Veer Pahariya debuted in the hit film Sky Force, which starred Akshay Kumar. The young actor garnered great reviews for his first role, and critics and audiences have universally praised the film. The actor talked with Subhash K Jha about his role, working on the film, and with Akshay Kumar, as well as touching on the reactions he has received so far.
Veer, although I thought you did a good job in Sky Force, there is a vicious backlash about your easy access to your debut. Does this take away from the joy of the film’s success?
Not at all, Sir. I think it was an honour and a privilege to be in a film like this, which, you know, pays homage to a real hero of the 1965 war. People who have watched the film have given so much love, so there is only joy.
Tell me about your antecedents?
I was born in Mumbai, and I spent a few of my primary years in Mumbai, and then; my parents had a rough separation, which I have mentioned a few times before, which kind of had a very negative impact on me as a child because you know everything was so widely covered in the media and the divorce affidavit was out in public domain. But so, growing up as a child, you know, I really wanted to escape, have my own voice, and try to do something on my own.
And that outlet for you was the movies?
So, yes, that for me, was movies. I didn’t have too many friends growing up so the movie characters which I watched in Hindi films became my best friends. I also spent a lot of time trying to evolve, so I would spend time with music instruments. I developed an interest in writing. You know, I used to direct short films, I used to be on stage, and I used to perform at Shiamak Davar. My mom enrolled me when I was very young, and then growing up, I moved to Delhi, and then I went to boarding school, after which — I went to boarding school very early in my life when I was four or five — I realized that I wanted to act. So, everything in my life has been towards achieving that dream after that.
How long did it take your dream to fructify?
Post school, when I got done at about when I was 18, just the summer before that, I started working, and my first job was on a film called Alone, which was released in 2014. I worked as an intern assistant director on that film. Following that I did a lot of ads. I worked as an Assistant Director on ads, I learned production design, I worked in the costume department, I worked in the sound department, I also assisted Mr. Resool Pookutty on a show, I learned mixing, mastering, and sound engineering, and I used to lend my voice as a rap artist and as a singer for many ad jingles which are still available on YouTube, etc. I can share them with you, and that’s how my journey started, and then I started a YouTube channel where I developed a small audience, but they were very much, you know, interested in listening to my music, and I used to perform all over Maharashtra and get paid to perform when I was 20 years old, and these were all the YouTube songs which I would direct write a feature in and I think that gave me a lot of confidence to face the camera because I started learning about angles, about lighting, about camera facing, etc… these things. Following that, you know, I studied in the UK, I went to college, I have a dual degree in finance and management, but while I was there, I was focusing on my music and my performance on stage, etc., and I started taking dramatics as a minor. When I came back from university, my first job was as an assistant director on a film called Bazaar. I worked on that film and then I went onto the pre-production of Satyamev Jayate from the production company and then I focused on another venture of mine where I would be a live show host which would go live in real time on a gaming app. That also taught me a lot about, you know, being spontaneous, improvising, and performing for the camera when you know you don’t really have a second take. Following that, you know, it was just before COVID when I wanted to quit everything and focus on my performance and, you know, audition, etc.
That’s quite a lot on your resume!
Although my audition journey started in the beginning when I was assisting, etc, and I’ve also, by the way, done some gigs as a child actor in ads in, you know, toothpaste ads and you know, powders and soap etc. My main time where I focused on acting happened in 2019 when I started auditioning again, and I cracked four or five projects where we had done the look test, we had done the poster shoot, I’d signed the contract, but just at the last moment somehow it would be taken away, or there would be no funding. Then I happened to, you know, get into Maddock films by selling my music which I developed over COVID, and you know, fortunately, they liked my song, but then I spoke to them and said that I really wanted to act or assist or be in any form be in Maddock films.
So your real journey began at Maddock.
