Akshay Oberoi: I had not held a cricket bat until the show came my way

When Akshay Oberoi started his career with Isi Life Mein in 2010 he wanted to become the poster boy of Bollywood success Over time the industry taught him valuable lessons imparting to him the importance of quality over quantity The actor has since then built an impressive resume of digital offerings choosing diverse roles that display his craft In a quick chat he discusses inhabiting the distinct worlds of his two shows mdash Amazon Prime Videorsquos Inside Edge 3 and Disney Hotstarrsquos Dil Bekarar an adaptation of Those Pricey Thakur GirlsEdited excerpts from the interviewrdquoHave you read Those Pricey Thakur GirlsI read the book recently after shooting for the series We have stuck to the source material Director Habib Faisal may have tweaked a few things because he knows what works better for the visual language If you ask Anuja Chauhan the novelrsquos writer I am sure shersquoll tell you that the script respects the source materialA still from Dil BekararWhat do you remember of the rsquo80sI donrsquot remember anything from that period Habib Faisal has recreated it authentically because he grew up in the rsquo80s in Delhi Before I started working on the project I brushed up on that time period checking events of the decade and watching Anil Kapoor movies to understand how romance was depicted at the timeWhich one do you prefer mdash romancing in the 21st century or the rsquo80sI prefer the romance of the rsquo80s because people had conversations as opposed to texting their feelings to people Families sat down and chatted together because no one was busy on their phones or iPads Love in that decade was probably more romantic since feelings could be shared honestly and not by hiding behind the screen It was also simpler back then there was a lot of looking at each other and feeling each otherrsquos auras They didnrsquot have 3000 options on dating appsAkshay with coach Prashant Karia training for Inside Edge 3It was interesting how the series inculcated body positivity and women empowerment through Debjani and Gulgulrsquos tracksThe show beautifully planted seeds for what we are doing today In the start of the series there is a dialogue ldquoItrsquos not like Prakash Padukone is bringing home a celebrityrdquo which references todayrsquos reality The seeds of modernisation were sowed then We are depicting progressive families through the story We were trying to be true to the decade and planting ideas that are relevant todayYoursquore the latest addition to Inside Edge 3 Have you seen the first two seasonsI grew up in New Jersey and had no idea about cricket I had not held a cricket bat until the show came my way But Karan Anshuman and Kanishk Verma director met me for the role The part is so relevant and addresses such a sensitive topic that I wanted to do it I practiced cricket every day for two months I had seen season one by the time I had signed the show After coming on board I watched the second season By then I had already fallen in love with cricketDid you have any inhibitions about playing a queer characterIt is my job to represent society and this is a part of society that is underrepresented It was a huge responsibility and an honour to play the partThe popular belief is that people from the LGBTQiA community should be roped in to lend authenticity to the characters and their representation Your takeThat is ridiculous If the role is that of a murderer do you have to cast a murderer I have a skill set and have been working on my craft for 1520 years The point of acting is to get into somebody elsersquos shoes The reason actors exist today is because they are paid to depict fractions of society that have nothing to do with themOn the set I was sensitive to the part and ensured that I didnrsquot make it caricaturish The biggest victory was when the community reached out and thanked me for representing them accurately That is more important to me than anything I have read I experience love and sexuality as a human being That is all that is needed to play the part I am portraying feelings of love and just because I am not part of the community doesnrsquot mean I canrsquot represent it authentically