Exclusive! Danish Sood: CAT was an eye-opener for me

CAT, starring Randeep Hooda as lead, has released on Netflix. Actor-singer Danish Sood who played a pivotal part in the show, shares how the story sheds light on the dark side of Punjab where the rampant use of drugs made the youth of Punjab a huge victim. 

Sharing more insight into his character Danish told OTTplay, "It was a character of a young Punjabi lad who is a drug addict and dealing with a constant struggle of not having a future, poverty, lack of inspiration to live a life and also his addiction! That is a reality for any youngsters of rural Punjab where drug abuse is rampant. As an actor to get a better understanding of my character, I was reading up a lot and trying to understand the reality; the more I knew the more I felt heartbroken because it was eye-opening for me and many of us who are living in urban cities." 

The story is set in rural Punjab where how politicians to locals are getting involved in the business of drugs and substance abuse that is putting the youth of the state into the dark. It is what makes the show engaging and reveals another side of Punjab that we often do not get to watch in the glossy presentation in Bollywood movies. 

Danish is narrating the character of Sunny Singh. He is the brother of Gurnam Singh, played by Randeep Hooda. 

Asked if he can empathise with his character Sunny, Danish said, "I feel bad really because a child without dream and aspiration only gets drawn into the darkness. Sunny and his brother Gurnam have a 15 years age gap so instead of being the friend with his sibling, he is scared of his brother. There is no one Sunny can opens his heart to and that is why the drug is the best escape for him; also access to drug in a few pockets of rural Punjab is as easy as daily goods in grocery shops. On one hand, Suuny wants to come out of his drug addiction but he cannot live without drugs, because he is an addict." 

He further added, "Since there is no job opportunity these youngsters get, they themselves become drug paddlers. So the transformation happens from a drug user to an addict to a drug seller...they end their lives like that. My heart goes out to those who are suffering like this every day." 

The eight-episode web series also features Suvinder Vicky, Pramod Pathak, Geeta Agarwal and Hasleen Kaur among others. It is streaming on Netflix.