Best known for his lovable and lighthearted turns in ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania’ and ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania’, actor Sahil Vaid is stepping into uncharted territory with SonyLIV’s political crime drama ‘The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case’.

In the series, Vaid takes on the gritty and emotionally complex role of SP Amit Verma, one of the core members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

In this exclusive conversation with Mathrubhumi English, Sahil opens up about why this role felt tailor-made for him, how his unique upbringing across Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Mumbai shaped his connection to the character, and why ‘The Hunt’ has been the most transformative experience of his career as an actor.

Q. You’re playing SP Amit Verma, part of the SIT that probed Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination case. What drew you to such a real-world role?

Multiple things. The first thing that drew me towards really wanting to play this part was that it was completely different from the parts that I’ve done before. It was a completely selfish endeavour. When you’re not a part of the show, a very selfish thought comes to you — that this is something that I’ve not done before; I want to do it, and I want to prove my mettle to the industry folks and the audience out there. That was the first thought that came to my mind.

It was after that that I was told that most of the show would be shot in Tamil, and they were looking at an actor who looks North Indian but speaks Tamil. Then that thought changed into, ‘Wait a second. If I don’t do it, who is going to do it? Because I am tailor-made for this character.’ When I saw the real picture of SP Amit Verma, I completely understood why I was being thought of.

At the back of my head, there was another thought process — that this is a completely different kind of show. It is so real, so gritty. It’s real people, real events, no drama, and no sensationalisation… why would they cast me, someone who has come from a world of gloss, comedy, hero ka dost, this and that? Then that selfish thought kind of took a back seat, and I realized that I need to be a part of this.

It is one such opportunity that I have been waiting for, for years, and I really want to contribute to this, because being born and brought up in Tamil Nadu, I understand both sides of the story. I understand the intricacies of why things happened the way they did. Even then, while preparing for this, we were very surprised by what transpired back in the day. It was eye-opening — the kind of coincidences and the kind of events that followed after the assassination of our ex-Prime Minister.

It sometimes makes you wonder — if real life is so thrilling, what’s the need for coming up with fictional stories where you have to add these cliffhangers and twists to the plot? It’s all available in real life! When I went through that whole process, I felt this insatiable thirst, this hunger to be on this project.

Then I was a team player! It was a no-brainer! If I had said no to this role, I would have regretted it all my life — and regret is one word that I never use as a human being. Thus, I was like, let’s jump right into it.

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Q. Nagesh Kukunoor said your fluency in both Hindi and Tamil made you an ideal fit for 'The Hunt'. Growing up in Salem, how did your Tamil roots inform your performance? And as someone raised in Tamil Nadu, what were your early impressions or memories of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case?

It’s worth mentioning that now I feel like my whole life — the way it turned out — I feel like my whole life was a preparation for this show. It might sound like a very promotion-worthy statement, but it isn’t like that.

Ever since I was a kid, I kept wondering why I am such a freak. My school friends in Tamil Nadu used to call me ‘gora’ in the same connotation that we call the British, although they became friends eventually. When I moved to New Delhi, because my accent was so heavily South Indian, they used to call me ‘Madarasi’. I was never accepted.

Naturally, I had to find a home in Mumbai, because here, being a freak is appreciated, being different is appreciated, being from two different places is appreciated — and rightly so.

They were looking for a person who could speak Hindi and Tamil fluently. That’s what I did. I always worked so hard towards getting a role. It’s nice to sometimes get a role that is tailor-made for you. This has never happened with me before — where I completely fit the part — and it feels so nice.

You can actually stop thinking about the politics of trying to get a role and straightaway get into preparations, applying your training, and getting into the skin of the character. It felt really nice. For once, I felt like I was in the right place.

Q. Do you think ‘'The Hunt'’ will change the perception of how casting directors and audiences see you?

That is the hope. Remember the first feeling I had when I first got to know about this show? That selfish thought that came to my mind, where I said I wanted to do something different and prove my mettle? That was the hope, and that is still the hope.

