Actor Siddhant Chaturvedi, who gained significant acclaim for his debut role in the 2019 film Gully Boy, starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, recalled that he nearly backed out of the film Gehraiyaan because it required him to perform intimate scenes with Deepika Padukone. Directed by Shakun Batra, Gehraiyaaan explored complex themes of relationships, infidelity, and ambition. However, shooting for the film was not an easy journey for Siddhant in particular.

In a recent interview, Siddhant recalled panicking while shooting an intimate scene with Deepika. The situation became so strained for him that both his father and producer Karan Johar had to intervene. In an interview with Filmfare, Siddhant recalled, “I remember my dad spoke to me. He was like, ‘Listen, in India, 99% of the people will do anything to have this opportunity. They won’t even think about it for a second. What are you even thinking? Please be a man, be professional, this is your job’.”

“I was like, ‘I don’t know what to do’. He said, ‘It doesn’t matter. You are the one who will define things. Go do it if you want to be a good actor. You will never be anything special unless you don’t redefine things’,” he added. Siddhant’s father then reminded the actor of the big opportunity that he’d been given. “Siddhant, it’s Dharma, it’s Deepika Padukone, it’s Shakun Batra, and you have got to do this,” his father said.

The actor went on to explain that his shy personality was a roadblock for him. “I have never made the first move ever in my life,” he said. It was at this point that Karan Johar had to step in and knock some sense into him. Siddhant shared, “Karan called me, and he was like, ‘What’s the problem?’ And I told him everything. He was like, ‘Dude, you are a professional, and just behave like one. This is your job’.”

In the same interview, Siddhant also recalled his father’s reaction post the film’s release. He said, “When I went to watch the film with my parents, I didn’t sit next to them. I was sitting in a corner and watching with my head down. After the film, I asked him, ‘How was it?’, and he was like, ‘Your performance was great, but the intimate scenes were a little too much’. I was like ‘I was just doing what the director wanted.’ But, he loved the film.”

Siddhant’s relatives also had an interesting reaction to the film. He said, “All my relatives lost it. They were like, ‘We thought he has become an actor, but now he’s overdoing it, he is living our dreams.’ What could they even do or say? My maternal uncle was shy the whole time and would only smile at me. I was like, ‘First watch the film and understand what it is about’, but all they cared to is focus on the intimate scenes and smile about it. Nobody spoke about it like that.”

Due to Siddhant’s shyness, the makers of the film had to extend the intimacy workshop from a week to a month. He said that not only was he being put in an awkward situation with a ‘pretty woman’, the woman in question happened to be Deepika, who also happens to be his friend Ranveer Singh’s wife. Previously, in an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Siddhant had said, “I think we did it in the most elegant way with an intimacy director Dar Gai coming on board. It took a little time for me as well to ease into it but it was very important because it was not supposed to be for shock value.”

In Gehraiyaan, Siddhant Chaturvedi plays the role of Zain, a charismatic and enigmatic character who becomes entangled in a complicated love triangle with the characters of Ananya Panday and Deepika Padukone. The movie, which had a direct-to-OTT release, received mixed reviews.