Guns & Gulaabs actor Adarsh Gourav: ‘My character Jugnu is hiding from the world about who they really are’

Adarsh Gourav in a still from the Netflix series 'Guns & Gulaabs'.

Within a short span of time, Adarsh Gourav has managed an impressive line-up of acting projects including his portrayal of Balram Halwai in the Netflix film The White Tiger in 2021 which got him a BAFTA nomination and the international series Extrapolations which also featured big names such as Meryl Streep and David Schwimmer among others. In his latest project, Raj and DK’s Guns and Gulaabs on Netflix, the 29-year-old actor plays Jugnu also known as Chhota Ganchi, son to the late Satish Kaushik's gang-leader character. Jugnu is later (spoiler ahead) revealed to be a transgender person. In an interview, the Jamshedpur-born actor talks about prepping for this role and his forthcoming projects. Edited excerpts:

A still from Guns and Gulaabs.

Jugnu or Chhota Ganchi is probably one of the most complex characters in the show. How challenging was it for you to get inside the head of someone who is hiding their true identity from the world? 

It was difficult but it was as difficult as getting into the head of any person. In the case of Jugnu, there is a lot going on about hiding from the world about who they really are and what they really feel, so there are a lot of insecurities and inadequacies. Where I really started building from was the fact that Jugnu comes from a world of gangsters where he is surrounded by men. There is no mother; there is probably a sister who got married early on. How does it affect a human being to be brought up without a mother and constantly be surrounded by conversations that mainly pertain to violence, guns, killing and extortions. That was my starting point for Jugnu.

Quite a few of your scenes were with the late Satish Kaushik who plays your father in the show and who passed away not so long ago. How was it working with him? 

It was magical. He would always have a story or two and you could never get bored sitting with Satish sir. He told me so many stories about Bombay in the '70s, when he had come here from Delhi and was doing plays at Prithvi Theatre. I asked him so many questions about what places such as Prithvi Theatre, Yari Road and Versova used to be like. He told me about the day autos started in Bombay because till the late '70s, there were only taxis. He recalled how happy he was because now they could travel in autos which were much cheaper than taxis. He was a beautiful human being apart from a legendary actor. It’s kind of hard to accept that he’s not around.

Your career trajectory has been a little hatke, with The White Tiger, the international series Extrapolations and now a show with Raj and DK. You don’t come from the industry. Do you rely solely on yourself for choosing projects or is there someone who guides you?

Ninety per cent of what I do is purely what I want to do. I only work for myself. I work in the kind of films and stories that I would like to watch. My elder brother is my guide and mentor. He’s been a big influence on me growing up and still is. Whenever I feel I am not sure about something, I ask him for his opinion. But yes, it is me staying true to what I want out of this. I just let that guide me.

How was the experience of working on an international series? There is also another international project Alien in the pipeline. What can you tell us about that?

The experience was amazing. I think when it comes to films, people all over the world are united by the emotion and love for filmmaking, so it’s not very different in that sense. There are fewer people that work on the film set so the process is more automated. What is really amazing when you work in an international project is that you get to meet people from all over the world and hear stories about their countries and their upbringing which is so different from how I grew up in Jamshedpur. That is the exciting part for me. As for Alien, I can’t say much but it is a sci-fi show and I am super excited to be part of it.

Next up is Kho Gaye Hum Kahan where you star alongside Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday. What’s the update on the film? 

The film is almost ready. I think it’s just a matter of figuring out when to release it. It was a delight working with Siddhant and Ananya who are both absolute sweethearts. They are incredible people and incredible actors. We had such a blast shooting it. We are all of similar ages so there was a lot of relatability and banter.