Shoorveer: Manish Chaudhari and Armaan Ralhan on preparation for their characters, learning about armed forces & more

A new action drama on Disney+ Hotstar follows the formation of an elite special unit comprising the best from the armed forces – army, navy, air force. This team, known as the Hawks, comes together under the leadership of Ranjan Malik, played by Manish Chaudhari . The Hawks are being readied to defend India from an imminent attack. Created by Samar Khan and directed by Kanishk Varma, two members of the large ensemble cast of Shoorveer (streaming from July 15, 2022) – Chaudhari ( Aarya , Bombay Begums ) and Armaan Ralhan ( Befikre , Ajeeb Daastaans ), who plays an air force pilot – shared details of the making of this show, their character and their inherent swag. What was it about this show that appealed to each of you? Manish: I always wanted to be in high-octane action films and series. It’s been my dream. For some reason, those parts never came to me in my 20s and 30s and only started coming to me in my 40s. But I am very happy and enjoy the adrenaline rush of the conflicts and emotions driving this genre. Added to that is the pleasure of working with so many young people, such as Abhishek Saha and Sahil Mehta. It was also great because I have a fair amount of scenes with Mak ( Makarand Deshpande ). We go back 30 years but we never got to work with each other till now. Armaan: Being as new as I am, it was a dream come true to be offered a part like this and to get into the process of convincing myself that I am this person for the show. I did not have the pleasure of working with Makarand sir though I got a chance to hang with him a little in the vanity can. Regina Cassandra , Aadil Khan were wonderful plus there were a bunch of other brilliant supporting actors, some of whom I did not get to work with. And of course, working with Manish sir was great. He was our boss and a tough taskmaster on screen, but the complete opposite off screen.

As actors, does being costumed in an armed forces uniform change something in the way you think and behave? Armaan: Yes. Everything changes. A responsibility comes with the uniform. Of course, as actors we have a responsibility when we play any part - to the director, the story and to the audience. But with the uniform, the stakes go through the roof. You don’t want to get anything wrong and the uniform almost changes your walk. You feel larger. It’s as if the uniform wears you. Manish: I spend a lot of time figuring out what the characters I am playing will look like physically, including what they wear. With Shoorveer, I am in uniform almost throughout and the great thing about that is that the costume does the work for you. It does the thinking for you because the uniform is worn in a particular way, the shoes are tied in a very particular way, there is no variation. And suddenly you feel your spine getting pulled up. It’s quite a wonderful experience. Was the script very detailed or did you undertake some amount of your own research and preparation? Armaan: Kanishk sent us a very expansive folder and the script was also detailed. The folder had Youtube video references and documents to read. It was a lot of information to absorb. Once I had gone through that I launched off into my own reading and research, including watching interviews with air force pilots, cockpit footage, videos that revealed their thinking and experiences when they are in the middle of a dog fight. I even downloaded a simulator game. That was one kind of prep. The physical prep was getting into the right shape and training so you feel you can look convincing as someone who would have that level of stamina and strength. Manish: Shoorveer required a very particular kind of preparation. My method is that I usually fill up my head with little knick-knacks, little stories of the world, of how people behave, interactions, little anecdotes and then suddenly these things stack up and a picture starts forming. Now, with the military, there is a lot you can find online, including videos of soldiers and former soldiers speaking of their experiences. For me the minefield of information came from a three-part series made after the Kargil War with the serving officers and soldiers looking back. If Ranjan Malik comes across as real in any way, then all credit to that particular reference. Armaan, you play a pilot. How do you sidestep channeling Tom Cruise aka Maverick and Top Gun? Armaan: Strangely enough, when I shot this show I had not seen – and I still have not seen – the first _Top Gun_ . It came out before I was born and is one of those films that slipped away. And then when the show came to me I felt it was better not to have any cinematic references because I do believe it is better to borrow from life than from film. And if you must borrow from film, then it should be very far away from what you are portraying. By the time I saw the new _Top Gun: Maverick_ , we had finished shooting for this show. Playing the part of an air force pilot is cool in itself. These pilots truly believe they are the best, which is a trait I made very central to my character as well. They have immense belief in themselves and in their ability to deliver in a high-pressure situation. Manish: Just to add – a normal person might look at a fighter pilot and say they are full of themselves but they have to be because the difference between life and death at 2.5 Mach is 1/100th of a second. So if you are not completely in control of your mind, body and perfect in your training then it’s not going to work. Were there things you learned about the world of the armed forces that you didn’t know before? Armaan: I learned a lot, specifically as an air force pilot I feel I learned enough to get into a jet and get myself off the ground. I don’t know about landing, but I think I could take off! I did sit in a real jet. From a character perspective, I try to be disciplined but this is discipline and self-belief to another level. As an actor, you are always waiting for validation - from your director or from the audience. But this is flipping that on the head. Your job is your job, and you just do it. Manish: Everything I found out was new. The script gives you cues for your personal preparation. But I always remember what (director) Shimit Amin once said to me. He said, ‘Now just let it go, Manish, just let it go’. So you take all that preparation and research, you masticate and then spit it out. Either it’s in the being or not. Udita Jhunjhunwala is a writer, film critic, and festival programmer. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram