EXCLUSIVE: Saiyaara’s Shaan R Grover Shares His Thoughts On Screen Presence Vs Screen Time; Says, “If People Are Making Memes…”

Debutant actors Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda have taken the nation by storm with their performances in YRF’s latest offering Saiyaara. While these two stars are winning hearts left, right and centre, actor Shaan R Grover – who essayed the role of Mahesh Iyer, Vaani’s ex-fiancé in the musical romance, has also been getting some love. In fact, the buzz around his character his character has event resulted in ‘Mahesh Dalle’ memes doing social media rounds.

During an exclusive chat with Bollywood Bubble, the actor – who was also an AD on Sanam Teri Kasam, got candid about how he got the role, the importance of doing a content-driven role over a lead ‘hero’ role and whether screen time and screen presence are the same. Read on to know all he said.

Shaan R Grover: Mahesh Isn’t A Villain; He’s A…

During an exclusive interaction with Shaan R Grover, we pointed out that actors today aren’t obsessed with wanting to play only hero-type roles, but also keen on essaying characters with grey shades. When asked what motivated him to play an unconventional character in Saiyaara, the actor replied, “I think this is a great time to be an actor. Audiences don’t care about black or white anymore… They want real, complicated, messy, layered. Mahesh isn’t a villain; he’s a product of pain, rage and patriarchy. And somewhere, I knew it would be interesting to tap into that.”

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When asked his views on whether it’s better to do content-driven roles over roles that have one’s name at the top of the call sheet, Shaan revealed, “Yes! In today’s time, content trumps the call sheet. You could be on screen for 10 minutes and leave a bigger impact than someone in 100. That’s the power of a well-written part.”

Shaan R Grover: Screen Presence > Screen Time

On being asked what matters more – screen presence or screen time, Shaan R Grover replied, “Screen presence > screen time. If people are quoting your lines, making memes, and hating you with passion, you’ve clearly done something right.”

Talking about how he bagged the role, Shaan said, “I ended up giving three rounds of auditions, the second and third were especially intense. Both Shanoo ma’am and Mohit sir loved my take and the way I approached the scenes. Shanoo ma’am really pushed for me, and eventually I had a meeting with the man himself Mohit Suri. We vibed instantly. I think he saw something in me that aligned with the madness of Mahesh. The whole thing took about 1–2 months to come together, and when the final call came, I knew life was about to change.”

For more exclusives, news and updates from the entertainment world, stay tuned to Bollywood Bubble.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Aamir, Salman Or Shah Rukh Khan, Saiyaara Actor Shaan R Grover Reveals Which Bollywood Khan He’s Eager To Work With

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.