Malayalam star Roshan Mathew has been receiving rave reviews for his performance in Sony LIV’s recently-released Hindi web show Kankhajura, which also stars Mohit Raina, Trinetra Haldar, Sarah Jane Dias, Heeba Shah and Usha Nadkarni. He got talking about his experience of doing the show and other things in an interview with us.

Roshan Mathew on Kankhajura, “I have a fascination with exploring characters who are dark in nature”

What attracted you to Kankhajura?
I think what attracted me to the show was the character itself of Ashu. And there is just so much to him that right from the first brief that I read about the show, I felt like if I say no to this, I don’t know when again I’ll get the chance to play a character like Ashu.

Malayalam cinema remains your mainstay. Are you happy with the offers in your native language?
Yeah, I love the kind of work that’s been happening in Malayalam. I think a lot of us who are currently active in Malayalam cinema are all very grateful that this is the period that we are getting to do our best work and this is happening. These particular writers and makers are making their work that we are alive and we are working as actors. It’s a huge blessing and I’m like constantly grateful for the work that I get to do there also.

Why don’t we see you in Hindi films more often?
If it’s a project that gives me something that I am not currently being offered in Malayalam, then I jump at. Otherwise, it doesn’t really pull me as or target me as hard. So, specifically because of this reason, because this happens at the selection process itself, at the picking stage itself, all of the projects that I’ve worked in Hindi have been great experiences for me, starting with Choked, moving on to a Darlings, so doing a Poacher after that, doing Ulajh and now doing Kankhajura.

I didn’t realize you have done such a variety of roles in Hindi
They’ve all been really, really memorable experiences. And, you know, some of these have been extremely successful, some not so much. But irrespective of that, irrespective of the commercial outcome of it, all of these are projects that I hold very dear to my heart; projects that I’ve had really great experience.

Is there a difference between working on an OTT series and for the big screen?
I haven’t actually been able to differentiate between shooting for a film or, you know, a series for an OTT platform. I don’t really see any difference in the way I work. I feel for the actors, it’s all pretty much the same. Yeah, one is a longer format, and maybe you’ll get to explore your character in a little more depth, because there’s so much more time that can sometimes allow for that kind of exploration. But apart from that, our job pretty much remains the same. And, you know, the joy I get out of doing it, or like what we show up with, all remains the same.

Are you happy with your journey so far?
My journey so far, I am particularly happy about the kind of people that I’ve gotten to collaborate with and the kind of work that I’ve been offered, the kind of characters that have been offered. I feel like there’s also been a lot of learning that has happened. Learning to focus on the right things and learning to deal with how a particular project performs, be it good or bad, you know. So, like, all of those things are happening as it does with time as you do more and more and more work. I think one thing that stayed constant for me is that with every step that I take, I feel like I’m excited about the next few steps. There always feels like there’s so much more to look forward to. And that’s the best part about this job as well that, you know, that after a good day or a bad day, you’re hungry to go back for more.

Was Mohit Suri a good co-star in Kankhajura?
I would say so. In my opinion, he plays the most important character in the story. For my character Ashu, Max is the centre of his world. Max is the reason Ashu does everything he does in the story. So, to me, Mohit’s character is the most important. Our director Chandan Arora sir told us that Mohit and I don’t necessarily need to get to know each other and, like, be comfortable around each other because these two brothers are meeting after a really, really long time and the story begins. So, we didn’t specifically put any effort into bonding or getting comfortable with each other.

But the bonding happened anyway
It, sort of, just like happened by itself. It was very easy to work with Mohit. He’s such a sweet guy. He’s very accommodating. He’s very unlike Max in real life. So, I think he’s a brilliant performer. There were so many scenes where while I was performing with Mohit I thought, wow, he’s doing an amazing job. And then, like, I would have to tear myself out of that thought and bring myself back into the moment itself. It was such a great experience. It was a team that I had a great, great experience working with.

You sound very happy with the Kankhajura experience
Kankhajura has been one of my most enjoyable shoots. And it was a lot of work. It was super hectic. But the fact that it was this team and obviously the fact that we were shooting in Goa just made the experience so beautiful for me. So, right before going into it, I knew (cinematographer) Rajeev Ravi was shooting it. I knew Chandan Arora, who was somebody Rajeev sir had associated with even before Kankhajura was directing it. I knew Chandan sir’s previous work as well. Obviously, I knew Mohit’s work, then Sara Jane Dias, Heeba Shah, Ninad Kamat, Mahesh Shetty, Trinetra Haldar, Usha Nadkarni Tai…. it was a great cast.

So, this is one of those shoots where even before I got to the first day of shoot, I was already feeling very safe, very secure, very excited. There was no, okay, let’s see how the first couple of days go. And then, you know, sort of like gauge where we stand as a crew. I went in knowing that this is a great team to work with. And I just had to put my best foot forward. So, that’s where the effort was. And that’s a great place to start.

You have played a lot of dark characters. But Ashu on Kankhajura is the darkest
I have a fascination with exploring characters who are dark in nature. But I feel like there’s definitely some excitement that comes when I feel the difference between me the person, me the actor, and the character. So, with somebody like Ashu, it’s not like I can’t connect with him at all. I fully understand the guy. I fully empathize with the guy. I can relate to so much about him. But the choices he makes and the extremes that he goes to are fully new territory for me. So that’s something that I have never done as a person or would never do as a person. That is exciting for me, I guess, like there’s more scope of that happening when it is characters who, you know, inhabit a darker part of the subconscious, like you said.

What next?
I have a couple of Malayalam releases coming up, starting with a movie called Ronth on 13 June. It’s directed by Shahi Kabir and it’s one of the most exciting projects that I’ve worked so far in Malayalam or otherwise. So, I’m really looking forward to that and starting shoot for another very unique, very different, very original Malayalam film in June itself. So, prepping and I really, really enjoyed my outings in Hindi cinema because I have, I know it’s a huge luxury when I say this, but because I have work happening in Malayalam as well. When I choose to do a project in Hindi, it’s primarily because it is a project that excites me so much that I want to leave everything behind and come do this.

Also Read: Mohit Raina on his face off with Roshan Mathew in Kankhajura, “It’s very important in a two-actor story that both actors are secure”

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