Exclusive! Pop Kaun's Saurabh Shukla on awards: Is validation more important than work?

Since making his acting debut with the 1994 film Bandit Queen, actor and writer Saurabh Shukla has received love and respect from audiences and critics alike. But in his over three-decade-long career, he has won only two awards, one of which is the National Film Award.

While many budding actors these days get recognition for their work and validation through social media and awards, others like Saurabh are not often spotted at award ceremonies.

OTTplay recently caught up with the actor and asked him for his take on awards. He said, "It is apples and oranges. I do not think that anybody who works and is happy with their work will talk about awards. What's an award? It is a validation of your work, right? Now, if the validation pleases you more than the work you do, then that is something to think about. I have never given a thought to how many awards I have won. In my career, I have won two awards, and I never questioned why I have not won more awards. The objective for actors should be clear: do you want to be an actor or do you want to collect awards? You should know what your basic motive is. I came into this profession because I wanted to be on a film set. I want to perform, write, and enjoy filmmaking, and that is my biggest motivation. I did not become an actor to collect awards, because there are ways to do that, which we all know about. I am here to act."

Saurabh has acted in hit films like Satya, Hey Ram, Calcutta Mail, Slumdog Millionaire, Barfi!, Jolly LLB, PK, Raid, and Drishyam 2.

He won the National Award for the Best Supporting Actor for Jolly LLB. 

In the web series Pop Kaun?, he plays the character of KBC, the father of Pihu, played by Nupur Sanon. Pihu is in love with Sahil (played by Kunal Kemmu), who is on a hilarious search for his real father.

Directed by Farhad Samji, Pop Kaun? also stars Johny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Ashwini Kalsekar and the late Satish Kaushik. It is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.