Siddharth Gupta got to play Lord Krishna in one of the biggest surprises at the box office this year, Krishnavataram Part 1: Hridayam, and he calls it a divine blessing. On Janmashtami today, the actor opens up on how playing the God has had a huge impact on him. "More than playing him, it is the process of becoming Krishna that has had a bigger influence,” he says.
The actor asserts that no one can be Krishna as he is a God and a thought process, but his teaching helped him personally too. “We are in a mental pandemic as a lot of people are going through mental issues in today's time and age, and I was no different. I was also having difficulty coping up with the pace of life and where I am. But when you prepare and play a character like Krishna, you get all your answers,” he says.
Siddharth Gupta adds, “I ended up learning about how to be a karma yogi, learn the virtue of doing, and how to seek pleasure in the process and not the result. That's one of my biggest learning, ‘Karm kar, phal ki chinta mat kar’. It’s heard a lot, but to truly understand what it means is to truly practice it. It is easier said than done, but when you give your best, results really go out of the window because you did all that you could, and then you should never stress on the result. You should just stress on the process.”
{{/usCountry}}Siddharth Gupta adds, “I ended up learning about how to be a karma yogi, learn the virtue of doing, and how to seek pleasure in the process and not the result. That's one of my biggest learning, ‘Karm kar, phal ki chinta mat kar’. It’s heard a lot, but to truly understand what it means is to truly practice it. It is easier said than done, but when you give your best, results really go out of the window because you did all that you could, and then you should never stress on the result. You should just stress on the process.”
{{/usCountry}}Him playing Krishna has not only affected him, but also how people see and perceive him since the film’s release. “We had some ethereal experiences during theatre visits where people legit saw God in me. I've been practical in life and thankfully mature enough to know that the love is for Him, not for me. But these things happened where people would see me before the screening, and just walk past me. And right after the show was over, I'd see men, women, who are doing great in their own lives, shaking, crying, and trying to touch my feet. That kind of sparkle in people's eyes made me not see love for me but made me see Krishna in them and the love for Krishna that they have. The sense of respect they have for me has been unreal and different, and I've been very grateful for it,” he shares.
Janmashtami celebrations hold a special place in Gupta’s memories as his mother is an ardent follower of Lord Krishna. “We used to celebrate Janmashtami every year with full gusto while growing up. As kids, we used to create the idol of Krishna from wax and then paint on it. That used to become my daily routine. I have broken dahi handi as a kid in my colony because everybody thought I looked like Lord Krishna. It's quite ironic that I ended up playing him,” he gushes.
But after playing Lord Krishna himself, the importance of the festival has gone way beyond just celebrations for Gupta. “Now I'm so much more informed about the relevance of the festival. It holds another importance for me. When you play Lord Krishna and Krishna himself has chosen you to do this, it feels like it's your own day,” he says, adding that his family has come down to Mumbai to celebrate Janmashtami with him this year. “My house is filled with idols and my family's already come here. I do have plans of making the idol for Lord Krishna from clay and paint it myself. I also have an invitation for an event, and I'm hoping to attend that and celebrate it with the followers of Lord Krishna by playing dahi handi with them,” he ends.