“I’m enjoying this space of films and shows,” says Undekhi 2 actor Nandish Sandhu

Popular actor Nandish Sandhu, known for essaying lead characters on such successful shows as Uttaran and Beintehaa and also for playing superstar Hrithik Roshan’s brother in Super 30 (2019), says he is enjoying the space of films and streaming shows. The actor makes his digital debut with the streaming show Undekhi 2 which premieres today on SonyLIV.

Eastern Eye recently caught up with Sandhu to know more about Undekhi 2, his character in it, and how he bagged the part. The actor also talked about how the coronavirus pandemic has changed him and his conscious decision of staying away from television.

How nervous or excited are you about Undekhi 2?

Both at the same time, I would say. Excited because the trailer looks really good and the excitement has grown after seeing the trailer. When I saw season 1, the excitement was already there but I did not expect the trailer to be so good. Honestly, it has exceeded my expectations. I am a little bit nervous because it is my OTT debut, so I am slightly nervous about the fact that how the audience is going to accept me on OTT.

You are the latest addition to the cast of the show. Was it initially difficult to just get in the groove because everybody else picked up where they had left in the first season?

Honestly speaking, not really because the team was really good. And I am talking about not on the set, I am talking about off the set. I clicked with each one of them really well and a lot of the credit goes to the director because, you know, a lot depends on what kind of mood the director is setting on the set. So, because he is so cool about everything, he is so friendly, so he believes in creating a good environment on the set. I think everybody followed that and I was very warmly welcomed into the team and that made things easy for me to say because that barrier did not have to be crossed or there was no effort that needed to cross that barrier. So once you become friends with everybody on the set, then you don’t have to worry about that. The only thing that you need to focus is on your craft and your acting, the script, and everything.

Tell us something about the character you are playing and what made you say yes to it?

Well, I am playing Samarth who is a businessman and all his decisions are based purely on business and money and things around it. He doesn’t have any weaknesses. There is no scope for any emotional decisions that he has to make. He is a shrewd businessman and slightly arrogant. Like I would say more than confidant. He is, of course, confident but he is a little arrogant because he knows his stuff. He is very intelligent, well educated. He has done his master's in business from the US and he comes from a wealthy family. All these characteristics when they were told to meet before we started shooting, that’s how we started shaping the character gradually, and Samarth is all of this. There are a lot of things I want to say but I can’t right now because it would somewhat give away what is happening in the story. But yeah, with all these characteristics, you are going to have a blast seeing Samarth.

How did you get that part?  

I auditioned for it and the time was such because this was during the lockdown last year and most of the auditions were happening at home on zoom calls. So, my audition happened over a zoom call. I got a call from Kavish (Sinha), the casting director and he had tested me for a couple of things earlier also. So, I guess he felt that I fit the part. He called me, I gave my audition over a zoom call and things followed.

The coronavirus pandemic hit all of us really hard. Did any of your projects face a setback because of it?

I think, yes. Everybody did and so did I. There were a lot of films lined up for me after my last film release and everything went on hold suddenly for a year and a half. It was a long wait period. You know, everything was at a standstill. Professionally, yes, it was slightly frustrating that I kept waiting that when my project is going to start when the shoot is going to start and a couple of things that I had signed were not taking off. So it was a frustrating period, but, you know, talking to my family regularly, having some good friends in life really helped because during that time, you can sway either way. Either you can make it productive or whatever. You have all the time available with you. Whether you crib about it or you make the most out of it. So, my friends and family helped me during that time. Then I made some productive use of the time that I had on hand.

What is the most important lesson that the pandemic has taught you?  

For me, I think the most important lesson is very simple, nothing is so important that you need to lose your sanity over it, you need to become obsessive about it. Whether it is your work or something that you love, somebody that you love, or whether it is something that you want to achieve in life. You need to go easy with yourself and it is very important to give yourself time to unwind and think and not just be in the rat race to reach the endpoint. What I have also started doing is enjoying the process more after the pandemic.

It has been a couple of years since you haven’t taken up any television show. So, was it a conscious decision to stay away from TV?

Yes, it has been a conscious decision and it is nothing that I don’t want to. It is not that I have quit or I don’t want to. Those are very strong words to put there. But yes, and I have said this before also that I am enjoying this space of films and now OTT. I am exploring it for the first time. I was enjoying that space also. I had already done television for a few years. So yeah, I want to see how it goes here in OTT and film. I had already explored a lot in television earlier.

TV is always accused of being regressive. Do you agree?

You can’t generalize it. But on the whole, yes, it is. We can’t generalize it but you always go with what is happening the majority of the times. So, yes, a lot of shows are like that but there is good content also being made on television, and recently after the OTT has come in since the last few years there is slight change happening in the kind of shows that are being made. Plus, there are a lot of reality shows that have come in, people like watching reality shows. Even my family, more than serials, they love watching reality shows. So, yeah, times are changing.

But do you think that the popularity of streaming platforms will make television redundant a couple of years from now?

No, I don’t think so. There is still a huge audience for television and the majority of our population still doesn’t have access to the internet or they can’t afford to pay for plans or wi-fi. They still rely on watching television for their entertainment and I think it will not go so easily. It will take a long, long time for OTT to completely take over television. It will happen eventually but not so early.

Undekhi 2 is currently streaming on SonyLIV.