Winning accolades for a nuanced portrayal of a gay character in Amazon Prime’s Made in Heaven, Arjun Mathur says the real change will come the day we “stop seeing characters as straight, gay or transvestite.”
Edited excerpts:
How did the character take shape?
The character was written in detail. Zoya Akhtar and her team already saw in me what they wanted in the character. I was not asked to change my mannerisms to suit the character.
Karan is a man in charge of his workspace. He takes responsibility. It is just that in his bedroom he likes to sleep with men. For preparation, the main thing we did was that we indulged in a lot of conversations. We already had a back story. My job as an actor was to truthfully connect that to his present.
What is your process?
My process is very simple: I read the script, go to the set, and act. It is like living a life, day by day. There were scenes where multiple emotions were at play, but they were also penned down in the script.
I am a very instinctive actor who likes to follow the director’s vision completely. I give a lot of credit for my performance to the writing and the women who were taking me through these emotions. A woman writer/ filmmaker has a different kind of gaze and sensitivity. A male director may not be able to capture the multiple emotions the way a female director does.
There are four directors. Was there any overlap in command?
It is new to India, but the concept of multiple directors is already in place in the West. House Of Cards had seven to eight directors in one season. In such shows, your script is your Bible. There is one show runner; here Nitya Mehra was assigned this role. It was her job that the directors, crew, and cast were on the same page. Other than that, actors had a major responsibility of holding on to the character irrespective of who was directing it.
For their part, the directors used to ask us before proceeding. It was an atmosphere that created collaboration.
You have played gay characters in the past. Do you see any change in their portrayal?
Yes, in Onir’s I Am and in Mira Nair’s Migration. For a long time we have just seen caricatures of gay characters. I honestly would not have done such roles unless I was sure that the director would deal with them sensitively. Mira Nair, Onir, and Zoya Akhtar are such directors. I completely trusted them. In none of these have I tried to ‘show’ that the character is gay.
It is a series where there is time for the character to evolve. Is it a step ahead for creating awareness about homosexuality?
It will help. I am getting very touching messages. A woman called me to say that the series made her understand homosexuality better. She said if both her sons were to come out as homosexuals, she will still be proud of them.
Is there a danger of getting typecast?
People might try, but it is upto me. After Luck By Chance many people tried to typecast me as the best friend.
After Onir’s film, many people tried to cast me as a gay character. But the choice rests with me. I am ready to wait.
In what way was the show an eye-opener for you?
My eyes were already wide open! I have seen both marriage and divorce in my life. Yes, it might be a revelation for many viewers. The takeaway is that things are not always like what they appear: The kind of money that we spend on weddings, is it worth it? We create a fantasy while things that happen behind the scenes are often despicable.
If you look at it critically, the story gets repetitive. What’s your take?
This could happen with any series. Take ER for example, which is set in a hospital. The difference is you are able to delve deeper here. You are able to chart out a detailed character arc. The bigger difference is the global audience that you get. With films, it is very limited. As an actor, you keep looking for meaty roles and this format provides the opportunity.
Were you concerned about how the love-making scenes will be shot?
Many people are using nudity for eyeballs because the CBFC is not that strict in the web space. They are showing it just because they can. It all boils down to the filmmaker’s sensibility. Here I knew from the script stage why the ‘scenes’ are there and how they are taking the story forward. Like, my most graphic scene is one that the landlord (Vinay Pathak) records. It is integral to the plot. While shooting such scenes, there has to be trust.
The DOP, Jay Oza who shot most of my intimate scenes, is one of my best friends. When the actor trusts the cameraman and director, he can do anything.
What has the response of the industry been?
After many years, the industry has woken up to my presence again. It is like, ‘Oh! Arjun Mathur is still around. He is a good actor.’
The quality of offers is changing. One filmmaker whose work I respect a lot hugged me and said that I made him cry. I want see how much of this love translates into work.
Made in Heaven is currently streaming on Amazon Prime