Netflix's recently released web series Class is the current talk of the town. If you haven't heard of it, you're certainly living under a rock. The official adaptation of a Spanish series titled Elite stars Gurfateh Pirzada, Anjali Sivaraman, Ayesha Kanga, Chayan Chopra, Chintan Rachchh, Cwaayal Singh, Madhyama Segal, Moses Koul, Naina Bhan, Piyush Khati and Zeyn Shaw in the lead. 

As Class continues to draw the audience's attention and positive reviews, PeepingMoon.com spoke to one of its lead actors, Chintan Rachchh who plays the role of Faruq, a homosexual Kashmiri Muslim working as a drug peddler on the streets of Delhi. In conversation with us, the actor opened up about balancing various layers that formed the character, how less is more became his go-to formula, his first day of the shoot and whether he dealt with the harsh realities of the Indian class system. 

Excerpts from the interview:

Class is getting rave reviews. Did you expect such a phenomenal response to it?

I was confident that people will talk about my character who is a homosexual, drug peddler Kashmiri Muslim in Delhi. These attributes are bold. Now, people are talking about my performance and that’s a win for me. We tried to make the character real. I didn’t expect the response to be in this spectrum. It is a big validation for me as an artist.  

Faruq as a character has multiple layers. Was it difficult to balance each one out and allow every facet to shine?

These layers and attributes are external factors. I had to internalise a lot to play the character. The external factors that mattered to me were the dialect and mannerisms. Firstly, I had to get my dialect right. Faruq has an intense back story; he is a Kashmiri Muslim living in Delhi and his father's shawl business isn’t working. He then decides to get extra income by peddling. He didn't do it for the sake of it. Faruq found himself to be a misfit in the entire scenario. He did all the bad things but with the right intention. Faruq’s character was humane because nobody likes to do bad things but his circumstances forced him to do so.

When you got to know about Faruq’s character, was it an instant yes? 

When I got the brief for Faruq, I thought to myself whether I could pull off a cool character like this. After doing theatre for 10 years, I got Faruq who is a layered character and represents several communities of society. If you notice, Faruq isn’t expressive. All he does is communicate through his eyes. He became thick-skinned due to the circumstance he went through. In the show, Dhruv, played by Chayan Chopra, says people here are accepting but Faruq never gets to experience that acceptance. While Dhruv has been in a secure, protected bubble, Faruq knows the reality. I didn't want to go overboard in playing it so followed the rule of less is more. The acting coach and I prepped for every scene at least 15 times.  

It can get difficult for any actor to personally relate to Faruq. How did you go about it?

I cannot relate to Faruq in reality. I'm a Gujarati & not a drug peddler. Most of the cast members have some Delhi connection; Ayesha Kanga is from Bandra so she could fit perfectly. I even wondered why wasn't a Kashmiri Muslim signed for the role. Ashim Ahluwalia, the director, said he went through my poem on Instagram and felt I was best suited for Faruq. Just like Faruq, I wasn't expressive but now, I am a changed person.

How was your first day on the set?

I have a story regarding this to tell. In 2019, I auditioned for Mismatched (for Rohit Saraf’s character Rishi). That was my first Netflix audition. I instantly fell in love with the character as I could relate to him. After the audition, I felt I would get Rishi's part. I don’t believe in God but that day I went to a Ganesh temple near my residence in Andheri and prayed for that role. I didn’t get through. However, a year later, I got Class. Just a day before the first day of the shoot, I got the call sheet and realised that the location was familiar. Interestingly, it was exactly opposite the Ganesh temple.

One day while travelling to the shoot location with Madhyama Segal, who plays my on-screen sister Saba, I saw a school named Faruq High School. I clicked a picture of that school and told Madhyama that Class will change our lives.  

Class deals with the harsh realities of the Indian class system. Have you experienced or seen those adversities?

I have seen this but never experienced it. What we’re trying to show in Class is different from reality. If you show what exactly happens, nobody will believe it. People were saying that Class isn’t relatable but schools like Hampton International exist. I have seen casteism and classism, but in Class, it is very prominent. In the show, Yashika’s character says these lives matter, those lives matter but that’s only for social media as nothing really matters in real life. There are woke people who are doing things for society but there are people who are doing for social media.

Was it easy to establish a comfort zone with Chayan Chopra with whom you had some remarkable and key scenes?

Chayan and I bonded over Sadguru on the first day of Class. Over a period of time, our off-screen friendship grew stronger and there was no hesitation while doing kiss scenes. We often joked that, "Aaj kiss karna hai aur maine khana khaya hai toh dekh lena."

Is there any update on the second season of Class?

I have no idea about the second season of Class. I hope it happens. I got multiple requests from people for a spin-off series on Faruq along with the sequel. Now, it's Netflix’s call, I am in for both.