Adil Hussain Talks About His Latest Film Max, Min & Meowzaki, How He Pulled Off Tamilian Accent, His Love For Japanese Anime & More

Fresh out of the press show of Max, Min & Meowzaki, I stepped out of Lightbox preview theater, eyes moist and a smile on my face, when I was told that the film’s actor Adil Hussain was present. Immediately, I felt like I had to talk to him. As we sat down for a quick chat, I realised he didn’t have any airs to himself despite innumerable achievements.

After exchanging pleasantries, he revealed how he was cast as the strict Tamilian Ramesh Mahadevan in the film. “I met Padma Kumar, Narasimha Murthy, Paddy, we lovingly call Paddy in LA. He came to see my film called Mukti Bhawan (2016), which was showing in the LA Indian Film Festival in Los Angeles. And his film was also there called A Billion Color Story (2016). And we saw each other's film and I loved that film. And he said, ‘Oh my God, we will have to work together’. I said, ‘Paddy, any day, you know, I loved your film. Anytime you call me, I’ll be there’. Then he came up with this story and I was like, ‘wow’.”

The actor, who hails from Goalpara, Assam, then spoke about how he perfected the Tamil accent. “I was terrified because he said we have to do a Tamil accent. I'm like, I never did it. It's a responsibility not to make it caricatureish. And at least there should be a flavour of authenticity if not fully authentic. I cannot be a Tamilian within two months. So, I tried my best to be as he guided me. He recorded all the dialogues in that accent which his father used to speak. And then he gave it to me. I used to listen and learn my lines. And then we came to the sets that I started and he was guiding me. Also to remember the lines while I'm emoting and then not to forget the. So it was quite challenging. But I absolutely, thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it,” he stated.

The film features Radha, the cat, in a prominent role as Meowzaki. Adil just has one scene with it. When pointed out that in that scene in which his character's allergic to cats and runs away, he smiled and chimed in, “And I passed it on to my son also in the film.”

“I love dogs. Cats I had gotten used to very later in my life because my wife, when she was in her 20s, had a cat. And that was my first introduction to cats. And before that I got first introduced to dogs. And before that I used to be scared of dogs, so. But dogs became familiar. Then the cat came into my life through my wife. And then when I see this, there's a cat in the film, I'm like, oh, but there is only one scene, unfortunately, sadly. It added so much. As a metaphor, as a being with no religion.”

His character in the film has a certain ideology. One wonders if it was easy to imbibe that kind of personality. “No, I think every ideology, those who are rigid with it. Like I grew up in a household. One of my brothers is very, very fond of Islamic orthodoxy. My dad was an atheist, you know, so my dad was very, very liberal. But one of my brothers, he's like. I'm like, how can you think that somebody else is not correct? You are the only one who is correct. Yeah, so I am very. I'm very close to the people, those who are. And another brother of mine had been a communist. He thinks everybody else is wrong. So, you know, so you get inspired. Because that's what happens when you are not fanatic but orthodox about it. That your way is the only way. I follow Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansadeva. As many opinions, those many paths. And I think that's one of the greatest pieces of wisdom that I have ever learned by reading his Kathamrita. Then it liberates you from thinking you are right. And you have to make everybody right or everybody. You have to make everybody follow your path. No, you're not on a mission. You found your path and that's your path. Only yours. Not even your children, not even your son or wife or anybody else. It is your path and the universe has chosen you for that. Follow your path. Don't think you are the special one. That message. No, no, no, it's yours. That's what I believe.”

This film has traveled to so many film festivals and won many awards and now it's finally released in India. “It feels very good. Because you make a film to be watched by people. Like you've seen the responses. I feel it is not because I was there. They have said it is good, probably genuine, you know. And it is so nice for the director, for the actors, for the makers and producers to see and get inspired that oh, people really appreciate something which is truthfully and done with hard work, with authenticity. Just very inspiring. I am very happy that people looked at it and saw it and got inspired. It's very moving.”

There's a very big Japanese anime element in this film as well. The actor follows the work of Japanese filmmakers. When asked if he would recommend any films from Japanese cinema, he said, “Yeah, I would. I'm a very, very big admirer of (Yasujirō) Ozu and of course (Akira) Kurosawa which everybody knows, but Ozu is not that famous in India. Now, the Japanese animation film industry has invaded India and all the youngsters, almost all the youngsters are very big fans of anime. So I've seen quite a few of them, actually. My son made me watch them. Some of them are extremely violent and I was like, why so violent. He said, ‘Papa, you understand the theme. Anyway, Ozu is one of my most favorite filmmakers.”

When asked why he would recommend Max, Min & Meowzaki to the audience, he replied, “I think if you are a human being who has lived in a society inside a family, who has got a father and a mother, who has a son or has a, you know, as a sister, brother, who has issues, we all have, have them. And if you want to see how it feels when people forgive people go for reconciliation and how it makes you a joyous person. The best part of the film was all three generations got their closure. They went through their journeys and then they got their closure. That is why I think it's almost like therapy for me when I see this film. It's almost like a very beautiful artistic therapy. People deserve to be joyous. We are basically meant to be joyous.”

Published on: Monday, July 27, 2026, 08:00 AM IST