Pearl joins Nikitin, Mrunal in Nagarjun

Replacing a popular lead character on a show can be rather risky business, as the chances of it misfiring are high. However, Pearl V. Puri’s popularity and fan following seems to have come to his rescue. Pearl stepped into 21-year-old Anshuman Malhotra’s shoes in the mytho-fantasy, Naagarjuna — Ek Yoddha, and has managed to strike a chord with the audience. Mention that to Pearl, and he smiles.

“Anshuman was playing the human version in the show. The second phase shows the character as half-human and half-God. The character is a superhero and hence required a more mature guy to play it. That’s how I came into the picture and I’m enjoying playing Arjun. I play every character with a lot of intensity and hard work. If you see, there’s no real replacement. The screenplay was divided into two phases; Anshuman performed well in his part and now it’s my turn,” he says.

Considering there will be a lot of high power action sequences, how is the actor planning to take on a challenging assignment? He says, “I was always keen on doing action sequences, as I grew up watching superhero movies and wanted to be a part of a show that involves me doing stunts and fights. I’m a gym freak and I strongly believe that being fit will help me perform these stunts efficiently. I’m looking forward to these hardcore action scenes.”

With heavyweights like Nikitin Dheer and Mrunal Jain, jostling for screen space is bound to get tougher for Pearl. “Both Mrunal and Nikitin are masters of their own trade,” says the actor. He adds, “It feels amazing to share screen with both of them. The entire cast is positive, and I get to learn from everyone, as they’re all more experienced than me.”