Shiv Pandit, who was last seen in films like Shaitan and Boss, has won acclaim for his performance in Sudhanshu Saria’s Loev. Portraying a gay character, the actor and his co-stars, the late Dhruv Ganesh and Siddharth Menon, take the audience through the life of three friends who are on a weekend road trip, as they struggle to define the boundaries between love and friendship.

Talking about the movie and the experience, Shiv says, “Every actor is always in search for well-written, thought-provoking material. It’s the writing which enables us to essay these complexed and deeply affected characters. It’s the vision of the director that shows us the way. I was very lucky to have a combination of the two with Suds (Sudhanshu Saria). He knew what he was talking about. I respect that quality in people. It makes it easy for me to trust them.”

He adds, “I started out wanting to do Loev from an extremely selfish standpoint. When I signed the film, I only cared mainly about my role, as no one had ever offered me anything like this before, and in all likelihood, nobody ever will. But after the completion of the film, I’ve come to realise the immense responsibility we as artists have to society. We have to put out true representations of the community we live in. Because cinema can help shape and broaden mindsets. Especially in the case of Loev, where we need to bring these stories out into the open arena.”