Roshan Mathew interview: On ‘Kankhajura’ and feeling at home in Hindi cinema

Actor Roshan Mathew opens up on his upcoming web series ‘Kankhajura’, playing complex roles and picking the right scripts for Hindi web series

Roshan Mathew is set to play an intense and manipulative man in the upcoming Hindi web series Kankhajura. The Hindi adaptation of the Israeli web series Magpie (2019) drops on SonyLiv on May 30. The series also stars Mohit Raina, Sarah Jane Dias and Trinetra Haldar.

In the series, Roshan plays Anshu, a youngster who returns to his brother Max after 14 years of imprisonment. Anshu’s past disrupts his relationship with Max, and their lives get caught in a web of secrets, and betrayals.

Beneath Roshan’s charming personality lies a gift to play wicked and flawed characters that often leave a mark. For instance, in his recent Malayalam film Paradise, which is set in Sri Lanka, Roshan plays a man who displays his assertiveness to cover his flaws in his relationship with his wife (played by Darshana Rajendran).

Over the years, the actor has found a way to crack roles that come with multiple layers. Roshan talks to The Hindu about the different phases of his career so far, and evolving as an actor across industries. Excerpts:

The script has some amount of detailing, as to what exactly happened in their (the brother’s) past, and what their childhood probably was like. There’s enough hint in it for us to build our own story around it. I think that’s where the interpretation of an actor and the director comes in. I ask myself, ‘What could have made him say that’? ‘Or what could have made him think or act this way’? So, you build a backstory in your head.

I don’t look at Ashu as a villain. Because everything he does is easy to justify. There are reasons behind what he’s doing. At some points, he takes extreme measures. It’s not something that I would resort to as a person. On a very unbiased scale of right and wrong, he might be in the wrong a few times for sure. But once you understand the context of his actions, you empathise with him. He is a bit reckless, somebody who will do anything to achieve what he wants.

Very honestly, I miss it. The genre is delightful. Even when I sit down to watch a film, there’s a certain kind of relaxation that comes from watching something very light and breezy. As actors, we want to try all genres. That’s what keeps us light and happy on our feet. In the last couple of years, there have been few missed opportunities due to various factors, and I regret them. They were feel-good stories. However, we find ways to be a part of them. For instance, my friends and I are doing a play. It’s called Bye Bye Bypass. It’s an absolute fun comedy ride. Even before we arrived at the exact script of the play, we were very sure that the mood of the play had to be light. Even Kankhajura isn’t so intensely dark that it’s going to be a difficult watch. It’s a very engaging show.