But when you come to think of it, it has already changed; hasn’t it? Directors like Nagesh Kukunoor — they saw potential, and that’s why they cast me. Casting houses like Casting Bay, Kritarth Sethi, who cast me — he already saw something in me, and that’s why they cast me. They have already started seeing potential in me.

But this show, when it releases, will cement that possibility in people’s minds — that ‘this actor is not just a funny man; he’s an actor. He will probably be able to pull off this character or that character.’ I’m very glad that this has happened.

Unfortunately, acting is the fun part. After getting the role, life is good, because I know my work, I know my job, I have my training, and I always meticulously go back to that. But getting there — getting the job, getting the part — is still a very weird process. It’s not something that I really like, where you are subjected to every judgment with every project.

 

Somebody says his eyes are too small, somebody says, ‘Oh wait, we don’t like that he has very good hair’... Believe me, the good aspects of you also go against you sometimes.

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Q. Just as you mentioned, have you ever been rejected for a role because of small eyes or good hair?

I don’t know. I would never know because they would never tell me. That’s the irritating aspect of the casting process in our country. It’s not open; it’s not very contributing to the actor. If a casting director does not select you, he will never tell you why you weren’t selected.

It would be so nice to know why you didn’t get a part or why you were not considered for a part. Most of the time, you don’t get selected because a bigger name or a more famous person is available. It’s fine.

That’s one reason why I really wanted to become a star very soon in my life — so that I don’t have to worry about the next character. Again, like I said, whatever happens, happens for the best.

Now I am so glad that I did not become a big name swiftly, because then I would have done a lot of these characters that don’t bring anything new to the table. I would have just become a run-of-the-mill actor who is doing film after film after film. I’m glad that’s not happened.

'The Hunt' happens to be that show that is unique and which is different. I know every actor says that about his upcoming show, but when people watch ‘The Hunt', they will realise that shows like these are not made.

Q. That scene where you tap into your inner Dilliwala is one of my favourites in 'The Hunt'. Which moment is most special to you?

The same scene that you’re mentioning is my favourite too. Although I’m very comfortable in both these languages (Hindi and Tamil), this ‘Dilliwala’ aspect is one thing that I could never incorporate in my personality because that is not how I speak. My friends used to speak that way back in Delhi when I was in college, and I never thought that I would be able to say these words.

But when I was given that freedom (to perform the scene)... There is a very old Akbar-Birbal story where a smart guy comes in and says, ‘nobody can guess where I come from,’ and people kept guessing, since he could speak multiple languages. That is when Birbal says, ‘I’ll tell you tomorrow morning where you’re from’. Birbal then throws cold water on the man while he’s sleeping, and he blurts out something in his mother tongue. And that’s how Birbal gets to know where he’s from.

That was the kind of opportunity where a guy breaks out of all other layers and his true self comes out. That, for me, was an opportunity as an actor because that breaking out into the ‘Dilliwala’ that you see in the series is not the truth for me. But it is the truth for the character. Amit Verma — when he blurts out certain words that are only Delhi-specific — I know how it feels. There is a sense of freedom, and it shows that the person truly belongs to this place.

 

But it’s not who I am in real life. Delhiwalas have never believed I was a Delhiwala, Punjabis never believe that I’m a Punjabi... I’m so glad that I have an identity crisis. Now I love the whole country… the whole country is mine…

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Q. Most of your scenes in 'The Hunt' were with Bagavathi Perumal, who plays DSP Ragothaman. The series captures a compelling bond between Amit and Ragothaman — two officers navigating a high-stakes investigation. What was your experience like working with him and building that dynamic on screen?

He is a man of very few words. In fact, I would be very glad when we had scenes; at least I would hear him speaking. He has worked with some of my absolute idols. He has worked with Gautham Menon and has assisted him. He also comes very prepared.

