Actor Sahil Balani, who plays the role of Dilip Jadhav in the show Udne Ki Aasha, says that this character is very different from how he is in real life. He says that his character graph is very interesting.
“My character Dilip is Sailee’s younger brother. My character’s journey is full of ups downs. He goes through wrong influences and faces a roller coaster of situations in life because of which he and his family have to suffer. Even though, he is kind in heart and has no evil desires, the ways which he chooses lead him to these traumatic situations in life. You’ll get to see many different shades of Dilip, some of which you’ll hate, and in some, you’ll get to realise his adolescence. He’s immature, very audacious to get anything in life no matter how!” he says.
He adds, “There is a story behind me doing this character. So, I was offered the script to audition for both Dilip (Sailee’s brother) and Aakash (Sachin’s brother), and after sharing, my self-test, I was shortlisted for both the characters. I wanted to play Aakash as I was able to correlate with the character easily because it had some mutual likes and dislikes, but due to certain reasons, everyone saw Dilip in me. Trust me, I really had to work hard on Dilip’s character audition. So, when I got to know about this, I was in a question mark, although I was positive about doing this character also as I really loved the plot of the show but then too because of the character. So, I was called for a meeting in the office where I was narrated about the story and the character thoroughly, and it was done so amazingly that all my questions vanished, and I was motivated by the fact that it is not necessary all the time to focus on leaving a positive impression, everyone should also know what actions and words should not be used in life! And by doing this, I’ll be getting a chance to portray and let everyone know what are the things that a growing adult should not do while adulting and if they do! what harm it does to itself and the ones related to it. And that is why I believe that everyone would want to see it, and I’ll be able to leave an imprint in one’s life!”
Ask him how he prepared for the role, he says, “So honestly, Dilip is one of the difficult characters for me because it is completely different from the way I am. All the activities which I performed, all the actions I did, and all the words which I used as Dilip, me as Sahil would have never imagined that in life. So, motivating myself to do all this, taking actions which Dilip took, making myself believe that yes, there are people like Dilip in our society was a bit of a challenge. But the main challenge for me was the tapori Marathi accent. Being from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, I have a strong dialect of shudh Hindi, we give emphasis on each and every word and in slow pace, and the dialogues were also in Hindi. So, getting to catch that Marathi accent without using Marathi words was a task for me!”
Ask him who is his favourite co-actor on the set, and he says, “Everyone is very nice here, so this would be very difficult for me to choose favourites. But yeah, I share a very special bond with Ravi sir, Sneha ma’am, Neha, and Pari as from being family in the show we really turn to be family in real life. Also, Sneha ma’am and Ravi sir guide me whenever I could not understand anything or need help, even make sure that I’m comfortable, not alone. I mean all four of them made it so homely for me that I never used to feel that I’m going for some work; I used to feel that I’m going home to be with my family! So, this off-screen chemistry gave me so much comfort and easiness that all that hesitation which I felt in the beginning vanished, and I always felt comfortable in doing everything.”
Talking about the atmosphere on the set, he says, “It’s amazing. Being a bachelor who lives alone, I used to crave for homemade food, and because of being regular in shoot, I couldn’t get time to cook food and bring it with me daily, and I personally don’t like to eat out. I believe I’m really blessed that I got a chance to work with Neha, Pari, Sneha ma’am, and Ravi sir; they carry extra food in their tiffin for me. And we used to eat together and have a lot of chit-chats together. Trust me, Sneha ma’am and Ravi sir are big foodies. During our outdoor shoots, Sneha ma’am used to ask what is the shoot location, and then she locates special food items of that location, and till now, we have been treated with rabdi jalebi, poha chicken, and so many more dishes, and this is really a bliss for me.”
