For me singing-dancing is much harder than being Humayun,” Adiya Seal says. The actor is currently riding high on the success of his latest Disney Plus Hotstar show, The Empire, where he played the role of the Mughal prince, Humayun. “Nikkhil Advani and his company Emmay saw something in me which probably I didn’t see myself for Humayun,” Aditya adds.
The Empire is predicated on the novel Empire of the Moghul by Alex Rutherford. It portrays the origin of the Mughals, their rise and expansion under Babur and the way they defeated Ibrahim Lodi within the Battle of Panipat to enter Hindustan (Indian subcontinent) from Kabul. While the show focuses on Kunal Kapoor’s Babur, Aditya Seal’s Humayun appears within the last half of the series.
It feels nice when my character is revealed and spoken about post release. That’s happened with me in Student of the Year 2 also where people had goodies to mention . It seems like an underdog victory. Kab tak chupa ke rakhoge!,” Aditya shares with a smile.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, he further reveals that his previous work, also including Indoo Ki Jawani, was different from what he did within the Empire. “Such films involve attracting the audience by the way you look, sing and dance, and that i get very conscious when it’s about this stuff . But if I’m alleged to play a personality forgetting the glamour a part of it, I’m happier. Here, even within the war sequence, there was blood and mud everywhere our faces.”
According to Aditya, he slept on the bottom , rolled on the dust and allowed dirt to be smeared on his face to urge the design right. “When I walked on the set for the primary time, i used to be conscious. But once you have numerous actors in their get-up, looking a neighborhood of the age , it’s not difficult to urge within the zone. The intricate [details] of the set also helped me tons ,” he adds.
Directed by Mitakshara Kumar, The Empire received attention for its extravagant sets, detailing of props, grand costumes and therefore the scale of production. For Aditya, being a neighborhood of such a work of art was a memorable experience. However, he claims that quite the dimensions of the project, it had been about the content. Being a part of three episodes, he wasn’t conscious of what the cast and crew had shot before that, and when he realised its grandeur, he was in awe.
“I knew what it had been about and therefore the concept. But once I first saw its teaser where Kunal Kapoor as Babur says “Paigham bhijwa do sabko, hum aa rahe hain”, i used to be blown away. it had been making an enormous statement. There I realised this is often way bigger than what I had imagined.”
And how was it working with an interesting line-up of actors in its ensemble cast? Stating that he speaks less but absorbs all that’s happening around him, Aditya says, “Because we were shooting during the pandemic, we didn’t get to spend an excessive amount of time with one another . the good part was when everyone walked on set as Babur, Maham, Kamran, Khanzada, it became easier to ascertain one another as our respective characters. I bonded with Kunal Kapoor tons since a majority of my scenes were with him. i might sit in his vanity. He’s sort of a gentle giant. you only let his aura get into you. Sadly, I didn’t get an opportunity to figure with Shabana Azmi.”
Aditya picks the scene where his character Humayun arrives with the battalion to assist his father Babur before the battle, as his personal favourite. “I usually don’t see the monitor post the take because i buy conscious, but that was one scene I saw and felt amazing. Aditya Seal recently receives the foremost Promising Actor award at the Dehradun International festival , by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Did he ever feel worried about any backlash or rejection considering such historical dramas come under scanner easily? Aditya reveals there have been language experts on the set to correct their Urdu pronunciation and ‘nuqtas’. “I was rather worried about staying as on the brink of history as possible. We do take liberties. it’s cinema in any case , but those liberties shouldn’t offend a particular section of individuals . in fact there’ll be some backlash that we were glorifying invaders. I say if you’ve got a drag , please return in time and alter history. an enormous film like Border was supported an event but that doesn’t mean you’re glorifying war.”
Aditya is keeping fingers crossed for the second season of The Empire, which, as per chronology should revolve around his Humayun’s reign. “My expectations were at an honest level but it surpassed all that. It got me all pumped up and that i hope we do a season two because it doesn’t add up to not roll in the hay . Here’s hoping we surpass more expectations now,” he said, picking Ishaan Khatter to play his onscreen son Akbar. “Though that doesn’t add up in the least , but I couldn’t consider anybody younger,” he said with amusing .
While his Indoo Ki Jawani gained better traction post its digital premiere soon after its theatrical release last year, Aditya has never been averse to doing web series, at this early stage in his career, including Forbidden Love and Fittrat. He said experiments with stories in films get restricted. “There’s a box office which must be fulfilled. With OTT, content is king. Who is cast and everything else is secondary. That’s what’s attracting me to the present medium. it’s educating the audience about better cinema. There i buy to try to to what I wanted to try to to , try different characters. Everybody is getting into OTT space. There’s a much bigger fanbase, a much bigger audience.”
He also mentioned that his girlfriend Anushka Ranjan has been a pillar of support to him. Reflecting on how a robust partner boosts confidence levels, Aditya added, “She motivates me tons , though we’ve different mindsets. I’m far more relaxed. She may be a go-getter and independent. in fact I’d like to lookout of her, but I don’t need to . She manages stuff on her own and handles mine too. the ultimate decision is hers just because she’s better at that. That’s what i really like about her and that’s what true equality is. It doesn’t make me less of a person to simply accept that she’s way smarter and that i take tons of pride therein .
Aditya, who claims to get on social media thanks to “pressure”, has Bosco Martis’ directorial debut Rocket Gang in his kitty. The dance-comedy will ensure he gets to “shake a leg and break a leg.”
