Emmy Award-nominated actor Arjun Mathur’s web series Jugaadistan recently premiered on Lionsgate Play. The Free Press Journal caught up with him for an exclusive brief chat. When asked what he thinks about the word Jugaadistan, he says, “If I can be completely honest, it is about just the channel and platform a bit of jugaad and figuring out what title will work with the demographic where the show started off first. Iss mein bhi jugaad lagta hai I guess. My character is an ethical journalist but has his own jugaad. You have to keep your sources in place, so you have to work towards it to get your information in a timely manner from wherever you need it. I suppose this word, jugaad, is so encompassing in a city like Mumbai that it is done in our daily life always.”
Arjun seems to be a favourite of the audience. However, he disagrees. “No, I’m not one of them. Those stars are A-listers like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. These are the stars audiences want to see. Actors like me and Sumeet (Vyas) don’t have an image as such. I do hope the audience feels, ‘Iss mein Arjun Mathur hai toh kuch alag dekhne ko milega’. I always try to pick up varied roles,” he explains.
For any actor, who works hard on a project, it can be a huge blow if their finished product doesn’t see the light of the day. And Arjun is no exception, but he’s strong. “We can’t say much. Unfortunately, the line is such that we as actors finish our work with the dubbing of the film. Then we wait for the promotions to begin. These things are out of our control. It’s very disheartening when your work doesn’t see the light of the day as a lot of hard work is put in. I haven’t had too many such experiences. It’s okay, you just move on,” he shares.
Arjun believes that publicity is vital in today’s times. “Yes it’s part of the job. By the end of the day, it’s in our interest. The audience knows about our work and watches our work. It’s really not in any actors’ interest to throw a tantrum while doing publicity. I mean, now in the times of Covid-19, actors should be thankful that their work is promoted on Zoom. As long as the work is happening, it feels great,” he avers.
The team of Lord Curzon Ki Haveli | Pic: Instagram/pareshpahuja
On a parting note, the actor talks about his upcoming film. “Lord Curzon Ki Haveli is a feature film directed by Anshuman Jha. It’s his directorial debut. It was a lot of fun and the fastest feature film that was shot in 15 days only! It was shot in the UK in a house with four characters for one night inside a house. It was easy to shoot. It’s a black comedy thriller. It’s one of the most fun characters that I ever got to portray. I have just finished shooting for it,” he concludes.
