Exclusive! 83 actor Sahil Khattar: Happy that my film journey is going the same way as Shah Rukh Khan

Sahil Khattar, the YouTuber-turned-actor, is all set for his big-screen debut in Kabir Khan's 83. The newcomer will be seen alongside some leading names in Indian cinema like Ranveer Singh, Jiiva, Pankaj Tripathi, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Neena Gupta among others.

In the film that chronicles the Indian cricket team’s World Cup win against the West Indies, Khattar plays the legendary Syed Kirmani. Since the time his casting was announced, there has been constant talk about the striking resemblance between the two men.

Before the release of 83 on December 24, Khattar spoke exclusively with OTTplay about his theatrical debut, working with director Khan and his co-star Singh, on the OTT platforms vs. theatre debate, and more.

Edited excerpts are below:

You started as a host of a popular YouTube channel and then launched your channel. Did you ever think of pursuing a career in acting?

That's a very good question. I always wanted to be a performer. I came to Mumbai from Chandigarh against my parents' will. I wanted to work in the media industry, and then I realised hosting comes naturally to me as I have been a radio jockey. Then I tried hosting and it happened. But then I realised that the long game is to become an actor. If you want to sustain and make a name for yourself, and you don't have that success, fame, or anything beyond the top-notch level of performers, then you have to act. I am from a theatre background, so with the help of everybody around me and with whatever I could do my hard work with, I started acting, and then 83 happened, so I'm really happy. I'm really glad that I'm a part of this magnum opus. This film is historic. 83 is going to be one of the biggest films in Indian cinema ever.

83 was supposed to be your big acting debut. But due to the pandemic, the film was delayed and 200 Halla Ho was released first on ZEE5. So, do you regret that 83 wasn’t your debut outing?

Not at all. I think everybody loves Shah Rukh Khan, but I consider him a demi-god. He signed one film, and then he signed another one. I did 200 Halla Ho only thinking that Shah Rukh also started his career in a negative role. So owing to that fact, all these quirky answers aside, let me tell you one thing. Of course, I felt bad when the film got delayed due to the pandemic. But looking at the producers and the makers, I realised their sadness is much greater than ours. I was feeling bad for the makers as I have YouTube too, but these guys have given their soul, heart, blood, and sweat to this film. So now I'm just happy that it's coming out and I'm happier that my film journey is going the same way as Shah Rukh Khan's.

How was training with Syed Kirmani? Did you get any cricketing tips from him?

When I met Kiri Bhai for the first time, he quipped, "Oh, Kiri Bhai." And then I told him, "Nahi, aap Kiri Bhai." I remember everybody was talking about how similar we all look. There are so many memes already on the Internet. I don't even know if I should quote them; they were just funny. We are both very identical, not just in looks, but in personality too. He is very quirky, funny, elegant and graceful. I had to adapt to a few things. The tips he gave on wicketkeeping, handwork, glovework, and athleticism helped me. I think he is cricket royalty. He is so charming. He still has that personality and that aura around him. So to create that and emulate that, obviously it was very difficult. But I gave my best, for sure.

I will narrate an incident to you. When Balwinder Singh Sandhu was conducting our training, he asked us to do high knees. I have been a bronze medalist in roller hockey at the Asian Games, but I also found the training very tiring. When Sandhu asked me to do five more high knees, I started singing the High Rated Gabru song, and everyone was left in splits. Basically, during the training, we had the most fun as I was myself and loved joking around with everyone. I was the clown of the whole training regime. We trained hard but had fun too.

While filming or training, was there any mannerism that you found difficult to adapt to?

He was one of the most athletic keepers ever. He was the first one to dive so much, and I learned a lot of those skills. During the training, I got hurt in my knees and elbows. He used to do cartwheels on the field while the match was going on while taking a throw. As I had been a roller hockey player, it was easy for me. But at that time, the pressure was also immense. We could get away with that. That was a big deal for us. During the final match, I caught a ball, and Kabir Sir said, "Moving on." I asked him, "Moving on? Wait, how can you take that shot in one take? " I ran from the centre of the pitch to the other end, and I saw the shot. It was a replica of Kirmani, and all the training given by Bali sir and him worked for me. The rush that was there during the training, all came naturally to me.

What was the equation on the sets with the captain of the 83 squad, Ranveer Singh?

It was mind-blowing. The first day I came in, I introduced myself, and he said, "Pata hai mujhe." So I was like, "The guy has researched me." So Ranveer said he had watched videos of me. He is somebody who keeps a tab on everybody and a tab on what pop culture is. Because of the YouTube videos that I still do, we are a part of Indian pop culture. Ranveer and I bonded so well that it was almost like a tornado meets a volcano because it's tough to contain this much energy in a room. We used to have so much fun that Kabir Sir used to say, "Ho gaya tumhara toh shooting kar le?" We used to make parodies of songs where Ranveer was Messi and I was Ronaldo.

