Siddharth is a wonder boy: Manoj Joshi

For Manoj Joshi, who plays Chanakya on Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, getting into the shoes of the wise scholar wasn’t completely new, because this is not his first time.

The actor has been playing the role on stage for a few years now and has earned much appreciation for it too. However, he is no less excited to portray the character on the small screen.

“It takes me around half-an-hour to get the look right for the role on TV. I have been playing Chanakya on stage, but that was from a different period in his life. In a way, it is like playing a whole new role,” says the actor.

Joshi is all praise for little Siddharth Nigam who plays the protagonist of the show, Ashoka. “Siddharth is a national level gymnast and insists on doing all the stunts himself without a harness or anything. He’s a hardworking boy, and I cannot see anybody but him doing justice to the role on television. He is a wonder boy.”

Apart from the period drama, Joshi is also working on other projects at the moment. “I’m working on Ghayal 2 with Sunny Deol, Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo with Salman Khan and Abbas Mastan’s next venture Kis Kisko Pyaar Karu, all of which I am really looking forward to,” he says.

But how does he manage to successfully juggle them all? “I have fixed timing and schedules for every project. I usually don’t shoot more than eight hours for a television show. But since this show has just begun, I give it a little more time — never more than 12 hours though.”