The Right Balance Ishwak Singh

The Paatal Lok actor, Ishwak Singh, talks about fitness, grooming, navigating mental health, and acting, in equal doses

- Sukriti Shahi

It's that time of the year again when our social It's a small world, they say, and it indeed is! When I saw Singh on the big screen for the first time, I whispered to my friend sitting next to me, 'you know both of us are from the same theatre group,' pointing towards him while watching Raanjhana. That was a few-second cameo, but it was just the beginning for him. Yes, seeing Singh practising his dialogues for a play called Court Martial in Delhi almost over a decade ago was my first memory of him. Apart from everything else, his performance on the stage would demand attention and that's what set him apart from his contemporaries in that theatre group.

Cut to 2020, Imran Ansari made his way to our TV screens in Paatal Lok and people couldn’t stop raving about his performance. And what followed was a line of noteworthy projects, from Rocket Boys and Berlin to Paatal Lok Season 2. Does it get overwhelming to process success? “It’s nice not to get too much of a hangover of success or failure. It's just a thing that comes and stays with me, more like a slow release, a happy hormone,” says Singh who’s gearing up for an interesting year ahead with back-to-back projects. Singh is not just about his on-screen persona, but also about what goes behind the scenes–from fitness to grooming and navigating mental health, here’s how the actor manages it all.

Has acting been always your calling?