MUMBAI: The Jamshedpur-born actor made his acting debut as a child star in "My Name is Khan" and went on to feature in Sridevi-starrer "Mom" before finding international fame with his lead role in "The White Tiger".

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He currently stars in "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan", a story of three friends navigating life and romance in the age of social media.

“I had a fairly simple life. Then I was overnight forced to move to Mumbai, which was never planned. I had to adapt to a completely new city, to take in its culture, to take its way of life. I feel that it gave me a wide perspective of life in general, like what it is to come from a small town and experience big city life,” Gourav told PTI in an interview.

The actor, who has also starred in TVF’s teen comedy series, “Hostel Daze” and Netflix show “Guns and Gulaabs”, looks back at his journey from small town India to a big city to international territories with fondness.

"I feel fortunate to meet people from different walks of life and I feel I’m naturally an empathetic person. So, I can relate to a wide spectrum of people. Like, if I’m playing an Indian-American in ‘Alien’, or playing Balram in ‘A White Tiger’ or Neil Pereira from Bandra in ‘Kho Gaye Hum Kahan’, they are all different from me but I can relate to all of these characters. It doesn’t feel like impossibility,” he said.

Also starring Ananya Panday and Siddhant Chaturvedi,"Kho Gaye Hum Kahan" is streaming on Netflix.

Gourav plays the role of callisthenics instructor in the film, which is produced by Excel Entertainment’s Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar and Tiger Baby’s Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, and directed by debutant director Arjun Varain Singh.

The actor, 29, said it was fun working with people of similar age.

"My biggest motivation (to do the film) was that I got to work on my body, which I never had, and it felt really good. I felt really sexy and I got to work with Tiger Baby , Arjun, who was super clear about his vision and how he wanted to execute it. Apart from ‘Hostel Daze’ I’ve never worked with people who are my age and are my contemporaries,” Gourav said.

In the film, his character of Neil Pereira is a social media influencer who connects with his fans and followers through his fitness journey.

Asked how important social media is for young actors, Gourav said it can be a tool to market oneself in the beginning.

"When you are starting out, and when people don’t know and nobody knows where you come from, you need to market yourself to some extent.

"That’s (social media) the only way you can market yourself, like to be on Instagram and Twitter and tell the world, ‘Hey, this is who I’m, this is what I do, these are the things that I’m interested in’.”

Gourav's next project is the “Alien” prequel series, which is produced by veteran Hollywood filmmaker Ridley Scott. The Indian actor stars alongside Sydney Chandler, Kit Young, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin and Essie Davis.

"I’m going to start filming in January. I’m going to be in Bangkok for six months. It’s an exciting project, it's sci-fi. I feel very fortunate (to get good roles over there),” he added.

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In India, Gourav will be seen in Reema Kagti's comedy-drama “Superman of Malegaon”, which sheds light on the underrated world of Bollywood spoofs.

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Credits - Hindustan Times