Arjun Mathur will forever remember the discomfort of yanking off a woollen monkey cap off his bristly bald head during the shoot for Netflix’s Brij Mohan Amar Rahe . “It was the peak of Delhi winters and I had to shave my head every morning at five in freezing temperatures,” laughs the actor. “The cap would get stuck to my head like Velcro. [Which] was the hardest part of shooting.” In spite of the physical suffering he had to endure, Brij Mohan turned out to be the 36-year-old’s favourite in his decade-and-something career.
The black comedy, directed by Nikhil Bhat features Mathur as a middle-class lingerie store owner — although in the film it’s mostly referred to as bra and chaddis — who fakes his own death after borrowing an absurd amount of money to expand his business. What follows is a sinister course of events including a change of identity, sex, bloodshed and through it all a lot of laughs at Mohan’s misery. Mathur was convinced about the Netflix film at the get go, after a single telephonic narration from the film’s casting director. It was unbelievable that a character could stomach as much as Mohan goes through in one film. But the real cincher was the protagonist’s paradoxical personality: an innocence that switches with a flip of a coin into diabolical megalomania. “He’s just some dude who had a dream and took a hard swing that went horribly [wrong],” says Mathur.
Stars in his eyes
Mathur has spent close to two decades in Mumbai in pursuit of his dreams. So far, he’s starred in a string of independent films like Barah Aana (2009) and Fireflies (2014); and had smaller roles in big-budget titles such as My Name is Khan (2010) and Begum Jaan (2017). But he’s yet to attain the ‘hero’ status he yearned for when he was ten. “Disappointment is a really key player in your life and no one is escaping it,” he says. Mathur remembers idolising Hindi film stars while growing up, attracted as he was to the money, fame, glitz and glamour. Something stirred inside him when he saw Amitabh Bachchan in Satte Pe Satta (1982) and Namak Haraam (1973). Then there was Anil Kapoor’s Janbaaz (1986) and Ram Lakhan (1989). Of course, reality kicked in hard when the actor moved to Mumbai, “I kind of grew up a little and I was no more idolising stars,” he says.
Instinct and intuition
That’s not to say the actor is jaded about how his career has turned out. It’s anything but that. When we talk, Mathur’s calm is infectious and his persistently positive outlook is evident. “I think worrying about the future is definitely the most useless exercise that a human being can perform,” he chuckles. “I’ve come to realise that there’s room for everyone. The people that want to work with you will work with you. And the people who want to see your work will see your work.” Mathur is clearly a believer of following his instinct when it comes to choosing his roles. While he acknowledges his privilege, born in London – later trained with Barry John’s institute as well as Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, New York – Mathur asserts his struggle and focus. “I think the fact that I have sustained 18 years in Bombay on my own, I’m very proud of myself.”
After Brij Mohan, the actor will be seen as Rahul Gandhi in The Accidental Prime Minister, and the Amazon Prime web series Made in Heaven.
The rest though, he’s tight-lipped about. One thing’s for sure, there are exciting things unfolding. Though, all choices will go through the actor’s churn of contradictions. Mathur will be intensely focused on the present but also trust the chips to fall his way.
Brij Mohan Amar Rahe is currently streaming on Netflix
