Journalist-turned-actor Saurabh Dwivedi is faced with significant social media criticism following his acting debut in the recently released Saif Ali Khan-starrer ‘Kartavya’. Whilst the crime drama has garnered positive reviews for its gritty storytelling, Dwivedi’s performance has drawn heavy fire from viewers.
Social media users on X mocked Dwivedi’s dialogue delivery and expressions, with some viral posts comparing him unfavourably to actor Arjun Kapoor. Other critics remarked that his performance felt more like “anchoring” rather than traditional acting.
Directed by Pulkit and produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, ‘Kartavya’ features Saif Ali Khan as an honest police officer investigating a murder linked to a powerful spiritual figure, played by Dwivedi. The film began streaming on Netflix on May 15.
Before the release, Dwivedi had noted that he had no prior acting experience and described the opportunity to work alongside actors like Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Mishra as a completely new challenge.
Earlier, Saif shed light on how an actor ensures bringing out something unique to his every character despite working in the same genre at times.
Speaking exclusively to IANS, Saif said that when one is true to themselves, a part of the uniqueness of their personality ends up reflecting in the character as well, making it refreshing.
He was asked, “There are so many crime dramas across platforms. As actors, what efforts do you put in to bring out something more from your side?”
Sharing his views, Saif told IANS, “For me, I think the idea is to play the person, not just like a cop. So people are obviously different.”
“If I have to do the same thing again, you know the rooted cop with the dialect, somehow the director creates a different environment, that’s where he comes in. The producers also have to figure out how the show is going to look different. It must be difficult because there are a lot of people who like watching crime dramas,” he further went on to explain.
“I guess if you are true to yourself, there is nobody like you. So hopefully we all are true to ourselves and bring a little of ourselves to the character”, concluded the ‘Omkara’ actor.
Saif’s ‘Kartavya’ co-star Rasika Dugal echoed the same sentiment, saying, “I feel even if it’s the same genre, everybody’s script is different, no two scripts are like each other, and there is a new voice telling a new story, and there are new people putting in their new experiences, their own aspirations, their own prejudices into the work. So it turns out to be different every single time.”
“So the worry is never that we should try and do something different,” the ‘Mirzapur’ actress concluded. (Agencies)
