Angad Bedi has his hands full with films, fatherhood and more. The Woods caught up with the actor, cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi's son, who plays star cricketer Robin Rawal in the recent release The Zoya Factor…

You play a superstar cricketer in The Zoya Factor. Did the fact that you already played a cricketer in Amazon Prime's Inside Edge help you?

The game is in the backdrop. In Inside Edge too, I'm not the one you'll see playing cricket. It's a drama-based series on performance. The Zoya Factor too is based completely on performance, you'll not see me playing cricket. For me, it's a role. Even Soorma, that's based on hockey, was actually a story about two brothers. I didn't play hockey per se, it was more on the sacrifice of one brother which leads to the other brother's glory. Right now, sports-oriented films and projects are more popular, so maybe they are coming my way. But it's not like I'm doing these projects because of that sport.

What can you tell us about your character Robin Rawal in The Zoya Factor?

Robin Rawal is the superstar of the team. He wins matches single-handedly. He's very proud of himself and has an air of confidence. He is very high on fashion. There's a lifestyle that he leads and you can sense it through the way he carries himself. He's the lion in the team… actually there are two lions. There's a switch in captaincy that makes him insecure. He's the kind of man who is extremely confident but now out of insecurity, he starts to sulk. While he is sulking, how he behaves is the flavour of the film… like how he uses Zoya's (Sonam Kapoor) ability. He realises that she is naïve. He makes her believe in superstition and luck, he makes everyone around him believe that even though he himself doesn't believe it. He uses that as bait against Nikhil Khoda (Dulquer Salmaan). It's a story between two boys and one girl and the dynamics between them. Love plays a strong angle in the film but so is the dynamic between the boys and the girl.

Did you read Anuja Chauhan's book The Zoya Factor before the shoot?

I read it five years ago. I thought it was an easy breezy read… I felt Zoya's character is endearing, I felt Nikhil and Roon had a good tussle if it was written well. Robin's character is a lot more fleshed out in the film. I feel that with due respect to Anuja Chauhan, it's a wonderful book that she has written, but I feel that the film has held on to its own also.

How was your equation with Dulquer and Sonam on set?

It was a great vibe on set. Knowing Sonam, she always has an opinion on fashion and what everybody is wearing. She really means well and you have to take Sonam with a pinch of salt. She's really funny and she is accidentally clumsy. So it works really well. There is an endearing side to her. A lot of people think she reads a lot of books, which is fine, but she also has great knowledge on other things like on diet, sleep patterns and lifestyle. A lot of people think they eat healthy but they do it on the wrong time… she has got a good, extensive research on the holistic approach of living. She and I discussed it at length because in this film I had to be supremely fit and both Dulquer and I have to show our bare torsos and flash our abs!

And this is the first film where you've taken your shirt off on-screen!

Yeah, I had to take my shirt off and I had to show my body. It was fun… Dulquer has now become a friend for life. He's literally like a brother to me. We have a lot of common interests. He is also married and has a beautiful girl, so do I. He's very comfortable in his own skin, extremely cool, and has great knowledge on automobiles. I shared my knowledge in sports and he shared his knowledge in cars. It's just been a good mix. You can talk to him for hours, he has a great sense of humour.

Apparently you borrowed clothes from Karan Johar's wardrobe for Robin's character…

They are now in my cupboard (laughs). I have taken all my outfits from KJo's wardrobe, that's how we have styled the character. We wanted a very different-looking Robin Rawal, like how no one has been projected on screen. Robin Rawal has that oomph factor… Who better than Karan? So we went to his house and raided his wardrobe. He gave all his jackets, jumpers, hoodies, track bottoms, shoes and sweatshirts. We just mixed and matched and put it out there.

Is your father excited to see you as a cricketer?

My father is just excited to see that I'm on the right track. I'm happily married, I have a baby and he knows that I fulfil my responsibilities. He says, 'Whatever you do in your career, I don't care. Be a good human being.' He loved me in Pink and said, ''The day you can better that film then come and show me that film'. I feel that my body of work after Pink has been very good. He enjoyed Soorma, it's a good emotional film but he still said I have to do better than Pink. For me to do that in his eyes, I'd need Shoojit Sircar to work with me again! Only then would that come true.

