Akshay Oberoi is spending his time in an unusual place these days — inside the mind of a man who’s losing his grip on reality. The actor, who was recently seen in the frothy world of Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, has begun shooting for Resident, a psychological thriller helmed by debutant director Akash Goila. The change of worlds is a conscious decision, says Oberoi. “Resident doesn’t just rely on fear or suspense, but digs deep into the psyche of its characters. After Sunny Sanskari…, which had a different tone, I wanted to immerse myself in something intense.”
Set over one night as the protagonist enjoys a date, Resident looks at the fragile psychology of a man whose internal world begins to collapse. As part of his prep for the film, which he describes as “a chamber piece about guilt and delusion,” he isolated himself for five weeks. “My director wanted the paranoia to feel real. So, I spent a few weeks isolating myself — I stopped socialising, avoided my phone, and tried to build that sense of unease from within.”