EXCLUSIVE | Suhail Nayyar reveals his portrayal in Netflix 'Saare Jahan Se Accha' is 'closest' to his heart: 'This has been the most challenging character of my career and...'

Suhail Nayyar, who has impressed the audience with his performances in Hotel Mumbai, Sharmaji Namkeen and Murder Mubarak, among others, is currently basking in the success of Netflix’s Saare Jahan se Accha, where he portrayed the layered and complex character of an Indian spy, Sukhbir/Rafiq.

In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, Nayyar shared his views on cinema changing, work-life balance and his toughest scene in the web-show.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

What are your views on cinema changing?

It’s never cinema vs OTT. It’s always cinema and OTT. I have personally acted in both the mediums and the acting is the same. On OTT, you are able to explore more characters, tell more stories since it is a longer format. OTT has given a lot of opportunities to a lot of filmmakers and actors who wanted to tell stories. I want both cinema and OTT to prosper..

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What has been the most challenging scene from the series _Saare Jahan Se Accha_?

This has been the most challenging character of my career and closest to my heart. There were a lot of scenes in the show that were very challenging. The first time when I call Vishnu (Pratik Gandhi) when I escape from the market, my character that is Sukhbir is really anxious. I tried to study how body language changes when you are caught and when your cover is blown. I wanted to know what happens when you feel anxious. I got the opportunity to show that in a lot of scenes.

When I’m talking to Vishnu, I’m angry at him because he was the one who recruited me. Nobody told me it was going to be so difficult. I hadn’t spoken to anybody from Home for the last four years. I don’t even know whether my mother is alive or not. So that was very challenging. Till today, I don’t know how that scene happened. Everybody has been raving about that scene. People have been giving a lot of praise and appreciation. I can do an entire podcast on how I was able to pull off that scene.

The second most challenging scene was the confrontation scene with Rizwan. When he confronts Sukhbir, things intensify to such an extent that there is a scuffle. He then kills Rizwan. And then there’s instant remorse. He was my girlfriend’s brother and I called him Bhai. He breaks down, but he’s an agent and he has to do something. It has to look like a suicide, and it has to be a clean job. The whole sequence was very challenging. And then there’s the funeral scene when he meets Murtuza. All of this was truly challenging and fun. Acting is everything about exploring complexities.

What do you have to say about series helping characters to evolve?

It’s the writing that leads to evolution. You first have to imagine everything and put it down on paper. And then you have a director and the actor. Writer is god. You’ll get a good actor and a good director but the main focus should be on writing. Nowadays, everyone has to be on the same page for a character to evolve.

Your views on work-life balance

My view is that it will balance itself. You follow your heart and take care of your loved ones, physical and mental health. Everything else will balance itself.