He is actually older than me — in the show and in real life — but I outrank him. I’m an SP, and he’s a DSP. So that dynamic, I have seen most of the time in the Indian Army also, where the Subedars are much older than the officers, and they give that respect to the officers. That’s a dynamic that I have seen and understood over the years.

On set, he was also the senior — a senior actor whom I’ve always seen in multiple films. Some of his scenes have also gone viral; I’ve seen him on Instagram as well. So, I started off as a fanboy, and I ended up as a fanboy.

He’s a very lovely co-actor to work with, and a very good man. He’s also very kind. When you’re playing senior to an elder man, someone who is far more experienced than I, someone who is accomplished and established, it becomes his responsibility to kind of assist my seniority status, as far as the script is demanding.

There are selfish actors for whom it takes a minute to take the scene away from you. But he didn’t do that; he contributed to the best of his abilities to establish the fact that though I’m younger than him, I’m his senior officer.

He’s a great actor.

Q. Can you also share what it was like sharing screen space with the cast of ‘'The Hunt'’ and being directed by a filmmaker like Nagesh Kukunoor?

Have you ever been to an amusement park when you were a child? You know that feeling where you want to go on every ride and you want to do everything, and you know that you have just one day to do it? I felt like that little child.

I had Amit Sial, with whom I had done theatre back in the days — absolute pleasure to work with. Bagavathi Perumal, whom I’ve seen in the cinema, and now I’m working with. Danish Iqbal, also from theatre, is an amazing actor.

There are very personal moments that Amod Kant (played by Danish) and Amit share (in the series) because these are the only two officers who came from up north. And their conversations are completely different from the conversations that Amit had with Ragothaman.

I felt like this was an amusement park. There was Nagesh Kukunoor, whom I have attended guest lectures of as a film student. I’ve looked up to him, and now I’m being directed by him. It felt like a dream come true. And being able to act in Tamil, which I always wanted to do...

I’m sure a great orator would have a word to describe my feeling; I don’t have that word. I wish I were educated enough to tell you that this is the word, and this is how I feel. Unfortunately, I can’t explain the kind of happiness I had on this set.

I had an amazing time on the set; this is unlike any other set that I have been to. I wish there could be 10 more episodes of this series, I wish there could be a sequel to this. But the story ends where it ends; all good things come to an end.

Q. Since 'The Hunt' is based on a real-life incident, were there discussions on set about the actual investigation?

All the time — and none of us were really bored with it, because everything was so surprising and interesting to hear. Whether it was over chai, lunch, or dinner, we would only have conversations about what happened. And after every statement and every nugget of knowledge that Nagesh Sir would dispense upon us, our first reaction was, “Really? Did that happen? But why?”

It is probably the first set that I have been to where nobody is speaking about styling or asking, “Is my hair okay?” Nobody was talking about anything other than the story — what happened, the events that happened in the ‘90s. We were like, is it even possible? It is so unbelievable, it is so weird, that we kept on shooting, and we were surprised through and through with how the investigation unfolded.

We didn’t talk about acting, we didn’t talk about anything else — this was enough for us. We would come back home and start researching what we spoke about during the day, and start looking for videos and photos of what we shot that day.

Everything was so exactly the same. It is almost like a coloured, high-resolution xerox copy of what actually happened. Although I’m a part of the show, I’m a fanboy of it as well.

Q. Tell us about your upcoming projects?

There’s a film called ‘Suswagatam Khushamadeed’ which should release, but I don’t know when it will be out. It’s again into that realm of entertaining people and having a lot of fun on-screen. It’s with Pulkit Samrat and Isabelle Kaif. Hopefully, it will be released soon.

Hopefully, after watching 'The Hunt', a lot of people from Tamil Nadu would be interested in casting me, because I’m not done yet. Now I’ve tasted blood, and I really want to go down south and do Tamil films. Of course, I want to continue doing Hindi films as well, since I speak the language. But I hope this show opens the possibilities in the minds of Tamil directors to invite me over.

I would love to go back home and shoot in Salem, maybe, where I was born.