Tushar Pandey: Today, anyone can be a hero

After garnering recognition with films like Pink, Chhichhore and OTT series Aashram, Tushar Pandey feels it’s really tricky for actors to make a right choice

After garnering recognition with films like Pink, Chhichhore and OTT series Aashram, Tushar Pandey feels it’s really tricky for actors to make a right choice.

Tushar Pandey

“Being in the industry it’s very difficult to break away from supporting- character roles and become a lead, is surely a tough job. But then, it’s about choices that you make as an actor,” says the youngster.

He further adds, “It’s a dilemma for us when you are offered big projects but with similar roles then you tend to get confused. At that moment, I go back to what I have learnt while training. I graduated from National School of Drama and then trained at London International School of Performing Art. So, after spending seven years studying and training myself, I try to make proper choices and then play my roles with complete honesty.”

Pandey feels blessed to be in the industry at this point of time. “Luckily, we are in that era when 6.2 feet height and six-pack abs are not the only criteria. With realistic films and relatable characters being written that ‘uss tarah ka hero’ thing has gone. Today, anyone can be a hero! I’m glad that I am here at this time.”

On working in OTT series, he says, “I was very satisfied with the graph of my character in the series as such characters are very tricky but then that is the challenge to build those roles as per your understanding. Best thing is that I got a very good response from the audience. In metro cities people know me as Mummy (Chhichhore) but as I go to tier 2, 3 and 4 cities people there recognise me as Satti from Aashram. I am surprised with the amount of reach these streaming platforms have. After this OTT series, I have attained a bigger creditability as performer.”

Pandey will next be seen in director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s next film Lost. “There are other projects also but can’t talk about them right now. My independent film Homecoming started to stream from February and now it’s being premiered in New York and London as well.”

Born and brought up in Delhi, Pandey’s father is from Almora (Uttarakhand) mother is from Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). “My entire family both paternal and maternal relatives are based in Lucknow. Earlier, during my school holidays we used to be in our nanihaal most of the time. Though once in college the visits got reduced. Luckily, I got to spent good time in UP while we were shooting for Aashram in Ayodhya in 2019-20.”