I enjoy playing layered characters: Akshay Oberoi

CHENNAI: Akshay Oberoi, who made a mark for himself with the role of Basheer Khan in Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone’s Fighter, is all set to capture the attention of the audience in an upcoming web series, that will be airing in Zee5. Started his film career from backstage work, he has worked in various short films and has been a part of many films and web series. Akshay will be playing the role of a terrorist in Jackie Shroff-starrer spy thriller film, Two Zero One Four.

In an exclusive chat with DT Next, Akshay Oberoi gets candid about being a part of The Broken News 2, a Hindi-language newsroom drama. Without delving deep into his character, the actor shares his collaboration with Sonali Bendre and Shriya Pilgaonkar for the web series.

1. At this point, what can you share about your character from The Broken News 2?

My character’s name is Ranjit Sabarwal aka Ronnie. Ronnie Sabharwal has recently returned from America, where he studied and worked before coming back to India. He joins as the CEO of one of the two network channels on the show - Awaaz Bharti. That’s all I can reveal for now.

2. What attracted you to the character and the show?

Well, first and foremost, director Vinay Waikul. I have worked with him on Test Case, and here was a chance to collaborate with him again. It’s always fun to collaborate with directors you’ve already worked with. There’s sort of a shorthand where you know each other well enough that you can just hit the ground running. So that was the first and foremost reason to do it. Secondly, the character, I mean, you’d have to watch it. I can’t divulge too much, but there are a lot of layers and a lot more that meets the eye. Those kinds of characters are always fun to play. I enjoy playing these kind of layered characters. That’s why I became an actor—to portray human beings that are layered and complex because we all are that way. So, when it’s written that way, it’s a lot more fun.

3. Joining an already existing show where the audience has found a bond with the characters and the actors could mean a bigger challenge. Were you apprehensive about this while signing the show?

It’s always exciting to join a show that’s already popular and has a dedicated fan base, It’s already in demand. If I were afraid, I wouldn’t have survived so long in this business; these kinds of things don’t scare me. I like to dive in and play the game that I love, which is acting, at the highest level. And these people are performing at the highest level—Jaideep, Sonali Bendre, Shriya Pilgaonkar and others are such good actors. This is what I love to do, what I live for—to collaborate with great talents like this and with good directors like Vinay. So, no apprehension, just complete excitement to be a part of this show.

4. How was the experience of collaborating with Jaideep, Sonali, and Shriya?

Jaideep and I didn’t have any scenes together, but it was an honour to be in the same show as him. He’s a tremendous talent, as the world knows. I had a lot of scenes with Sonali Bendre and Shriya Pilgaonkar. Both are fantastic and great respect for both. I really enjoyed working with both. Sonali Bendre has done so much good work that I’ve seen throughout my life, and Shriya has done such great work in recent years. It lived up to everything I thought it would be.