On a serious note, the kind of captain he is, not just in reel life but also in real life, is brilliant. He used to say, "It should not matter what people are saying or thinking. It should be your work that does the talking." He said it's very important to ride the wave, so we have to ride on it, grow on it. We both did a scene together, and an anecdote about it helped so much that after the take, we got a thunderous standing ovation for 30 seconds. It was mind-blowing. Just imagine, you have actors like Pankaj Tripathi, Deepika Padukone, Boman Irani, Neena Gupta, such big actors, and a debutant like me is getting thunderous applause.

Ranveer has added so much to my life. My journey with him has been from a fan to a friend. Now, I can pick up the phone and call him. That's a beautiful thing. He is one of the biggest stars in the country and is still so grounded, so down to earth.

83 is what one might call an "overdose of testosterone." How do you see the film as an entire package?

When was the last time you saw a star-studded cast on this level? I will tell you, it was Jaani Dushman. But the result for 83 will be the opposite. This is going to be one of the biggest films in Bollywood. The best part was that all of us knew the film was bigger than any of us, so nobody was bothered about the journey. The whole idea was to do great work. Everybody bonded so well. We went out, we chilled, we shopped and partied together. We all hung out together, sang songs together, like Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, and Marathi songs; it didn't even matter. It was like a five-star boys' hostel, which has come out well in the film. And I feel it was important for this film as they got everybody from different walks of life, different industries, and now all of them are coming together.

83 is a difficult film to shoot as well. What do you have to say about Kabir Khan's filmmaking process while shooting for the movie?

I'll tell you what, Kabir Khan is one of the biggest filmmakers in the country. It's probably one of the top five, right? He made us very comfortable in the meetings that we had for the character decoding that was supposed to be done in the best way possible. The way we sat across the table and discussed scenes, the way he briefed us It was just amazing. A lot of people don't know that he's very funny. I do funny business for a living, but you have to sit down with Kabir sir and listen to his stories. You have to hear what his punches are like; he is very funny. On top of everything else, when a guy who's doing such a serious job suddenly cracks these jokes, you feel a little surprised, thinking that Kabir Bhai is multitalented. And he is also good-looking, which is an add-on.

Kabir sir was the captain of the ship and he had control over all of us. So when I arrived late on the sets once, I got an earful from him. On the other hand, Dinker Sharma, who plays Kirti Azad, was scolded privately. But during the break, I was having fun with everyone, while Dinker was sulking. So Kabir Sir asked me how I could be so fine after being scolded by him. To which he said, "As per my track record in Mumbai, coming 15 minutes late here is progress." So then he started laughing so much. The kind of bond that I share with Kabir sir is also very funny and quirky. I think I got my way in a lot of instances only because of the humour and the wit that I carried with me. I think that is what I have in common with Kabir also.

What difference do you see in yourself when you transitioned from a content creator to an actor?

I grew in leaps and bounds; I learnt so much; actually, that's a very good question. I learnt so much from Kabir Sir and Ranveer. How to be in the mood, how to carry a scene forward, what kind of reactions to give (when and where), how much to give, the camera lenses, the angles, lighting, everything. I learnt so many things on the sets because it was my first Bollywood film. It is my first theatrical release, and now, technically, OTT is done. When Neil Armstrong said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," it was that much. As an actor, it was a giant leap.

What's your take on this debate on OTT platforms vs theatres?

My take is that good content will survive anywhere. Yes, some films should be experienced in the theatre. That is why '83 was awaited, and it is going to be one of the biggest films of all time for sure. The grandeur of Money Heist or any other show will never decrease because the content is so good. Even though I have billions of views on my videos on YouTube, good content sells everywhere. I don't have any disparity between OTT and theatres. Someone recently asked me, "where do you think the television will stand?" I said, "Listen, all of it has been there in the US." Do you think television has gone anywhere? No. " Television is not even surviving and thriving in the US. So in India, also, television is not going anywhere. The money will actually grow. In terms of advertising, everybody will start advertising a little more because the market is growing, the industry is growing and the GDP is growing. Because of all that, I think nobody's going away. Good content will survive, provided its good content.

What do you have to say about the censorship on OTT platforms?

I can sum it up in one sentence because I can see that the censorship is you, the censorship is me, and the censorship is the consumer. If you do not like it, click on the next video. So, I don't think there should be any government regulation on digital for sure. But, if it's happening, we won't have a choice but to accept it. But there should always be freedom of speech in some form or another, and digital is that medium where we would all love to have that. Whether it's OTT, whether it's YouTube, whether it's any other app or website that we are looking for.