Chandan Roy Sanyal has been garnering praises for his role in Aashram Season 3. He plays the role of Baba Nirala (Bobby Deol)’s right-hand man, Swami Bhupendra Singh aka Bhopa who takes care of the Aashram and the illegal activities associated with it. In the previous two seasons, the viewers saw the close bond between Baba Nirala and Bhopa, however, the third season sees the changing dynamics between the two. In a conversation with News18.com, Chandan opened up about how Bobby Deol responded, after slapping him for a sequence in the show. He also recalled watching Bobby’s film in theatres as a child and how it felt being able to share screen space with the star now.
Speaking of a scene when Baba Nirala (Bobby Deol) had to slap Bhopa (Chandan), the actor shared, “We had lot of complex secenes and in some of them he had to use expletives and even got angry with me, saying “Why are you not doing your work properly? You don’t know me, I’m the God,’ so he had to do all these things, because of the script’s demand. And one day, Bobby Sir said, ‘Arey yaar Chandan. I’m not feeling nice yaar. I have to hit you and I will have to say all these bad things to you.’ So, sometimes real life and reel life get mixed up so much. For two seasons we were great friends and we used to be together and this time, the equations are changing, he was feeling bad about it. He has this childlike quality in him.”
On being asked how he felt about working with Bobby Deol, Chandan shared, “It’s a great honour that I could collaborate with Bobby Sir. He is one of my favourite heroes. When I was giving my class 12th board exams, Barsaat had released and I’d gone to watch the movie. I still remember the first trailer had come out and saw him in that jacket and those shades – it was phenomenal to watch him, and to work with him and to know him personally now, and create something together, it is really wonderful. Also because he is a very giving person, and he is not insecure at all. That is the beauty of it the show, that when I shine, he shines, and when he shines, I do too. We work it out together and that is why it became so beautiful. So, it was really nice to work with him.”
After the first two seasons received a rave response, Aashram has been renewed recently for its third season. We asked the actor about his experience of collaborating with the star cast again. Chandan responded, “We started shooting for the first season, even before the pandemic hit the world. It was 2019, December to February, when we shot for the show – all of us were so friendly. We still have a WhatsApp group so that we constantly keep in touch with each other and we all catch up once in a while. And when we all came together for Season 3, we already knew other. So, we will sit anywhere and anytime to talk to each other, and there was never a boring moment on set. We used to sit, chat and speak to each other about life, just like one big family, that is why the show is so great. And we look forward to meet each other as it is a great unit to work with.”
The actor shared why he thinks his character Bhopa became a rage all over the country after this show. He said, “It’s because there is a charming element about this character. He is a bad guy, you don’t want to be friends with him. He is so enigmatic and magnetic. So all these characters that are already there, that Prakash ji had written and he has added lot many other shades to it.”
We asked him about his reaction when he was first offered the show. The actor shared, “When I first received the call from the casting director Shruti Mahajan, and she told me that Prakash Jha is making a web show, that came as a surprise to me. It was so because I always associated Mr Jha with big projects, big-budget films, or big serials, and I always wanted to work with Prakash Ji. Then I met Prakash sir and he explained the show, my part and the story. He told me, ‘I am very fond of you as an actor, and this is something bigger and better, and I’ve followed your work and I think this role is something much more impactful and powerful and I think you should do it.’
“And then I had no questions and answer because he is narrating and directing the show. When I joined the show I did know that Bobby Deol is going to be a part of the show. I was going to work with Bobby Deol and Prakash Jha, so there were no doubts about it,” concluded Chandan.
Aashram Season 3 is streaming now on MX Player.