I had the good fortune of assisting Amar Kaushik sir on a film called Bhediya, where I also body doubled for Varun Dhawan, and I did a lot of his action sequences, and you know, standing in and his line I, and then I left Maddock after I was done with Bhediya and I worked in a casting agency called Anti-Casting as a casting assistant and I auditioned for another Maddock project which I didn’t get because I think the day the we cracked the screen test and look test, that that film was shelved. So it was a long waiting process, and then somewhere in 2021, I was onboard for Sky Force.
How do you look back on the experience of working in Sky Force?
It was honestly a memorable experience getting in character for Squadron Leader T. Krishna Vijaya. I had read every single material that exists in any book in the world on Squadron Leader and the 1965 air war on the internet. I had the good fortune of Maddock Films sending me to four air force bases, the first one being Pathankot, the second one being Gwalior where they have the third one being Lohegaon, where they have the Sukhoi 30s, and then Suratgarh in Rajasthan, where they had the MIG 21s. Post that, I was at the Delhi headquarters, and I ended up making some really, really good friends with squadron leaders who are my age who give their life for the country every single day, and based on their personalities, I kind of got the swagger the style, the walk, the stance etc and because I spent a lot of time in the bases I tried to make it my second nature of the way I was sitting eating the way they eat you know there’s a certain level of distinguished personality that they have. These are the things that I picked up from them.
What did your preparation for the role entail?
My preparation was in three parts, the first one being my acting training, where I went to a number of workshops, and I tried to get that part of my personality out. The second part was, you know, spending time at the air force bases with real officers and being in touch with them constantly and perfecting the salute, the handshake, the walk, the sitting posture, and the third and the main one was getting the physical training right. I am a slightly heavy person. I lost all my body fat, I lost all my muscle mass, and I got super-lean, and I maintained an eight-pack through the shoot because the cockpit is very, very small, and you should be able to fit your legs; otherwise, you’ll not be able to eject. So I put a huge emphasis on the body type of a fighter pilot, and I also had the good fortune of flying in a real fighter jet to understand what it is to take the force. I am a licensed pilot …
You actually fly planes?
I did because of the film, and I took that opportunity to really learn and experience that because acting is all about living, and I really really wanted to do this so I could take that off the bucket list. Then, towards the end of the film, we were able to meet the Vijaya family. Mrs. Vijaya, who’s 90 years old she, gave us some insights and some anecdotes about her husband and what his personality was, and luckily, you know, we had pretty much matched that in the film and kept it authentic.
What was it like working with Akshay Kumar?
Akshay sir is a gem of a person. I was very, very intimidated and petrified before we started shooting because I had imagined that he might be like this he, might be like that because of what we hear. But honestly, when I met him, he was the nicest, warmest, most comforting, most welcoming person ever. In one second, he broke the ice even though I was nervous, and he could sense it, and he’s a very hungry, passionate actor, and he wants to get it right, so he would rehearse with me, and I would rehearse with him, and we would do lines many times, and we would do different ways of doing it, and we would play around in the scene and we really really enjoyed it he would set the mood sometimes. He would tell us stories, and because we were making a very emotional film that’s based on a true event, it was a little intense to shoot, so he would help us get in and out because it was my first film as well. So it was a huge, huge blessing to have an action superstar as my co-star. He taught me the run for the camera he taught me how to take impact on a mattress he, taught me how to dance for the camera; in all, it was like attending film school that, and it’s my it’s my honor and privilege to share my share screen with him on my first movie.
In hindsight, do you feel that this privilege that the trolls are targeting you for is more a disadvantage than an advantage?
Not at all, Sir. I’ve worked very hard to be here. You know, I’ve had a 10-and-a-half-year journey behind the camera, and people don’t really know who I am. People never took an interest in my life. In fact, on my trailer launch, even though I was sharing the poster with Akshay Sir and my name was on the poster, a journalist at the trailer launch addressed me by another name. Nobody knew who I was. But since I’ve been trolled so much and there is so much on social media about me, now I guess I don’t need to introduce myself anymore, so I think if I look at the positive side, then only good things have happened.
