Siddhant Chaturvedi, who earned widespread acclaim for his debut role in the 2019 film Gully Boy co-starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, recently revealed that he almost backed out of Gehraiyaan due to the intimate scenes he had to perform with Deepika Padukone. Directed by Shakun Batra, Gehraiyaan delves into complex themes of relationships, infidelity and ambition.
In an interview with Filmfare, Siddhant shared that he panicked while filming an intimate scene with Deepika. He shared that the situation became so stressful that both his father and producer Karan Johar had to step in. Siddhant recounted a conversation with his father, who urged him to overcome his hesitation. His father said, "Listen, in India, 99% of the people will do anything to have this opportunity. They won't even think about it for a second. What are you even thinking? Please be a man, be professional, this is your job'."
Siddhant added that his father reminded him of the opportunity he had and said, "He said, 'It doesn't matter. You are the one who will define things. Go do it if you want to be a good actor. You will never be anything special unless you don't redefine things. Siddhant, it's Dharma, it's Deepika Padukone, it's Shakun Batra, and you have got to do this,'".
In the same interview, Siddhant also spoke about his relatives' reactions to the film. "All my relatives were stunned," he said. "All my relatives lost it. They were like, 'We thought he had become an actor, but now he's overdoing it, he is living our dreams.' What could they even do or say? My maternal uncle was shy the whole time and would only smile at me. I was like, 'First watch the film and understand what it is about', but all they cared to is focus on the intimate scenes and smile about it. Nobody spoke about it like that."
ICYDK: In Gehraiyaan, Siddhant plays the role of Zain, a charismatic and enigmatic character caught in a complex love triangle with Ananya Panday and Deepika Padukone. The film had a direct-to-OTT release and received mixed reviews.
