Tandav Actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub: “Being Aware Is My Biggest Asset”

New Delhi:

Being conscious is his greatest asset, says actor Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub who views his role as an idealistic student leader in Tandav as maybe the closest a personality has come to resemble the individual he actually is – an artiste-activist seeking to change society not simply his life. The role of Shiva in Ali Abbas Zafar’s political show has many parallels together with his life as a pupil in Delhi University’s Kirori Mal College, stated the actor, believing it will be significant for artistes to have interaction with their environment. Zafar was additionally his senior in school. “It’s quite close to what I am,” Ayyub instructed information company PTI when requested whether or not the function was tailored for him. Be it by his performs, his recital of late analysis scholar Rohith Vemula’s letter or his participation within the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests, the farmers’ protests or every other challenge of the day, the 37-year-old speaks out. Making his presence felt on social media and different platforms at a time when so many are fearful of airing their views.

“Being aware is my biggest asset,” Ayyub stated. “I get affected and strongly believe if I stop getting affected by things around me, I won’t be an actor. If I can’t be sensitive towards my surroundings in real life, how can I justify my character and be aware of my surroundings as an actor and character?” stated Ayyub, who has a devoted fan following together with his spectacular flip in movies similar to Raanjhanaa, Shahid, Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Raees and Article 15.

Being vocal on points has affected him professionally, however that does not actually matter, he stated, dismissing the notion that artistes ought to steer clear of politics. “Actors don’t come from another planet, they come from our society… It’s a wrong perception that artistes should not talk about politics. According to me, an actor has to be an activist. If you are not doing that, then what are you doing? Of course, it affects your career in a certain sense. But as I say, I don’t care. If I get seven scripts instead of 15, I am absolutely fine. The seven that I’m getting are automatically filtered, it makes my work easy,” stated the actor.

Ayyub was intently concerned in his school’s dramatic society as was Zafar, his senior by a yr. Zafar’s temporary was easy – Shiva ought to have the anger and the eagerness that they used to have for politics, theatre, every thing. A dialogue from the collection that has gone viral quotes freedom fighter Bhagat Singh whenShiva says the revolutionary taught youth to review but in addition to struggle when the time got here. “Bhagat Singh is someone that everyone now wants to claim as their own. I don’t think they have read him properly, especially the right wing people,” Ayyub stated. The dialogue, he added, was put in very intentionally because the present tries to interrupt the notion that college students ought to concern themselves solely with research and never participate in politics. “Politics affects everything in your life, especially when you are in university. The kind of education and the kind of future you will be getting, everything is decided by the policy makers. If I’m a student and I’m going to be the future of this country, I should be aware of what’s happening around me.”

Before getting into DU, Ayyub stated he was only a Delhi boy from Okhla with “typical engineering ambitions”. Joining the faculty and its drama society helped him perceive the world round him higher. “I started understanding that I also need to start participating in politics to know what is happening around it. I felt that I needed to go out and claim it back if something was being taken from me. The three years were like a transition period, making my beliefs stronger, in myself, in my society, my ideological beliefs.” All main political events have their pupil wings in DU schools and participate within the elections for a motive, he stated. They all wish to discover sturdy younger leaders. There could also be similarities between Shiva and pupil leaders Kanhaiya Kumar and Omar Khalid, however the function will not be impressed by them, Ayyub stated.

Instead, Shiva is an amalgamation of all influential youth icons. “There is no direct connection but obviously people will try and find parallels with Kanhaiya or Omar. If the show would have happened in the ’90s, then we would have talked about Chandrashekhar (Prasad, former president of the JNU’s Students Union who was shot dead in Siwan while addressing a street rally).” Ayyub stated he doesn’t just like the time period ‘hero’ and didn’t grow to be an actor to solely play constructive characters. However, he’s comfortable he’s now getting roles the place he’s the central a part of the story. “It’s more about the dignity of the character for me. Finally, I’m getting the work that I want to do. I want to play author-backed characters”.

As an actor, Ayyub stated he needs to have a constructive affect on folks and encourage them with the proper of characters. “I want to be that kind of person who wants to bring a change to society rather than just my life. If you belong to a certain class or community, you often hear the line that ‘I have to get out of this place somehow in search of a better life or society’. I hate this philosophy. “I imagine I’m what I’m due to the folks round me. If I’ve to develop, I’ll develop with everybody. Otherwise, I’m advantageous the place I’m. I wish to transfer forward with everybody, not alone.”

Tandav, starring Saif Ali Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Sunil Grover, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Dino Morea, Kumud Mishra, Gauhar Khan and Kritika Kamra, started streaming on Amazon Prime Video from Friday. While Zafar has created, directed and produced the political drama with Himanshu Kishan Mehra, it is written by Gaurav Solanki, best known for Article 15.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)