As he gears up for his big theatrical debut in Anurag Basu’s Metro... In Dino, rising actor Kush Jotwani is still soaking in the surreal feeling of watching his dream unfold on the big screen. Speaking exclusively to The Hans India, Kush opened up about how he landed the role, what it was like working with the acclaimed filmmaker, and why this project feels like a full-circle moment in his journey.

“The feeling hasn’t quite sunken in yet,” Kush said with a smile. “We’re just hours away from the film’s release, about 12 hours, to be exact and it still feels unreal. I think it’ll hit me properly by evening. For now, I’m trying to stay calm and just take it all in.”

Now as Kush soaks in one the biggest moments and a first in his life, he even shared the story of how he was cast in Metro... In Dino and it is just as cinematic as the film itself.

Recalling the moment, Kush added, “It was crazy, actually. I literally mean crazy because I was shooting for Dil Dosti Dilemma and this one fine day while shooting, someone from Basu sir's team just reached out to me regarding a meeting that I need to have with Basu sir. I mean, this goes way back. Kavish Sinha was the casting director for this. ”

What followed was a brief but memorable Zoom meeting with director Anurag Basu, which Kush attended from his vanity van while still on another shoot. “It was a five-minute Zoom call where Basu sir said he liked my clip and wanted to meet in person. And that’s the thing about him, he’s so grounded, so simple. There’s nothing over-the-top about his process. He doesn’t need high-tech setups or formalities. He reads your body language, the way you speak… that’s his real audition,” he added.

Kush recalled how after that meeting, they met in person and filmmaker Anurag Basu asked him to send one final short video, what he calls a "proof audition", before locking him in for the role.

To quote him, “Like just give me the small video and then we can probably lock it. I sent that across and just before taking off from Bangalore, I was in the flight. I cannot forget that feeling. I was in the flight and just before taking off, I got a message from the production house that I'm confirmed for the role. And ever since then it was something else. I could not explain that feeling.”

Kush even shared his time filming the sequel of Life In a Metro, and how was it like being on Anurag Basu's set. He said, “Working with Basu sir is, I mean, you always, you always have a dream of working with the best of the best of the directors in the country and working with Basu Sir just makes, gets me closer to that dream. And you know, his style of working is very, very different, very unique. And it was a great time on set.”

Nearly two years since shooting began, Metro... In Dino is finally hitting cinemas. To which Kush added, “now that a year and a half, two years have passed, the film is finally coming out. So I am just, I'm also nervous to an extent, but I'm very excited. So I think that balance should be there. it is essential.”

Having already made his mark in the OTT space with Knock Knock...Kaun Hain? and Dil Dosti Dilemma, Kush Jotwani is now all set to step into the big league, and he surely is one to watch!

In Metro... In Dino, he plays a corporate executive with no work-life balance, in a storyline featuring Aditya Roy Kapur and Sara Ali Khan. The anthology navigating contemporary relationship across metro cities is all set to hit theatres on July 4th.