Sanjay Kumar Sahu is an actor from Umapur village in the Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, known for his recent acclaimed performance in the Sony LIV thriller series Black, White & Gray – Love Kills (2025). In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, Sanjay spoke about his journey in acting, a path marked by auditions, rejections, and minor roles, including a cut part in the film Batla House (2019). His role as the accused in Black, White & Grey – Love Kills, where he delivers a restrained and intense portrayal of a man charged with multiple murders, has been praised for its depth and realism.
EXCLUSIVE: Black, White & Gray actor Sanjay Kumar Sahu: “Mithun Chakraborty inspired me first, then Shah Rukh Khan”
Growing up in Umapur village in Surguja, what inspired you to dream of a career in acting?
It was a natural instinct. The inspiration came from television. I used to watch a lot of films, and the first person who truly inspired me was Mithun Chakraborty. Since I lived in a village, I watched a lot of his movies. Later, during my teenage years, it was Shah Rukh Khan who became my inspiration. I used to imitate actors and practice my acting. In the village, surrounded by trees and goats, I would often perform in front of them. Performing in front of people made me feel hesitant, but with animals, there was no hesitation. That’s how I practiced in the village before facing a real audience.
How did you land the role in Black, White & Gray – Love Kills, and what drew you to the character?
We’re all trying to find acting opportunities here. During the COVID period, a director friend happened to visit my home. He suggested that I grow out my hair and beard, so I did. Later, Ankita Narang, the creative producer of Black, White & Grey – Love Kills, saw one of my photos with the long hair and beard and liked it. She was the one who first approached me for this project. After that, we went through several rounds of testing, and then I met the director. We had shot the pilot in the beginning, and from that point on, I became a part of this project.
What drew me to the character was his innocence and helplessness, something I deeply related to. I came here well-prepared: five years of theatre, one and a half years at university, four years in film school, and then I came to Mumbai. Here, I understood how the industry actually functions. So, there was no shock or surprise. But the helplessness of living and struggling here, despite being creatively fertile, that’s the hardest part. As artists, all we want is to live a character. Without that, you feel empty.
My character in Black, White & Grey – Love Kills is also stuck in a situation where he hasn’t done anything wrong. He wants to make things right. He has dreams and ambitions, just like us, but the entire system is against him, no matter how hard he tries. That’s what helped me connect with him. I’ve always had a deep sympathy for the lower class, I grew up in that environment. So, I could easily adopt the character’s social values and emotional reality.
With no full script and such a unique format, how did you approach understanding your character and delivering your dialogues on set?
There was no full script as such, since it’s a mockumentary. This kind of experimental format was being done for the first time in India — when you watch it, it feels like real life, but in reality, it’s a fictional story. I was part of a performance workshop to understand the character traits, but I never read the entire script. They would only give me the portion of the script that we were currently shooting, and that too in English. I would then improvise it in the character’s language.
Your performance in the series has been praised for its restraint and intensity. How did you prepare for such a layered role?
The most interesting part of this role was that I was never really acting. I was portraying the character like a real accused person, just as you see in documentaries. My training of 10 years had always been about how to perform — but in this project, I had to not perform, and still perform. Because even though it’s fiction, you’re not actually being yourself.
Since it was a long and detailed process, I got plenty of time for character development. I slowly started to embody the character’s traits in my day-to-day life. In the final 10 days, we did intense workshops. That’s when I cracked a concept called stoicism for my portrayal. Philosophy helped me a lot in understanding the mindset of the character.
What was the most challenging part of the entire process?
The most challenging part was doing character preparation for all these years while also maintaining financial stability. You only get paid for the shoot days — there’s no payment for the months of preparation. So, I had to find other ways to support myself financially.
Another big challenge was learning to trust and surrender to the director. This was a completely new kind of process, and I was giving a significant amount of my life to it without knowing how it would turn out. But I chose to surrender completely to the process.
Sometimes, projects get delayed — our industry is uncertain like that. During those periods, I had to seek support and counselling from my friends. Thankfully, I had a strong FTII community here in Mumbai, so I often turned to my seniors for advice and guidance.
The entire process was amazing. Director Pushkar Sunil Mahabal, along with cinematographer Saee Bhope and creative producer Ankita Narang, the trio had worked together before. They made the set feel comfortable and treated the whole unit like a family.
Pushkar Sir is a brilliant director — the entire show is his vision. We were just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to get the right opportunity. He’s a jolly person with a deep commitment to excellence in his work.
You’ve appeared in socially driven shows like Crime Patrol and Savdhaan India. How do you choose your roles?
In the beginning, I did Crime Patrol and Savdhaan India just to earn a daily wage and support my household. While Crime Patrol helped me gain experience, after two years, it became emotionally draining. By 2018–19, I decided to step away from TV. During a web series audition with an interrogation setup, I realized I had already exhausted those performance beats through my previous work, and it lacked the depth I was seeking. That day, I chose to focus solely on films and web series. I landed a small role in Batla House, though it was cut, followed by a Flipkart video. Eventually, Lantrani gave me some visibility, which led to my casting in Black, White & Grey – Love Kills.
Are there any specific genres or roles you’re keen to explore in the future?
I’m an actor who wants to explore different genres. Since Mithun is my inspiration, I have a strong desire to do an action film. And because Shah Rukh Khan inspired me too, I also dream of doing a romantic film. Apart from that, I wish to work in realism and ultra-realism as well.
BOLLYWOOD NEWS – LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2025 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.