#NewsBytesExclusive: Nostalgic Gagan Arora talks about 'College Romance' gang
Best known for College Romance, actor Gagan Arora rose to fame when he bagged Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Tabbar. After the fourth and final season of College Romance premiered on SonyLIV on Friday, Arora is gearing up for a horror series, expected to release early next year. Meanwhile, read excerpts from his exclusive conversation with NewsBytes.
How was it on sets of 'College Romance'?
A lot of anecdotes and incidents have been used from our college lives — be it the first time drinking with friends, going out to chill, or the first fight. Since the show's come to an end, we're feeling many things — we're anxious, excited, nervous, emotional, and nostalgic. The annual retreat that we called a shoot is not going to happen again.
How is 'College Romance' gang behind camera?
We're a very tightly-bind set of people. We've been doing this for six years now, so we kind of know each other in and out. The whole gang is actually like a college group. Everybody has a person to go to, we all share our problems, and we have a WhatsApp group where we gossip. It's like we've kind of grown up together.
Your takeaways from working with Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit Nene?
Be it Amitabh Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Supriya Pathak, Pavan Malhotra, Ranvir Shorey, or any actor that I've worked with, there is no air of fame around them, and they're all hardworking. Even after so many years in the industry, they come to the sets with their homework already done. To value preparation and staying humble were my biggest learnings from them.
How have you evolved as actor?
It feels like a dream! If, five years ago, someone told me that I'll be in this position, I'd laughed it off. For a middle-class boy from Delhi to suddenly start working with Madhuri Dixit Nene has been surreal. I owe everything to College Romance and the web space. If it wasn't for these guys, I don't think I would've got so many opportunities.
Has assisting in films helped you become better actor?
Being an assistant director isn't a prerequisite for becoming an actor. It helped me greatly because I wanted to understand the whole process of filmmaking. It helps me understand the director's brief, a DoP's vision, and how to perform in a scene. The process of filmmaking, which I learned during my Stree days as an AD, helped me a lot.
What's your take on OTT for newcomers?
Somehow the opportunities for all of us have increased so much. There are people who like to experiment and want to take a chance with new actors. We've got new avenues, characters, and genres to show our talent. For a producer to put in crores for a newcomer would be very different. That's where OTT gave us a launchpad to show our talent.
