Saurabh: Kangana is bold and fearless- Exclusive

Saurabh Sachdeva

, who has successfully trained various Bollywood stars like

Varun Dhawan

, Richa Chadha, Dulquer Salmaan, Arjun Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, and more, has now ventured into acting himself. He has received praise for his roles in 'Bambai Meri Jaan' and 'Jaane Jaan' and is now preparing for his upcoming film 'Animal' alongside Ranbir Kapoor. In a candid conversation with ETimes, Saurabh discussed topics like being dyslexic, acting alongside actors he has trained, his role models in the industry, and more.

Excerpts...
Tell us about your transition from being an acting coach to becoming an actor...
I think in 2015 or 2016, when I did 'Maroon', then a major transformation happened when I did 'Sacred Games'. Anurag Kashyap was directing it and he chose me. From there, he immediately asked me to do 'Manmarziyaan'. I got appreciated for my performance in both the films. And from there, I started acting.
You earlier spoke about being dyslexic. How difficult was it to deal with it during the initial days of your career as a coach?

I had no problem dealing with it as a coach. But it was difficult for me to learn my lines and read something. Though I read a lot, I am a very slow reader. I make images for every word, most of the words in the line, in the sentence. Memorising lines is a little difficult for me. It's difficult to remember facts. So, I have found a way to make images fast because I remember images and colours.

How does it feel sharing screen space with actors you have trained?

I feel very powerful when they are in front of me. I feel very proud as a teacher that my students are acting in front of me and they know their craft well. They treat me like other characters, not as their teacher. There must be a little bit of that in the background, but majorly they treat me like a character and I love that. It is a very happy feeling.
Can you share any fun or interesting anecdotes from your training days with the actors that we know today?
There's one or two with Varun Dhawan. Varun was always anxious and excited about doing the scene. So, he used to sit very far away from the rest of the students and if someone else was doing the scene, he wanted to get into the scene. I used to tell him to calm down but he used to be super excited. The situation used to get very funny.
You have trained many actors in your career as a coach, is there someone you look up to as an actor?
There are many actors who I look up to and one of them is

Manoj Bajpayee

. I believe that he is a very versatile actor. Even

Nawazuddin Siddiqui

is a very powerful actor. Ranbir Kapoor is also very good. I even look up to Alia Bhatt as an actor. Her performances really move me because I feel she's really worked her way into the character she plays. I like Kangana Ranaut a lot. The way she brings her strength and boldness on the screen is amazing. She's not scared of anything.

You have mostly played dark, gritty characters in your career. Is it easy or difficult to come out of them as an actor after the camera stops rolling?
It is easy, mostly because I am trained to. However, sometimes, I need my team to help me. I do talk to them and I do go to my studio and start working on the different exercises which are more therapeutic. So, they bring me out. Some characters like the one I played in 'Jaane Jaan' was a character which is difficult for me to play and then coming out of that and feeling like how it's going to turn up and how people are going to respond. It was taking a toll on me. So, working on those characters really makes it difficult. But I think I have a playground where I go back to my studio and work with myself and my team and I feel relaxed.
Do you have a bucket list of filmmakers you want to work with?
I really want to work with newcomers because they are doing something new. They are exploring, they want to do something different. I want to work with Anurag Kashyap again and again because I feel very relaxed with him. I would like to work again with all the directors I have worked with before. I even want to work with Zoya Akhtar.
Any plans of venturing into direction?
Yes, I feel like I want to, but I am just procrastinating and working, thinking a lot. I have written a script and am writing another one now. So, trying to pitch that. If I get right producer to produce, then I will definitely want to direct next year maybe.