I am as patriotic and opinionated as Porus: Laksh

Lakshi Lalwani talks about playing Porus on screen.

History is all set to come alive on television screen with the grand launch of Porus. The show will present the story of the strong Indian soldier Porus and how he bravely fought Alexander the Great. Young and talented Laksh Lalwani has been roped in to play the titular role. Talking about why he took up the show, Laksh, in an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com shared, “The fact that I was about to do something so different made me choose the show. When I heard the script, I knew it was going to be a challenge and I was excited about the same.”

The young actor underwent training for horse riding, sword fighting and rowing to make his character look convincing. Confessing that he had no knowledge about Porus, Laksh said, “I had zilch knowledge about him and had even asked the casting team who Porus was. But when I heard the story, I realised how magnificent he was. While I was researching about him, I read online that Porus was the first Indian defender and that made me agree to doing it. Also Bahubali was popular that time and I wanted to also experience something as grand as that and Porus was just the right project.”

Laksh further added, “Historians glorified Alexander but people hardly have any clue about Porus. So to get into his skin was really difficult as we don’t know even a bit about him. But I must thank my producer and director Siddharth Kumar Tewary who made the character so livable. Porus has all shades and as an actor it’s a bliss playing him. Also the team has been wonderful and has given me the space to discover myself as Porus and also develop him the way I wanted to.”

Laksh, who is as patriotic and opinionated as Porus, shared, “I could relate to these qualities so much and found the same ground to build his character. As an actor also, I am really difficult to get convinced. And when I do, I build layers around the character and get offended when all of a sudden makers do drastic changes. This was the reason I quit my last show (Pardes Mein Hai Meraa Dil).

The 21-year-old might be drop dead handsome but he believes that actors need to look the character than just looking good on screen. Having started his career with the youth genre (MTV Warrior High), Laksh moved towards doing romance and also super natural themed shows. When asked if he has mastered all genres, Laksh smiled to say, “Not at all. I have to conquer and achieve a lot. But yes, I do enjoy the thriller and action genre most as it challenges me as a performer.”

Porus also stars Rohit Purohit, Rati Pandey, Aditya Redij, Praneet Bhat among more. It will premiere tonight on Sony Entertainment Television at 9:30 pm.