Vyom Yadav Interview: ‘It’s crazy how things work out sometimes’

Tigmanshu Dhulia’s political drama Garmi on SonyLIV has turned out to be a great success. In addition to delft direction and taut writing, what stands out most in the 9-episode series is splendid performances from the entire cast, especially debutant Vyom Yadav, who has won raves for his intense act as a student who aspires to become a civil servant but ends up getting caught in the whirlpool of college politics.

Weeks after the release of Garmi, Eastern Eye spoke to Vyom Yadav to know more about his preparations for the role, how he notched up the part, and how it all began for him in showbiz. Keep on reading…

Your SonyLIV show Garmi received tremendous response from critics as well as the audience. How does it make you feel?

I am so happy. I am so glad that it has been received the way that we all wanted it to be. The series has been pretty nice. The producers, the people, the crew, the actors, the directors, everyone is so happy, and yes, the love is pouring in for the series, for the actors, for the cast. So, it’s amazing to be on this road.

How did you end up bagging the lead part?

I auditioned with Mukesh Chhabra’s team. Actually, there was this person Bheem who used to stay in Delhi for a while and he used to work for another casting house in Delhi. So, he spotted me in Delhi. I was residing in Delhi at that time. So, even if he sent me an audition for a simple ad for 15 seconds, I used to put in everything that I could. He would see I was putting it even in those 15-20 seconds videos. He was like, ‘If I get a chance to cast for a big series, I would definitely cast you. I would definitely audition you for that.’

What happened next?

You know, it’s crazy how things work out sometimes. Eventually, in a year or so he moved to Mumbai and soon enough he got a chance to cast for Garmi. I auditioned with Mukesh Chhabra and eventually, I got the part.

It was a long process. It took a couple of months. I gave multiple rounds of auditions, went through all those different, different levels of their tests, and then eventually, I got the role in 2021 December.

Tell us something about your background. How did it all begin for you?

So basically, I am an engineer. I come from Delhi, but I was born in Banaras. I was 2-3 months old when we moved to Delhi and since then I was brought up and studied in the city. I started learning acting and I had this flair for sports and craft. So, I was too much into sports, like football, swimming, table tennis, basketball, etc. I used to play every sport but for me personally, my favourite sport was football. I have even played decent interstate-level football and then after that around 6^th or 7^th standard, obviously I had this stage fear and I wanted to open myself up. So, a few of my friends suggested that you should go and opt for street plays, nukkad nataks. That is when my acting zone started. I did it for a couple of years, three or four years in my school life and because of 10^th standard, the boards, I had to drop it down, and then when I got back into college, I started with the acting part again.

How did you prepare for your role?

The show is basically based in UP, but since I have always been in Delhi, I am not very familiar with that side of the state. My family comes from UP, like my grandma, grandpa, uncles my aunts. They are still living in UP and I do visit them once in a while. So basically, I am connected to the roots is what I am saying. What people are and what people talk about there, is somewhere deep down within me. It’s buried inside me. So, for me to bring that up – the body language, the accent, etc. – was not tough.

Please continue…

So, when I first read the script, I figured that there were a few things that were overlapping with the character Arvind Shukla, and Vyom in real life also. I used to watch a lot of videos as to how things work out in UP and what is student politics and how does the leader of student politics look like. Imagine a politician you think of a big-tummy guy, like an old guy, right? I researched all these and a whole lot of things. So, I used to sit and write down, take down notes and the body language and what are the lingos of UP, and how they say a certain thing. So, it was like a long process and then I handpicked all these things, I did research, put everything down, and then I handpicked a thing I want to add to the character. So, it was like you make your own Subway salad, right? You make your own sauces, pick your own veggies and everything, you pick your own bread. So, you create your own customised salad, it’s just like customising your own character.

Garmi is streaming on SonyLIV.