Do Deewane Seher Mein star Siddhant Chaturvedi says he has made a mark in the Hindi film industry as an outsider without much "networking and PR" as he believes the only way to succeed is to stay honest to his craft. The actor's first film was Life Sahi Hai in 2016, which he followed up with OTT series Inside Edge. He broke out in a big way with 2019 film Gully Boy, where he played a street rapper. The 32-year-old actor, whose performance in films such as Kho Gaye Hum Kahan and Dhadak 2 have been appreciated, said he travels, meets people from different walks of life, and reads not just about cinema but about the world to stay grounded. "I'm bad with networking and PR. I don't know how to position myself. Isn't my work the method of telling people the authenticity I have? "The only way I keep myself not corrupted is to know what corruption is and coming from nowhere, I've seen everything. I feel innocence, purity, authenticity and minimalism are going to be the new way of life in the next 15 years.

 

We've maximised the world with information and everybody is a superstar," he told PTI in an interview. Chaturvedi, born in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, was working towards a degree in chartered accountancy but quit it to focus on his budding acting career. His father is a CA by profession. "The choices that I've made as an actor, maybe they are not the most commercial choices, but all I know is that I've done it with purest intentions, not without any malice, or taking shortcuts. Honesty is the only tool that I have. So, that's (in acting) where I kind of give my 100 per cent, forget, and detach myself and go into the world of the character," the actor said, adding, even in relationships and personal life he likes to be "transparent and honest". "I wanted to do a rom-com, and I waited my time because there were not many being made. So, when I heard the script (of Do Deewane...), and it is with Ravi sir and Mrunal, I was like, this is a perfect combo, and Bhansali sir is producing it, couldn't have asked for anything better. So, here we are with this beautiful, enduring, warm, kind of a rom-com breezy film." Do Deewane Seher Mein will hit cinema halls on February 20. n