Exclusive - Karanvir Sharma recalls his experience of meeting Sushant Singh Rajput while he was training for Dhoni; says 'I realised he was a very grounded actor and he had a fire in him to learn new things

Karanvir Sharma, who has seamlessly transitioned across all three mediums - films, OTT, and television, recently discussed with ETimes TV exclusively, the most challenging role of his career which tested him both physically and mentally. Recalling his portrayal of Manoj Prabhakar in the film Azhar,

Karanvir Sharma

shared the challenges he faced in mastering the cricketing skills and body language required for the role. In the same interview, Karanvir Sharma shared his thoughts on the late

Sushant Singh Rajput

. He recalled a personal anecdote of meeting Sushant during the latter's preparation for the MS Dhoni biopic role.
On playing Manoj Prabhakar in Azhar
For me one role which was very challenging was when I played a cricketer in Azhar. I played Manoj Prabhakar and I had to depict a real life character. I had to gain weight, get the body language right and I had to learn his cricketing language which was quite orthodox. I had a very new age way of playing cricket like Virat Kohli. It was very difficult because I had to break what I knew and I had to

learn new things

and we did not have much time.
On facing challenges in playing the role

For me physically, mentally it was Azhar’s character Manoj Prabhakar that I was playing was quite challenging. Otherwise also I feel any intense role takes a toll on you as a performer but you have to get out very fast. I have a process for which I take time, but I come out of the phase.
Training with Sushant SIngh Rajput
I still remember I used to go to learn cricket in Andheri. I remember I used to go for my cricket training there and Sushant Singh Rajput was training for the Dhoni biopic. We all Emraan Hashmi, me and Sushant used to train there for cricket. It was a great experience.

I realised that Sushant was a very grounded actor and he had a fire in him to learn new things
In fact, that was the first time I met Sushant. He asked me, “You are doing something for Azhar right?” I was very naive at that and I also asked him why he was there and he told me he was training for the role of Mahendra and I thought why he is not saying MS Dhoni. He was in a different zone at that time. I realised that he was a very grounded actor and he had a fire in him to learn new things. I remember this memory with him very clearly. He gave me some tips and all also because he was better at cricket than me.