‘Qarib Qarib Single’. There I met Irrfan Khan. I was working as an AD (clapper boy) at that time. One day he saw me and without any context called me and said ‘I think you should be an actor.’ Imagine, if a person whom you consider ideal suddenly says this to you, you will be shocked. He also jokingly said that ‘actors are donkeys’, but at the same time he also pushed me to act. That one thing of his destroyed all the doubts in me. After that I never thought that I should do anything else. How did your career progress in the beginning and how did you get your first opportunities? In the beginning, I kept giving auditions and did different things to survive like writing cartoons for Disney, which helped in paying the rent. Then I got a small role in the film Super 30, in which my character’s name was not even ‘Raghunath Ka Chamcha’. But that’s where it started. After that I got Chhichhore, where I was in the background and tried to be seen on the screen. The money earned from these small jobs helped us survive for a few months. Then I got projects like Taj Mahal 1989 and gradually I started gaining recognition. What was your first big break and when did you feel people started recognizing you? To be honest, I still feel that the big break is yet to come. But projects like Janhit Mein Jaari, Taj Mahal 1989 and Lafangey were very important for me. In 2020, when my work came on Netflix and my name started appearing in articles, I felt that perhaps I was on the right path. Still, I do not consider it the final destination, there is still a lot to learn and do. How did you approach a project like ‘Saiya Psycho’ and how did you get this role? I got this role through audition. But I took a slightly different approach. Usually, people act out the monologue in front of the camera using a tripod. I thought, why not do something different. I turned on the front camera of my phone and directly acted in it and sent it to the casting director. I said, ‘This is the zone where I think this character will be.’ At first I thought maybe this experiment had gone wrong, but eventually I got selected in the same audition. How was the experience of working on the set? How was it with your co-stars and crew? Absolutely fantastic! Working with Ravi Kishan was a different experience. Man, he is such an energetic and phenomenal man. There is a little fear in the beginning because everyone seems intimidated in front of him, but then it is understood that he is just there to rescue his team. Laughs, jokes, and is also professional. Shooting with Tejashwi Prakash and Surbhi Chandna was fantastic. I would like to say about Srishti Srivastava that she is a very graceful and talented actress. There was never any need for retakes with him because both of us were completely in sync in the performance.



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