15 houses had to be changed in 10 years, I felt ashamed of Bata after seeing others' Nike shoes

In this film, actor Adarsh Gaurav has played the role of a young man from a middle-class family, whose friends are rich but whose dreams are still poor. She doesn't get along with her father, whom he considers a friend, she is just using him and is unable to get anywhere in life.

How challenging has it been so far for the child of a Telugu family to start his acting journey in Hindi cinema?
I was born in Jamshedpur, so I have been speaking Hindi mostly since childhood. Our rule at home has been that we speak in our mother tongue Telugu. But, we spend so much time at home. When they are small, they are playing outside. And when they grow up, they go into business.

This year there has been a lot of focus in cinema on father-son relationships. Would you like to tell us something about your relationship with your parents?
My father was always getting transferred due to his job in the bank. I have spent more time with my mother. Didn't get that much time with dad. Now I am spending time with my father and trying to understand him.

You belong to a middle-class family and are playing a similar character in the film 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan', who is a friend of the youth from rich families.
My experiences with such characters are very similar to my reality. In 2007, I came to Mumbai and lived in a flat in Juhu given to my father by the bank. For the first two years, Juhu was Mumbai for me. There was no understanding of what was outside it? In the Jamshedpur school from where I came, the school fees were three hundred rupees and here in Mumbai it was three thousand rupees. Suddenly there were people around me who were talking about brands. There was no discussion about shoes and clothes here. I also started thinking that hey, he is wearing Nike shoes, and I have Bata shoes.

So what effect did it have?
Such things started instilling deep financial insecurity in me at a very young age. I started comparing myself and my parents with these brand loving people and their parents. All this is happening now on social media but I have already gone through this 16 years ago. Now this seems very strange to me but it was the truth of that time.

That means, did these experiences of your struggle help you in your acting journey?
Yes, this was very helpful for me. However, I could not understand this at that time. In those days, I used to be very annoyed that we had to change houses every one and a half years. Papa kept getting transferred. If we got a house from the bank then it would be good otherwise we would have to live in a rented house. In the second year, the landlord wanted to increase the rent, which was not within our control, so look for a new house in the same budget. In the last 15 years, I have changed about 10 such houses in Mumbai. What used to irritate me then, is now useful to me. I have met so many different people. Having lived in so many different areas, I now have references for almost every character.

And, how important is it to tell people that these six pack abs etc. are all photoshopped?
The scene in the film 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' is happening these days. We can do such things with the help of apps. But, those who know the truth know that this is not the real photo.

Everyone looks happy on social media, as if no one's heart has ever been broken, doesn't this seem strange?
People do this because people do not like rude people. People always want to see good and colorful things. People want to see that everything is good, everything is right. Why would anyone want to spoil their day by seeing a crying person?

Meaning that when you are also sad, you only post a picture of yourself laughing?
No, my face has been such since birth that even if I want, I cannot bring a smiling face. When I am normal, people think I am angry. Many people have told me that I don't laugh. I have this reverse problem. Now I have started learning this and now I laugh even when I don't feel like laughing.