Actor Rohit Saraf, who plays freedom fighter Sachindra Nath Sanyal in The Revolutionaries, has revealed that preparing for the role changed the way he viewed fitness and lifestyle, after years of dismissing motivational messages on social media as meaningless.
Saraf opened up about his fitness journey while speaking during the promotions of the series in Mumbai alongside director Nikkhil Advani and co-stars Pratibha Ranta, Bhuvan Bam and Gurfateh Pirzada.
The actor said the experience of preparing for the role had already felt rewarding even before the series reached audiences.
“Usually as an actor, when you are a part of something so big, you put in so much effort. You feel rewarded once it comes out and people are loving it and you’re getting all kinds of love and adulation. But honestly, I feel that I’ve already been rewarded,” Saraf said.
He explained that his earlier attitude towards fitness was very different. Saraf said he would often come across social media posts describing fitness as a lifestyle and comparing it to therapy, but had considered such messages “garbage”.
That changed when he had to physically transform himself for the role.
“To become Sachin, the first thing that I had to tap into was to look like him,” he said.
According to Saraf, there was limited information available about what Sanyal looked like. Advani therefore envisioned the character as a highly fit wrestler who would resemble an akhada pehelwan with prominent muscle definition.
“With no way to cheat it, I had to become it,” Saraf said, adding that he was already working towards becoming fitter but the role gave him an additional motivation.
Produced by Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani under the banner of Emmay Entertainment, The Revolutionaries is written by Sanjeev Sanyal and is streaming on Prime Video.