Abhay Verma aka Kalyan from Family Man 2
Riding high on the runaway success of Family Man 2 is a bright young actor Abhay Verma, who played Kalyan/Salman perfectly in the latest series that stars Manoj Bajpayee as Srikant Tiwari. He is winning accolades for his portrayal of conflicted character Kalyan who falls in love with Srikant Tiwari's daughter Dhriti and as Salman, the boy who helps terrorists achieve their mission. This 22-year-old boy is as people are saying, "an actor to watch out for".
In an exclusive, fun conversation with India TV, Abhay reveals that he just did not expect the love and accolades that came to him. "The scale was unexpected," he quips. At the same time he also said, "It's important for an actor to remain grounded and believe in the grooming and values that your parents have taught you. youth in the age group of 20-23 group get influenced and lose identity easily."
Talking about popularity on social media, he said, "Sab ek doosre ko follow karne mein lage hain... we are just making an app, a like, a comment, more important, not the person. There is a mad rush for increasing followers which is meaningless."
On his struggle and beginnings
"I am from Panipat, Haryana. Struggle was when I was in my hometown and doing BBA, which I felt was not my calling, but the moment I was in my 'karmabhoomi', Mumbai, I felt the struggle was over. Jo sapna maine dekha tha wo kaam kar raha tha. For me struggle was over."
On how he landed the role of Kalyan, he said he was "given a scene of Kalyan to perform" and "I was very nervous during my audition...there was so much hope ki "ho jaye" yes, I was nervous but was loving auditions, that process was enjoyable, I wanted to give my best shot. That nervousness is good, it actually gives you a thrust to outperform oneself. The limitations that you have set for yourself defines success and failure."
With wisdom found rarely at his age, he said, "Your mindset creates limitations for success or failure, I have never struggled in my life after coming to Bombay, I strongly believe that."
Recounting his school days, he said, "Coming from St Mary's Convent School, I pursued Science and failed thrice. Nowadays, my school Principal adds a line to her speech saying the only student who failed thrice is doing so well. It feels really good. Then I went on to do BBA but I felt uneasy doing BBA, I felt I was wasting my time... time should be respected the most. I came with my parents to Mumbai to follow my dreams. My brother (Abhishek Verma) is here for the last six years doing Yeh Hain Mohabbatein, and now it's three years for me."
Being his usual jovial self, Abhay said, "My first commercial was Hero Passion Bike where I am showing my "extraordinary smile". We can't agree more about his smile.
Talking about Family Man 2 shooting, he said, "It was shot 2 years back, before pandemic but release got delayed. No regrets since whatever happens happens for good."
Being in the same series, do you miss not shooting with Manoj Bajpayee?
"Ye hamesha malal rahega ki main unke saath ek series mein tha par Manoj sir ke saath shoot nahi kar paya". But ya, life is long, I will shoot someday with him. I did chit chat with him on sets when dates were common, it was a great experience. Most of my schedule was with Ashlesha.
On chemistry with Dhriti (Ashlesha Thakur)
She is a wonderful friend of mine. We share a great chemistry and I think it has come out also on screen. I have known her for long... time during audition, we had shot for an ad before but that didn't come out. I believe that sense of friensdhip and compatibility and the positive relationship we both share is what has resulted in the good way on screen. Adding, Abhay said, "It's always important to just be confortable with the co actor and then it just kind of makes the process 90% easy. Then just go with the flow and hit the target. That way Ashlesha has been great and I am so happy with her work."
Talking about the environment on the sets, he called it fun, "It didn't feel like work at all. We have been happy working. Ashlesha and me being the kid in the house, were chatty and always full of energy."
Recalling a funny incident, he said, "While I was 'dying', the blood was actually cranberry juice which I filled my mouth with since I had to spit it out when stabbed, director shouted, "Kalyan ready hai? Khoon hai munh mein", to which I said "wo to main pi gaya! Everyone laughed hard."
Admitting that he did think about not going wrong because it was a huge project, he said, "You get a nervousness inside of you knowing that it’s such a huge show, each actor has done a fine job under the able guidance of Raj and DK sir and Suparn sir. So you do feel nervous."
His mother's reaction to his role
Abhay said his parents have taught him to always give it his best without worrying about the outcome. On his success, he said, "My mother was very happy, she tends to get more happy when people tell her that her son has done a great job. For the first time, she told me I am proud of you, people are appreciating your work. "Lage Raho,"she said.
Is your hairstyle just a look for the series?
"This is my original hairstyle and thank God it suited the character too, so they spared my tresses. People are loving my curls," he laughingly said.
Family Man Season 2 released on Amazon Prime on June 4. The series co-stars Manoj Bajpayee, Samantha Akkineni, Priyamani, Sharib Hashmi, Sunny Hinduja, Sharad Kelkar, and Shahab Ali.
Don't miss:
