Navneet Malik: Playing young Sanjay Dutt on screen was a huge challenge

Actor Navneet Malik asserts that working with big stars is a huge opportunity for newcomers like him as there is a lot to learn from them

Actor Navneet Malik asserts that working with big stars is a huge opportunity for newcomers like him as there is a lot to learn from them.

Navneet Malik

Malik will be seen playing the younger version of actor Sanjay Dutt on the big screen this year.

“My entire focus has been on this theatrical film. It was a real treat to work with Sanju Baba but it was also a huge challenge to play his younger self on screen. Though many have tried it in the past, only a few succeeded. That’s when my director stepped in, and he asked me to watch films like Rocky in which I got to observe the right nuances of the superstar. It’s a huge learning experience to work with a star of his stature and no acting institute could teach you such details. I am completely in awe of him,” says the Heropanti-2 actor.

Talking of cinema as the strongest medium for learning, Malik says, “Initially it’s only work that matters for younger actors. But films are the real playground where you get time to prepare and also understand your growth as a performer. Results are instant and it makes you an artiste in a real sense. Every road in the entertainment industry leads to cinema. I mean, you will always find an actor who is doing exceptionally good on some other medium but still dreams of seeing himself on the silver-screen someday.”

Starting as a model, Malik couldn’t reach Mumbai after his final round of the modelling pageant in China.

“Due to some issues, I went back home and didn’t think of going to Mumbai. In between, I also missed an offer from SRK Production as I didn’t realise that it was a call from one of the biggest banners. Anyway, it didn’t have to happen then, I think. Later, on my friend’s behest, I sent my audition tape and got selected for the Love Hostel. So, eventually what I lost then, I got it later.”

Besides his film The Virgin Tree with Sanjay Dutt, Mallik will be seen in Neeraj Pandey’s web series.