In the new short film, "The Twist", budding actor Ritwik Sahore plays Shlok, a standard X student who is asked by his classmate to be her dance partner.

"I am introverted by nature. So when I heard the script and realised that I have to dance a lot in the film, I was hesitant. It was awkward for me. But I have to say that our choreographer Shazeb Sheikh really made it happen. Also, Sanya (Malhotra) helped me, and it then became easy since we know each other from the set of ‘Dangal'," Ritwik told IANS.

As the story of the short film revolves around a student, in the film Ritwik explored various shades of emotions as an actor, and according to him that was quite interesting. The film talks of how a teenager often finds it tough and irritating to deal with simple things like spending time with grandparents among many other such issues.

"It is true that generation gap exists among us in real life, but things become more visible when we are teenagers. I think we are more rebellious when we hit puberty. We think as if only we know the right thing, and mom-dad, dada-dadi are so outdated. But hey, it is the age and hormones. We are not bad sons or bad grandsons!" he said.

He added: "I can analyse and look at things in a more mature way because I have grown up, but my character in the film, Shlok, behaves in a certain way because of his age."

Asked about an example of generation gap, he said: "How to use new apps on a phone is surely a problem for our grandparents. We have to teach them. It is a struggle for them. But I am mature now to understand they taught us how to walk, how to read and write, so we can teach them this much. My grandfather is quite cool with social media and he has learnt video calling now."

‘The Twist' is directed by Uttara Krishnadas. It features Sushama Deshpande, Vaishali Joshi, Gayatri Salkar.

Starting his career in Bollywood with the film "Ferrari Ki Sawaari" in 2012, Ritwik was notably seen in "Dangal". In the 2016 Aamir Khan blockbuster, Ritwik played the younger Omkar, a character essayed by Aparshakti Khurana as an adult.

How is the young actor battling COVID-19 stress? "I want to keep my mind engaged. So I have started learning the guitar, I am watching shows. I am making videos on the mobile and try to keep myself busy. I was quite excited about a web series that was about to happen but now everything has stopped. But I do not want to feel depressed," he replied.

"The Twist" is released on the YouTube channel of Zee Music Company.

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)