Exclusive | Siddharth Gupta reveals the career setback that almost ended his acting journey before Krishnavataram

Actor Siddharth Gupta is currently winning appreciation for portraying Lord Krishna in Krishnavtaram In an exclusive conversation with midday the actor reflected on landing the role preparing for the mythological character the life lessons he learnt from the Bhagavad Gita and the career setback that almost made him quit actingSpeaking about being cast as Lord Krishna Siddharth admitted that years of struggles had made him expect disappointment before successOn debuting as Lord KrishnaThe kind of journey I have had with so many ups and downs the first thing I think is negative before even seeing its positive side he shared Even after receiving encouraging feedback for his audition he remained doubtful Sir had said that he would let me know in twothree days and I knew he had liked my audition for Krishna but I still felt I might not get the part Maybe I did some mistakeThe actor believes that not fully understanding the magnitude of the role initially worked in his favour At the time when I got this probably I did not know the gravity of what I was playing And that really helped me as an actor Not knowingAs preparations began Siddharth gradually developed a deeper connection with the character When the preparation started I started getting closer to Krishna And that eventually reflected on screenInterestingly he chose not to study performances by actors who had previously portrayed Lord Krishna Instead his preparation focused on understanding the deity himself I had not seen any reference or any other actor playing it Before sleeping I would read for two hours or watch podcasts and discussions about him Then through the day we used to have workshopsAccording to Siddharth consistent preparation helped him overcome his fears The more I prepared the less scared I was to play him There comes a point when you have to just let go and let it flow I think thats what happened eventually The role also had a profound spiritual impact on him If you play a role in this process Krishnaji comes close to you And once he holds your hand he does not leaveFor the film Siddharth was given translations of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita and several other texts to study During this process he discovered a fresh perspective on the sacred scripture One thing I noticed while preparing for this film was that the Gita is not preachy It is a way of life It is the essence of life It teaches you how to live life he saidThe actor even described the text as a powerful guide for mental wellbeing If you read it properly and understand it it is better than any therapist One teaching that particularly resonated with him was the concept of destiny If you have done everything right in your life if you have done the controllables right sometimes the result is not in your favour That is called destinySiddharth Gupta reveals his biggest setbackSiddharth also spoke candidly about the biggest setback of his career I have a very thick skin Thats why I used to think something would go wrong because of experience he said Recalling a missed opportunity he revealed There was one project I was with someone for three years and that thing did not happen That was the biggest setback in my lifeThe disappointment affected him deeply Just before this project I took a oneyear hiatus to reevaluate my acting and whether I wanted to continue this journey During the break he gained weight and questioned his future in the industry However his family stepped in to motivate him My family intervened and reminded me that I am the one who has done something good Determined to give acting another chance Siddharth worked on himself and returned to auditions Then I lost weight and the first audition I gave was this one he said referring to KrishnavtaramToday looking back on his journey Siddharth says he has emerged stronger and more optimistic Now I am very positive in my life he concluded crediting both his personal experiences and the wisdom of Lord Krishna for helping him navigate challenges and embrace new opportunities