Adarsh Gourav: I get a reality check every now and then

Gourav with Chopra and Rao in the film

Life has changed dramatically for Adarsh Gourav since his breakout performance in The White Tiger (2021). He has seen it all in the past 13 months - international acclaim, noteworthy projects, and a BAFTA nomination. Now, his gripping act has won him a nomination in the Best Actor (Male): Film category at the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards. As we revisit the film, Gourav describes his character Balram - who, on seeing society's apathy towards the poor, uses devious means to realise his ambitions - as a survivor. He begins, "Balram's greed comes out when he realises that life is beyond his control. Everyone around is unforgiving and selfish; they cause him to become what he does. You can't endorse what he does to get away. I don't judge him, because do we really judge ourselves? We don't."

The actor reveals he never revisited Ramin Bahrani's directorial venture after its release. "I don't like watching my movies. I watched it a few times to know what went right and what went wrong. But beyond that, it feels narcissistic.

I can't look beyond a few scenes which I didn't nail," he says, citing the example of a sequence that was edited out. "In the scene, Ashok [Rajkummar Rao] sleeps with a sex worker after Pinky [Priyanka Chopra] leaves him. On realising that Ashok has done this, Balram feels he can do it too. He meets a girl, has a chat and sleeps with her. I was terrible at it."

Gourav admits that The White Tiger has given him everything he had dreamed of. So, how famous is he now? "Oh, hardly. I get a reality check every now and then," he laughs. "I was in Rajasthan last year for Valentine's Day, and we wanted a table. Every place was booked out. Someone suggested we pull strings. So, I made calls to restaurants, and no one there had even watched the film. Eventually, one place knew me. They gave me a table, but that's because they weren't sold out."

Cast your vote for the Hitlist OTT Awards

Adarsh Gourav has been nominated in the Best Actor (Male): Film category for The White Tiger. The other nominees are:

. Abhishek Bachchan (Bob Biswas)
. Dhanush (Atrangi Re)
. Farhan Akhtar (Toofaan)
. Sidharth Malhotra (Shershaah)
. Vicky Kaushal (Sardar Udham)

Log on to www.radiocity.in/hitlistawards to cast your vote.

You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c as on the website) to 57575.

Voting lines close on March 18.