Jaane Jaan actor Saurabh Sachdeva reveals how Kareena Kapoor put him at ease in scene where he had to strangle her

Saurabh Sachdeva has been a busy man all of September. The actor saw four releases in four weeks during the month, starting with the film Haddi, followed by the double billing of Kaala and Mumbai Meri Jaan, and concluding with another film – Jaane Jaan. The four releases saw him portray four different kinds of roles on four different OTT platforms and Saurabh admits he was a little taken aback initially.

In an exclusive chat with DNA, the actor says he was a bit confused about which title to promote as everything was releasing back-to-back. “I talked to my team and they asked me to take it easy. I was anxious and I was happily nervous in a way,” says the actor, saying that he prefers this hectic schedule to ‘down time’, when there is no work.

In Haddi, Saurabh played a transgender character, which he says was his toughest challenge. “There was a level for respect that I wanted to portray for the community without mocking anybody or being disrespectful. Plus the character is trying to hide his personality of being transgender because he wants to enter politics. So that balance of masking it while showing it was a challenge.”

In Bambai Meri Jaan, his next release, Saurabh’s character was Haji, an aristocratic underworld don, inspired by Haji Mastan Mirza. Mirza has inspired several characters in Indian films and TV, including Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay in Deewar and Ajay Devgn’s Sultan Mirza in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. Talking about how he kept his portrayal fresh, Saurabh says, “It was all the script and I was also trying to find the person in the role. I did not want to have any style because that comes on its own. I had different references and not the previous performances on similar roles. What Amit ji and Ajay Devgn have done has set a benchmark. I can either try to top them in what they have done or do something different. I felt the second choice was smarter.”

In his most recent release Jaane Jaan, Saurabh plays the abusive husband of Kareena Kapoor’s character. In a particularly violent scene in the film, the actor had to hurt Kareena and almost strangle her. Talking about how the scene was filmed, Saurabh recalls, “I knew that this kind of character who is going to go close to her, touch her, hold her will be difficult to shoot. Kareena, being a star, it would be difficult for me, I knew it. I did talk to Kareena before doing the scene and asked her what she would be comfortable with. She said ‘yes’ and she had no inhibitions. Once she told me not to worry, I was very relaxed. She made the space very comfortable for me because she was comfortable herself. There were no airs to her.”

Despite having had a prolific year already, Saurabh is set to be seen one more time on screen in 2023 with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal. The film, which stars Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, and Rashmika Mandanna, will be releasing in theatres in December.