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EXCLUSIVE: Barun Sobti on not seeking validation, insider-outsider debate, neutral perspective, criticism
Barun Sobti, in an exclusive chat, opens up on if he feels validated with the kind of response his performance has been getting, any relevant criticism he heard, the lows and the highs and his web show. Read.
When Barun Sobti set out to explore new content and options, people around and within the industry branded him to be yet another actor who wants to do films. The actor, however, did not let the noise get to him and continued working on projects he believed in. Well, all his hard work has finally paid off with Asur getting him the much needed acclaim and now followed by Halahal. Before that, he was a part of a few critically acclaimed movies, Tu Hai Mera Sunday being one of them. In a candid chat, I asked Barun if he felt validated now with the kind of response his performance has been getting, any relevant criticism he heard, the lows and the highs and his web show Halahal where he plays a notorious cop. Over to him:
In Halahal, you play a cop who is slightly on the notorious side. It is a side unknown to many. Were you surprised when the role came to you?
It is not like I got this offer from external factors, I had known the director of the show since long. We have had countless chats about the film earlier and he was very well aware of the notorious side to me. Of course, many people aren't because of the presentable side I keep but that doesn't mean I did not have my share of notoriety when I was growing up. So, I was not surprised actually when I said yes to the show, in fact, I was confident. 
But do you think in the last two years, we have seen a certain evolvement in terms of audience. A series like Asur might not have been received the way it was couple of years back...
I also think so. I can't be sure that it would be the same case but with respect to evolution of the audience that has definitely happened in the last two years. I don't know if the audience would have received Asur and Halahal the way they do now, two years back, but definitely the change has happened now.
Do you consider what the audience expects of you while taking up a project or do you simply follow your gut?
I follow my instinct actually, I never think about the audience because it is a very large tool, so you cannot make decisions on everybody's behalf. What you can do is choose a career path and stick to your own belief. Either you know your reality that you are not smart enough and must follow what others say or you follow your gut instinct and hope that people will realise your work and potential. So, I stuck to the second one and I know I have a working mind and I trust my instinct and thankfully it is working for me. If I like it, I do it and if people like it too, then it means I am doing something right.
My perspective is very regular, good or bad. If anyone behaves good or bad with me, I try not to change my attitude towards them and remain the way I am
Barun Sobti
Any criticism or feedback which has stayed with you even today?
I have never heard a relevant bad comment about me, to be honest. The only comment I have heard about me that is bad is either always inspired by spite or jealousy. I have never received a relevant criticism. Sometimes I have heard that I am not socially available that's the only complaint. But with regards to my performance, I have never heard anything bad.
A certain complement which has stayed with you?
My perspective is very decent and regular about the world, good or bad. If anyone behaves good or bad with me, I try not to change my attitude towards them and remain the way I am. I have found the right way of living, and that is by being a good human being and I know that. So my perspective doesn't change much even if someone says good about me, I just feel gratitude and thank them.
People even in close quarters were trying to influence me and my wife to explain it to me, yeh pagal ho raha hai. I did not feel for any validation
Barun Sobti
When you left Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, I remember people had too many comments to make, many felt you are making a wrong choice. A lot of criticism followed. Do you feel validated today with the kind of adulation you have been receiving?
I never care about what people say and there was no one or two people that were telling me, the whole world was telling me that. People even in close quarters were trying to influence me and my wife to explain it to me, yeh pagal ho raha hai. I did not feel for any validation then and I don't feel for any validation now. When I set out, I set out for a different reason. People perceived it differently, they thought yeh filmein karne ke liye chod raha hai which was not the case. I just wanted to spend time with my wife whom I had married just before I started the show. I remember I used to ride my bike in between breaks so that I could see her shopping for groceries. I was that consumed. No one knows my reality. A lot of people at that time were making comments like, you will see he will regret it. But I never cared for validation and that is why I think I was able to quit even. I love the people who stood by me but I don't have anything against anyone.
It is a mean world. Actually there are people I know because of whom I need to teach my daughter, it is a bad world. It is a world like that but you need to keep your sanity intact to survive, even when things are great or not so great.
What do you think of the ongoing insider vs outsider debate?
I think this is a debate which is so obvious. People who are complaining about nepotism or insider or outsider, are the same people employing their kids in their shops. Then, they complain. Of course, that happens. Insider and outsider thing is a fact but I don't have a problem with it to be honest because it is a freaking fact and what were you thinking when you were entering the industry? That it is going to be a cakewalk? It is the most difficult industry perhaps, it is psychologically and physically consuming, you have to keep telling yourself that it is going to be fine. If someone is coming thinking they would get the same treatment as an outsider, then they are completely delusional.
There were times when your films didn't work. How did you cope up with that?
We are all humans and of course we feel sad and happy. There are times when things don't work and you feel sad but that is how it is, but this can't be the message to anyone who wants to enter the industry because everyone has their own journey and time. If someone today says that I am lucky, that person will be a fool because it is all the hard work and amount of time I have spent here. You don't just get lucky overnight. Some people do but not everyone.
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