Exclusive! Sahil Mehta on Raksha Bandhan co-star Akshay Kumar: Treated us to Tandoori parathas when he himself was on a diet plan

Sahil Mehta is coming off of rave reviews he garnered for his delightful performance in Janhvi Kapoor starrer Good Luck Jerry. Sahil is now gearing up for the release of his next silver screen outing, which comes in the form of Raksha Bandhan. The Aanand L. Rai directorial stars Akshay Kumar and Bhumi Pednekar in lead roles and is slated for release on August 11. In a candid chat with OTTplay, Sahil spoke of how he came to be a part of Raksha Bandhan, and the dynamic he shared with his co-star Akshay.

Sahil essays the role of a young man from Delhi in Raksha Bandhan, a character who is much closer to home for the actor who himself is from the capital city. The actor said that having been born and raised in Delhi, he knew of many people like his character from Raksha Bandhan. Rigid on the outside, but soft on the inside, Sahil said that although his character tried to showcase that he was one who had seen a lot of the world, in reality he was sensitive and emotional. The actor said that he learnt something from every character he played. He takes effort to emulate them, and he takes away as much as he puts into them.

On working with Akshay Kumar in Raksha Bandhan, Sahil said “I’ve grown up watching his films, like Hera Pheri. Everyone knows how great his comic timing is. I remember a moment from the first day of shooting. When I first saw Akshay his back was to me, but i recognised who he was. I was nervous, which was only natural. But I tried to not show it”.

Sahil revealed that both Aanand L Rai and Akshay had seen his audition tapes. The duo had seen Sahil’s auditions for Good Luck Jerry, and decided to rope him in for the upcoming film, which the actor called an ‘amazing opportunity’.

Sahil continued “Cut to me being on the film’s sets, which were beautifully put together by the way. Even though I was nervous, I went up to Akshay sir. So there’s a scene in the film where my character in the film has to call out to Akshay sir’s character really loudly. After a few takes, I felt exhausted. Both Akshay sir and Aanand sir were very supportive. Aanand sir told me to imagine that Akshay sir was my big brother and told me to come to him if i had any kind of problems. Akshay sir told me to take it easy and not be worried”.

Sahil shared some delightful moments with his co-stars on the sets of Raksha Bandhan, and the actor spoke of how they had bonded with each other. “We used to have lunch together, Akshay sir, me and the actors who played Akshay sir’s sisters in the film. Akshay sir used to ask us what we wanted to eat, and make sure that we got it for lunch the very next day. So we all felt the kind of closeness between us. He’s a star, but also a lovely human. We bonded a lot, and Akshay sir used to joke and have fun with us every day”, said Sahil.

He recalled a particularly sweet gesture of Akshay’s. Many of the actors, like Sahil, were natives of Delhi. Once, while shooting in Mumbai, they had spoken of how homesick they were, and how much they missed Delhi’s food. “To our surprise, he got a Tandoorwala on sets, and treated us to tandoori parathas. Akshay sir had to follow a diet plan and he said to us ‘Tum khao. Main dekhunga tumhe’. That was very sweet of him. Aanand sir and Akshay sir used to bring us home cooked meals, celebrate our birthdays. I'm pretty sure the bonding between us will be apparent on screen as well, said the actor.

Catch Raksha Bandhan on the big screens on August 11. After the film’s theatrical run, it will be available to stream on ZEE5.