Ten years and over 5,000 auditions — that’s how long it took Bhuvan Arora to bag the spotlight in showbiz. After small roles in Shuddh Desi Romance (2013), and Naam Shabana (2017), followed by a prominent turn in The Test Case (2018), the actor’s perseverance was rewarded with Farzi, in which he played the flamboyant and hilarious Firoz. Arora, however, views the new-found fame not as a goal, but as a catalyst in his pursuit of becoming a better actor. “People don’t give you enough time to work on your craft. But when you become  an established name, they accommodate your requirements. So, I want to be a star only to become a good actor,” he says.

Fortunately, Farzi creators Raj-DK offered him enough freedom to experiment as a performer. It resulted in the now-viral scene from the first episode, where Firoz is seen finishing a cup of tea in a tense situation, to hilarious effect. Arora turned a small suggestion from Raj Nidimoru into a quirky scene. “There was a cup of tea in front of me. So, I asked [the spot boy] to heat it up. I thought I’d have a sip, so that it looks natural on screen. Raj sir asked me, ‘Are you going to have the tea?’ When I said yes, he said, ‘Okay, but finish it.’ It was a tense scene, but he said everybody would wait for me to finish the tea. That’s how we got it.”