“I didn’t want to be a part of this film. I wanted to play a soldier”- Sahil Vaid on being a part of Shershaah, and getting stereotyped in the industry

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Actor Sahil Vaid who is popularly known for his roles in films like Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, Dil Bechara, and Coolie No.1 was last seen in the recently released film Shershaah. The film is based on the life of Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra. Sahil plays the role of Captain Vikram Batra’s close friend Sunny Sood. However, Sahil was reluctant to play the lead actors’ best friend once again. He still decided to go ahead with it. In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Sahil spoke about playing a real-life character, working with Sidharth Malhotra, and getting stereotyped.

Sahil plays the role of Sunny Sood in the film who convinced Captain Vikram Batra to pursue his childhood dream of joining the army. If not for Sunny Sood, Batra might have ended up in the merchant navy as Dimple’s parents did not want their daughter to marry a soldier. “Sunny Sood was the guy who convinced Captain Vikram Batra to not let go of his childhood dream and pursue the army. And, he regrets doing that the most because he's the person he meets before going on the mission. He says, ‘ya toh tiranga leharake aunga ya fir usme lipat kar aunga lekin aunga zaroor’. And that's exactly what happens," he said.

Sahil also spoke about meeting with the real Sunny Sood and hearing stories about Vikram Batra that are not shown in the film. The two met in Palampur where Sahil was shooting for the film. "For the first time in my life, I actually met the real guy I'm playing. There was a preconceived notion in my mind that I will play the character in a certain way. It changed and I moulded it according to what he was. I spent a lot of time with him and he was the one who told me a lot about what these guys used to do. These guys have had a lot of fun together in there. There were times when Vikram and Vishal both would try and fool Dimple. Vishal would go instead of Vikram and Dimple instantly recognized Vishal saying ‘You are not Vikram’. This was when she didn't know that Vikram had a twin brother. Those are scenes, which are not a part of the film, but he told me about those things. But that kind of gave me an insight into these people’s lives. Sunny was considered to be the third brother in the family," Sahil shared.

"There is a lot of fun stuff, which has been missing, but I don't think people would feel that there's something missing," he added.

Sahil also said that he was reluctant to once again play the role of the hero’s best friend. Talking about it he said, "I didn't want to be a part of this film. I wanted to play a soldier. When I met the director, I said, ‘so you want me for a part which I really don't want to play’. So he said, ‘Sahil, now the thing is I've seen your audition tape. And I really like you as Sunny. I really want you to play Sunny for me because I have soldiers’. I was like once again I am getting a hero’s friend’s role. He said that it is not the hero’s friend but you have to understand that Sunny is a very important part of Captain Vikram Batra's life. If it wasn't for Sunny, Captain Vikram Batra wouldn't be. He would have joined the merchant navy and he would have probably retired by now’. It's the turning point of the Vikram Batra's life."

"So it's obviously smaller than what I've done in Humpty and Badri but it was one of those roles which I took on reluctantly because I have a lot of love for the Indian Army. I've had a lot of family in the Indian Army. So I know that world. And I kind of wanted to pay my respects. This was my way of doing it. There was no way I was not doing this film," he added.

"I was in that place where Captain Vikram Batra spent time and saw his motorcycle, that's when I lost all inhibition and said it’s okay if I am not playing a soldier. I'm an actor I need to be true to my profession first," he further said.

While Sahil has worked with Varun Dhawan in multiple films, this is the first time he is working with Sidharth Malhotra who had made his debut along with Varun. When asked about how it is working with the two actors who debuted together, Sahil said, "They are very different from each other yet very similar. Varun Dhawan is a sweetheart and a packet of energy who jumps around the set and it is very difficult to match up to his energy. You have to be on your toes to be at the same level as Varun Dhawan, energy-wise. Sidharth on the other hand is a very calm guy, he's a gentleman. He analyses the situation. He is very subtle in real life also. There's no starry attitude. There are people who know for a fact that they're stars and they behave like that. Sidharth is someone who knows he's a star but he doesn't behave like one."

Having played the hero’s best friend in multiple films, Sahil is now being associated and cast for similar characters. However, he wants to break the mould and hopes to experiment with varied characters. "I really want people to experiment with me the way they experimented with Divyendu Sharma in Mirzapur. I even have precedents in the past, I've done something called Bank Chor, where I played a really evil bad guy. Nobody expected me to do it well, but whoever watched the movie did not even recognize me," he said.

"So I think now is the time, I demand my due, so to speak, I need to get those parts. I know, people have taken years to kind of break into the industry. I'm talking about Nawaz bhai and Pankaj Tripathi. I also come from the same school. I come from the theatre. I've done the same things these guys have. I've done theatre for 24 years of my life now. So I know what I'm asking for. I'm not be biting something off that I can't chew," Sahil said.

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