Akash Dhar, who has been in the industry for 12 years, is finally getting his due. He plays Vicky Kaushal’s best friend in Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship. Next up he has Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. With more projects lined up in the Dharma Productions camp, the sky is the limit for Akash. Here’s a chat Akash had with The Telegraph after the Sea Bird docked in theatres.

How did Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship come your way? What is your role in it?

I had done a horror short that Bhanu Pratap Singh (director of Bhoot…) had directed titled Lex Talionis (Art of Revenge). After a couple of years I got a call from Casting Bay to test for Riaz (his character in Bhoot…). After 2.5 months of gruelling audition rounds, I finally landed the part. I am really thankful to Bhanu and Shashank Khaitan (Bhoot… producer) for trusting me to play this part. I play a ship surveying officer Riaz, who is also the best friend of Prithvi (Vicky Kaushal). We both are assigned to investigate and remove the ship called Sea Bird stuck at Juhu Beach and what entails during the course of the investigation where we find out that it is haunted.

This is a major break in one’s career. How do you intend to keep up the pace?

Well, it’s a big break for sure. It has taken me 12 years to reach here and I am really grateful for it. The only way to keep the momentum is to choose good scripts and varied parts without being typecast. The focus is always to enhance your craft with each role.

How has Vicky Kaushal been as a co-star?

Oh, Vicky is phenomenal. He is very easy to work with. He is very grounded, honest and focussed about his job. Also, Vicky and I have done theatre together and have known each other since long which helped our camaraderie and chemistry on screen.

Anything spooky you felt during the shoot for Bhoot…?

There were a couple of instances that I remember, don’t know if they were spooky but they shook me for sure. While we were shooting the climax, we canned a shot in one area of the ship and were moving to the other portion when the crane guy lost his grip and the crane almost fell on me. I missed it by a whisker. Another scary moment was at Alang (the ship breaking yard) where we shot for eight days on an actual ship. We were on a tight timeline and rushing through our shoot as the ship was going to get dismantled after eight days. In the middle of the shot where Vicky and I are running out of the ship, the door broke from its hinges and hit Vicky on the face. He sat down on the floor holding his face. I assumed he was improvising, so I went to him and said: ‘Prithvi chal’. He removed his hand and I realised he is injured. My next reaction was, ‘doctor’. Bhanu was wondering why we were improvising so much till he realised what had actually happened. That was surreal and scary.

What kind of roles are you expecting now?

I am a trained actor and I expect to do parts which are different from anything I have done so far. It should challenge and excite me. Be it lead or substantial roles in films or web series, I want to be a part of good scripts and good projects.

What are your next projects?

You will see me next in Dharma Productions’ Gunjan Saxena in a pivotal role to be released on April 24. Besides, there are a couple of projects that I am already in talks with people. I shall reveal once things get locked and I sign on the dotted line.