Actor Pulkit Samrat has spoken about the challenges actors face in breaking out of typecast roles, expressing gratitude for directors like Bejoy Nambiar and Karan Anshuman who offered him opportunities beyond his romantic hero image. He emphasized the importance of hunger and support from the fraternity to evolve as an actor.
Returning to Work with Karan Anshuman
Pulkit has reteamed with Anshuman, known for 'Mirzapur' and 'Inside Edge', for Netflix's upcoming boxing thriller 'Glory'. The role required intense physical training. He previously worked with the director on 'Bangistan' in 2015.
Reflecting on the industry's tendency to pigeonhole actors, Pulkit said, "Actors get boxed into a zone, genre and particular performance. To get out of that, you need to have the hunger to do something different and the support of people like Karan Anshuman and Bejoy Nambiar who managed to look at me and say that he is not just a romantic hero or a chocolate boy but he can also be an angry young man." He added, "You take that as a challenge and prove to people that you can do it but that needs support from the fraternity. You may not get support from ten people, but two people are enough to change your life."
Career Shift and Role in 'Glory'
Pulkit starred in romantic and comedy films like 'Sanam Re', 'Fukrey' franchise, 'Dolly Ki Doli', and 'Junooniyat' early in his career. He shifted gears with 'Taish' (2020), an action-thriller directed by Nambiar, where he played a volatile man. Though he appeared in two episodes of 'Made In Heaven', 'Glory' marks his full-fledged series debut.
The show is set in the gritty world of boxing, exploring the brutal ecosystem and politics through the story of a medal-obsessed coach and his fractured relationship with his two sons, Ravi and Dev, who return home after their father's student, an Olympics hopeful, is found dead.
Appeal of the Narrative
Pulkit was attracted to the story's different narrative structure, which avoided typical training montages. He described his character Ravi as "not just a boxer in the ring but also a player who is very disciplined in handling life... He has a system in reacting to things, not very impulsive. He is a sportsman, he sleeps like a sportsman, he wakes up like a sportsman, he thinks like a sportsman."
Learning about boxing took him inside the mindset of a boxer. "My failures and baggages from life helped me flesh out the complexities. I felt like whatever I had done before was empty compared to what I have done in this show," the 42-year-old actor said.
He praised the writing by Anshuman and his team, calling it a "Google map" that helped him navigate the story. "The entire arc was beautiful and I had a lot of fun playing with it."
Production and Cast
Created by Anshuman and Karmanya Ahuja, and produced by Mohit Shah and Anshuman under Atomic Films, 'Glory' is written by Anshuman, Ahuja, and Vaibhav Vishal, and directed by Anshuman and Kanishk Varma. The show premieres on Netflix on Friday and also features Dviyenndu, Suvinder Pal Vicky, Jannat Zubair, Ashutosh Rana, Sikandar Kher, Kunal Thakur, Sayani Gupta, Yashpal Sharma, and Kashmira Pardeshi in pivotal roles.
