In a scene from Roshan Mathew’s recently released Hindi show Kankhajura (streaming on Sony LIV), his character, Ashu, prepares to fake a cry. Stressing his cheeks and lowering his eyelids, he gets into the muscle memory of tearing up. In the next moment, he comes back to normalcy. It is a scene that effectively portrays Ashu’s manipulative tendencies. He hides a sinister force behind the innocent face. Roshan’s performance builds on this ambiguity with a measured subtlety. He channels a serpentine chaos in his mind while embodying an almost childlike vulnerability through his physical presence. Even though the show is an adaptation of the Israeli series, Magpie (2019), Roshan didn’t want to watch the original as he felt like finding his own version of the character. Close to the shoot, the actor had a strong urge to take a peek into it. However, he couldn’t go beyond five minutes. “I sensed that it was dangerous. If I continued watching, I would have retained what that particular actor had done with the character,” Roshan says.In this conversation, the actor reflects on his process of playing such dark characters, his wish to work with filmmakers like Vikramaditya Motwane, his experience of working in the Malayalam and Hindi film industries and more.(Excerpts)
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