A Story Finds Its Hero, Not The Other Way Around

Jaideep credits his early introduction to literature and his struggles for providing him with countless references to portray a wide range of characters

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It's never the hero's story, it's the story that finds its hero," said Jaideep Ahlawat, who credits his early introduction to literature and his struggles for providing him with countless references to portray a wide range of characters.

Despite making it big with critically acclaimed performances in movies such as 'Raazi,' 'Three of Us,' 'An Action Hero,' and crime drama series 'Paatal Lok,' Ahlawat said he doesn't mind auditioning for a role.

"I still give auditions. In fact, I gave one recently. If there's a director who wants to tell a story and he isn't able to visualize me in that role, it's his right to see me in that get-up, performing a scene. That way, he can decide whether or not I'll be able to do justice to the character," Ahlawat said.

The actor recently spoke at a masterclass session titled "The Stillness That Shakes The Screen," during the Jagran Film Festival in Delhi.

Ahlawat said it was his father who introduced him to literature at a very young age.

"And I realized one thing - it's never the hero's story; it's the story that finds its hero. It's as simple as that. Every story has a hero, and that hero can come from anywhere. If you choose the hero first, it's not necessary that a story will emerge. But if you choose the story, the hero will reveal itself. In one lifetime, a person may not meet a thousand people or a thousand characters, but through Premchand's stories alone, they will encounter at least a thousand characters," he said.