Fresh from Kill fame, Abhishek Chauhan speaks about OTT, movies and financial planning for actors: Freedom to say ‘NO’

Abhishek Chauhan is a popular actor, who became a household name after OTT shows like Cubicles and Undekhi. Fans rediscovered him in Kill, where he did action in a Dharma Productions movie.

Abhishek spoke exclusively with LiveMint’s Sounak Mukhopadhyay. Check it out.

• Sounak: Growing up amid the quiet hills of Uttarakhand, was there a particular sound, smell or local story from your hometown that somehow stayed with you and finds its way into your performances even today?

Abhishek: Just being in the hills during the pandemic gave me a sense of security, a sense of belonging. It made me calmer and more composed in life. There’s a very different rhythm I operate on when I’m back home, and I’ve started channelling that into my performances.

The hills, as quiet as they are, carry so much character. There’s a beautiful simplicity to them. Time feels slower, your senses function at a more comfortable pace, and it allows you to truly relax, absorb more, and just soak everything in.

• Sounak: Theatre often teaches an actor to exist in silence as much as in dialogue. Was there a specific moment on stage – where the silence between lines taught you more than the words themselves?

Abhishek: While preparing for a play, I was asked to write letters to the character’s dead father. But I took it a step further—I started writing letters back, as if the father was responding. It became this emotional loop, where every time I stepped into rehearsals, I’d be mentally or emotionally influenced by something that had come up in those letters.

It wasn’t about the dialogues or lines—it was about a state of being. That happened to me through an exercise. And while performing with good co-actors, you sometimes get transcended to a place where the lines just become a tool to carry the scene forward. The real magic happens beyond the lines—when your co-actor is with you, fully present, and something more guttural, more visceral, begins to emerge. You feel it in your body.

That, for me, is the ‘between the lines’ experience I’ve personally lived through.

• Sounak: Many actors speak about screen acting vs stage acting, but your stint with TVF’s Cubicles and Undekhi gave you characters that felt deeply intimate yet widely relatable. How did you make the characters your own?

Abhishek: I feel both the characters were created with a lot of thought and research—that’s entirely the genius of the writers and makers. As an actor, my job was simply to execute the illusion of the character they had envisioned.

While working on Undekhi, both Ashish sir and Siddharth sir helped me understand their perspective of the character. They also invested time in helping me flow with the camera—just be one with it. Coming from a theatre background, that was new to me, and they were incredibly patient and generous.

In many ways, my ‘film school’ was Ashish sir, who walked me through the basics of camera work, understanding lenses, and performing within that frame.

With Cubicles, I’d say Amit Golani, Vijay bhai, and Avinash—the writers—had already structured the character so well. What I portrayed was essentially their sketch. Jyoti, who directed three seasons, and Divyanshu, who came in for one, brought in even more layers and shades to the character.Ultimately, I believe it’s the homework—the deep research and prep—that made both Undekhi and Cubicles so relatable. That’s all credit to the teams behind them.

• Sounak: You shared screen space with Jackie Shroff and Neena Gupta in Mast Mein Rehne Ka, both legends with their own unique vibe. Off camera, was there a moment with either of them that surprised you, something so refreshingly unscripted that it stayed with you?

Abhishek: This was one of the best experiences of my journey as an actor so far. Both Jackie sir and Neena ma’am are phenomenal actors, and their energy can truly be felt only when you’re lucky enough to work with them.

There was a scene where Jackie sir’s character tries to catch a cab to take Neena ma’am’s character to the hospital. The urgency, authenticity, and commitment with which he threw himself at moving cars, risking his own safety, made me fall in love with acting all over again.

And, when I had to carry Neena ma’am, she was genuinely concerned about whether I’d be okay. There was a moment while walking with her where we exchanged glances, and the depth in her gaze just had me—it made the scene feel so authentic.Even off-camera, their sincerity and enthusiasm were inspiring. They’re like film schools in themselves—two institutions.

• Sounak: Your portrayal in Kill is being called ferocious and unapologetically raw. While training or prepping for that intense action space, did you discover a version of yourself you didn’t know existed, almost like a stranger within Abhishek Chauhan? Also, how was working with Raghav Juyal, also from Uttarakhand, and Lakshya?

Abhishek: It’s a version I always knew existed, and I’m grateful to Anmol Ahuja from Castingway for seeing that in me. I’m also extremely thankful to Karan (Johar) sir, Guneet (Monga) ma’am, Achin, and Nikhil sir for having enough faith in me to let me be a part of that story.

I grew up watching a lot of films, and even now I occasionally shadowbox or fight imaginary characters. That found an outlet in Kill, and honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better venture into the world of action.

Working with Raghav is always fun—we trust each other deeply, which allows us to take risks, and that translates beautifully on screen.

Lakshya, too, is sincere, hardworking, and very dedicated. He helped me during physical prep, and his earnestness made me feel in complete sync with him.

• Sounak:⁠ ⁠Acting is believed to bring financial instability for many. How do you secure your finances? What's your investment strategy?

Abhishek: Being an actor is not your standard 9-to-5 job with a fixed pay.

The simple rule that I try to live by is to save as if you won't work for the next six months. My earnings are split between long-term investments and policy investments.

For me, financial planning is about buying the freedom to say NO to work that doesn’t speak to my soul.