Siddhant Karnick, in a new interview, opened up on his ‘cigarette flicking’ scene in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal.
A popular face on television and the theatre circuit, Siddhant Karnick was recently seen in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s blockbuster film Animal in which he essayed the role of Varun, Ranbir Kapoor’s scheming brother-in-law. Throughout the film, his character is seen locking horns with Ranbir’s Ranvijay.
In a recent interview with Indian Express, Siddhant opened up on one of his earliest scenes in Animal in which there is a showdown between his and Ranbir‘s character.
The actor told the publication, “What was scripted in the showdown scene was a far more violent gesture towards my wife, who comes in between us. But when we worked it out, I was very uncomfortable with that high a violent act towards her. So, we settled down with something else during improvisation. We liked it, because this was laying down the stakes– the cigarette flick was the last straw, that the man was terrible, he deserved to be strangled. We wanted to show these elements.”
Speaking about how this scene had a huge impact on him, Siddhant explained, “It is totally against who I am as a person. When I do theatre, it is easier for me to slip into it as I am playing the character for an hour or two. But in cinema, there are so many breaks that it is difficult for me to come in and out of the character. I am waiting for two hours, when I am told the shot is ready, am called on set and then I have to flick the cigarette.”
He added, “I am still not Varun. I found it difficult to fling that cigarette at another human. That is where the training comes in. The person at the receiving end of the cigarette knows it’s coming, the character and the scene that demands. We got it in the first take.”
Siddhant admitted that he was nervous when he signed Animal but then, he completely trusted his director, who he called a “visionary open to suggestions.” The actor said that it was a difficult film for me and added that he was taken in by the filmmaker’s “original” voice.
