Exclusive! Eklavey Kashyap: I auditioned for Bagga and Karan in College Romance season 1 but Harry worked out well

Best remembered for his role in Tuesdays and Fridays, Eklavey Kashyap has made his entry in the world of College Romance with the latest season, College Romance 3. The actor plays Harry on the show but originally, he was offered the role of Gagan Arora’s Bagga or Keshav Sadhna’s Karan. Eklavey, who had packed his bags for London, is now back in India thanks to the show. There is one scene from the show that has stuck with this actor and he will be grateful for that one scene in particular. Can you guess which one?

Excerpts…

Tell me how did College Romance 3 happen to you?

It was pretty standard in that sense. I got an audition call when I had moved to London. Casting wanted to audition me for the character. I had no tripod or anything where I was staying. It was with five other people and nobody could give me Hindi cues. I had my friend on Zoom on the other line and set my camera on top of two suitcases and did my audition. It worked out. They needed a retest. It was pretty unbelievable. After a few meetings, I was called back to India to film for the part.

Are you back in India or have shifted to London?

I'm back here for a while. Waiting it out for the next few months since things are picking up a little better here. For the foreseeable future, I will be in India.

Were you a fan of College Romance or were introduced after being a part of it?

I had watched the show. Funnily enough, I had auditioned for the first season of the show.

Really? Which character?

Both Karan and Bagga. I didn't end up getting them but both of them (Gagan Arora and Keshav Sadhna) have done such a good job. I'm kind of glad that I came back in season 3.

Harry has some trouble adjusting with the gang on-screen. Was it the same for you off screen? This was your first time entering the show and this gang is close-knit. So tell me about your experience with them.

It was the bang opposite of what it was on-screen. They made me feel very welcomed even though they are a very tightly knit group. They were very welcoming and I knew a couple of people from before. Gagan and Keshav were in my college. The person I was a little apprehensive about was Shreya because I only knew her from her screen. I didn't know how she would be as a person but she's a very warm person. Most of my scenes were with her and she made it so beautiful for me.

That's interesting since she plays your girlfriend and senior. Did you have the same fear - that what if she doesn't accept you?

It really played out well in that aspect. I learned so much from them. It was a great experience.

Going in as someone who dates this hot and hot-headed chick Deepika and thanks to that, takes panga with his roomie Karan, was it this crazy graph that drew you towards the character?

It's like they say no - opposites attract. Harry is uber-cool, smooth and Deepika needed someone to calm her down, which he does. That's what attracted her to him - that she's unflinched. How Karan used to react is the exact opposite of how Harry reacts. That's something which she found attractive in him as well.

Harry had to be absolutely mad and daring to pull off what he did. Tell me, how did you bring those emotions out?

That's the interesting challenges in playing any character. You look at the similarities and differences. A lot of things helped me. My director, writer, co-actors were very helpful. Just making those conditions around me so I can play the character so well - it came a little easier because of the people I had around me.

I learned to tweak and adapt into a different characters. For Harry, I used to listen to breezy, cool, daft punk kind of music just before the scenes. His clothing is also very cool. It was important to have comfortable-in-his-own-skin kind of demeanor around him. When you have those things in your body for a long time, you translate that into emotions as well. That's what ended up happening for me as well.

Was your character much like the script or did you act spontaneous or was it a combo of both?

There was a combination of both the things. The show is very strong on paper as is but every character makes it come alive and giving it their own spin to it. There was a lot of improv and give-and-take which made it more alive and real.

Any scene where your co-actor was spontaneous and you gave into that moment? Can you tell me about one such scene which has stuck with you?

The scene with Deepika in the library. I pull her close to me. It was a scene that wasn't written. We just had a situation and had to play along.

That was my first scene on the show. While there are sets where everything is decided to the T, here we see a lot of freedom given to the actors to be able to play along and go with the flow. That scene strikes out for me.

My most memorable Harry moment is when he swoops in like a hero and saves the day by forcing the truth out. Which would you say is your most memorable moment featuring Harry?

It has to be the same. I have seen the moment 20 times now, if not more. These are the scenes you do these shows for.

You got to play the typical Bollywood hero on OTT...

Yeah, yeah. When I saw it, I just can't believe I pulled it off. Literally, who is this? It feels amazing. I'm a sucker for moments like this. It's now out in the universe forever. Nobody can take it from me. I'm so grateful about that.

Given that Harry is no longer dating Deepika but he has won over the gang nonetheless, can we expect to see him again in season 4?

That is for the makers to decide. I'm hopeful that he's here to stay. Harry has a lot more to do and offer. He can do it in different ways than he did. Now he's more comfortable in the space and has fit in.

The main thing for Harry was that he wanted to fit in. He never had friends and never made those connections but now that he did, I hope he comes back stronger and knows what to do in the next season.

Upcoming projects?

There's another OTT release scheduled at the end of the year. I'll also be filming a feature film around the same time. These projects will hopefully be on schedule and I'm very excited for them.