How's the shoot for Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl going, where you play Janhvi Kapoor's brother?

It's going very well, I only have one day left from that shoot. It's a beautiful film and I'm extremely proud of it. It's an emotional film of a family, of a brother and sister. The sister wants to go out there and make a name for herself and the brother is very protective and loving. But sometimes being protective can come in the sister's way and there is the coming of age of the brother. It's a beautiful story. It's set in Lucknow, a small town in the 90s. It's the true story of Gunjan Saxena, the first woman Indian Air Force pilot and Janhvi has done a phenomenal job. I feel there's no better person to portray that part than Janhvi, she's done a really good job.

How has fatherhood changed you after the birth of your daughter Mehr?

Mehr is lovely, she is now in her tenth month. She's close to turning a year old. All her personality and looks are from her mom. The niceness is all from the dad (laughs). She's a perfect blend of Neha and me. She's extremely naughty, fun loving and has a hearty laugh. She's our priority, so we make time for her and make sure one parent is around her all the time. Neha is now out of the country, so I'm here. Once Neha is back Mehr will have her mommy back after two weeks.

It has changed me as a person for the better, made me a better human being, a better actor. All your insecurities are taken care of, all of a sudden you realise you have such a beautiful living soul in your life. She just smiles and opens her arms and that's all you need, that's all you want. It takes all your worries away.

I really advocate marriage and starting a family to everybody. That's the way forward. People today have become cynical about marriage and starting a family. I feel really bad for them because it's good to be urban but you have to understand that our parents taught us something while raising us. Like, how to stay together as a family, fights happen but you should stay together. Those are important values because today we are a product of our parents. Tomorrow Mehr is going to be a product of Neha and me. Everybody has issues but you can't dwell on it and be cynical about it.

What new things can the audience expect from Inside Edge Season 2?

I love Inside Edge, that's my DNA, that's the character I want to be all the time. I love Arvind Vashishth, the character… I like the way he thinks, I like the way he projects himself. For me, as an audience… it might sound a bit conceited… but I love Arvind Vashishth. I was offered the role of Vayu Raghavan (played by Tanuj Virwani) but I didn't want to go that route. I wanted an internal character and Arvind Vashishth had more depth and gravity. I felt that he comes from the earth. I am very grateful for the role that they have written for me. The first season saw the good man go down, the second season would be the rise of the phoenix - how Arvind Vashishth comes back with a purpose. He is still the good man with a caring heart but he will fight and clean up the system…

I hope they cast me in every season of Inside Edge that is made. Till date, that's my most loved and treasured character. Robin Rawal from The Zoya Factor is basically the complete opposite of Arvind Vashishth. If Arvind Vashishth is the Ram of Inside Edge, Robin Rawal is the Duryodhan of The Zoya Factor.

What can you tell us about your character Karl Khandelwal in ALTBalaji's new series The Verdict - State Vs Nanavati?

It's total drama. I play a lawyer and how he transforms himself while fighting the case. The journey is beautiful. Subhash Kapoor sir has done a phenomenal job of writing it and Ekta (Kapoor) is such a ballsy producer. Had she not come on board, this cast would not have been together and this show wouldn't have been made. She got these theatre giants like Makrand Deshpande, Soni Razdan, Saurabh Shukla, Manav Kaul, Swanand Kirkire… it's a great eclectic mix.

How are you balancing acting in films and web series so well?

On a digital platform, you get a great arc for your character to perform, there's a perspective. The Zoya Factor is based on three principal characters and I'm lucky that I'm one of them. I've been a principal character since I started but I'd like to explore more. I feel that the digital space gives you a better positioning, you perform better, you're more secure as an actor. The millennials of age group 13 onwards are sitting at home and watching these shows. Like, I'm watching Designated Survivor right now and loving it! I also watched The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Made In Heaven, Line of Duty and Mirzapur.