'I'M RENOVATING MY HOUSE IN DOON AND THE INTERIORS ARE INSPIRED BY THE HOUSES IN THE HILLS’

‘GROWING UP IN

HELPED ME PERFORM STUNTS CONFIDENTLY’

<p>Charanpreet Singh at a city cafe<o:p></o:p> ( Taresh Dutta/ BCCL)</p>

( Taresh Dutta/ BCCL)

‘I’M PLANNING TO WORK ON A FILM SHOT IN GARHWAL’

‘THERE IS NOTHING MORE COMFORTING THAN GARHWALI FOOD’

"I terribly miss the traditional food of Uttarakhand in Mumbai," exclaimed actor Charanpreet Singh as he gorged on Garhwali food at a city cafe in Rajpur Road. We recently caught up with the actor – who is known for his roles in films like Sarbjit, Ra.One, The Train, Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns and Ungli – when he was making a quick trip to Doon to renovate his house located in Vasant Vihar. The actor often keeps shuttling between Doon and Mumbai.In Mumbai, he loves doing theatre, holding dialogue and acting workshops but keeps revisiting Doon to unwind and regain the peace of his mind. "Every time I finish shooting for my films, I come back to Doon to relax. I recently finished shooting for two films, so to get back the peace of my mind, I planned a quick trip to Doon. This visit is special as I am getting my house situated in Vasant Vihar renovated. I have given it an earthy, raw look of the houses built on the hills. For instance, I have consciously left some walls non-plastered and directly painted some bricks – a common feature in the hills. The interiors of my house bring alive the memories of growing up in the hills."The actor will be next seen in Haseena, where he will be essaying the role of a gangster. Apart from this, he has also done a dialogue workshop with Arjun Kapoor and Ileana D’Cruz for their upcoming film Mubarakan.In the past, Charanpreet has also helped actors including Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Randeep Hooda to prepare for their different roles that involved regional dialect. Talking about his upcoming film, the actor says, "Haseena is a film based on Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar . I play a character named David Pardeshi in the film. He was one of the first Indians to carry out supari killings. It was challenging to play this role but I enjoyed a lot. While shooting when I saw my body double doing stunts on my behalf, I realized I could do it myself."He adds, "I have spent my childhood in Tehri, where during monsoon reaching school was a bigger adventure than doing any of these stunts. The roads would often get blocked and crossing hills became a task. So while shooting I got inspired by my childhood days and decided to do the stunts on my own."Charanpreet Singh at a city cafeThe actor shares, “I plan to direct a film and we are planning to rope in some regional actors and shoot it mostly in Uttarakhand. I know this state well enough, so building up a story and fleshing out characters from here comes easy.” He adds, “A little support from the government can help in making the state a better spot for shooting films. For example, Tubelight has scenes based in Kumaon , but the film was shot in Himachal. Why does a filmmaker, while depicting an area in Uttarakhand, has to go to Himachal to shoot it? The government should help in making Uttarakhand a more friendly state for shooting.”The actor says, "I miss Doon’s monsoon in Mumbai. Idhar baarish ki boond jab ped par girti hai toh ek alag hi feeling hoti hai as compared to Mumbai jahan concrete jungle mein baarish ki feel hi nahi aati. When in Mumbai, I terribly miss the hills, dense forests, bike rides and the monsoon of Doon. Not to forget, there is nothing more comforting than Garhwali food. Although I belong to Punjab, I consider myself an Uttarakhandi as I have spent a significant part of my childhood here. My neighbours used to send some really tasty Garhwali special daal ke pakode. I miss all of this in Mumbai."-- Akshita.Vohra@timesgroup.com