Mohit Malik, who will soon be seen in the OTT show Chamak, says TV will always be his first love and that it is just a matter of time before he returns to his favorite medium.
In an exclusive interview with MoneyControl, Mohit Malik spoke about the decision to play the role of Guru in his upcoming web series Chamak, which will premiere on Sony Liv next week.
Mohit, who has worked in many hit shows like Kulfi Kumar Bajewala and Dolly Armanoon Ki, to name a few, defended TV and said the show makers only cater to the demands of the audience. He further said that both OTT and TV can give mediocre content too, so no medium can be pin pointed.
Mohit has done both negative and positive roles on TV, and he says that it is the script that makes him choose those roles, and he loves to experiment. He also spoke about the reason he chose to be a Guru in Chamak, saying what attracted him most to the role was that he is gay, and being gay in Punjab is difficult, and the character’s arc is also difficult to play.
Excerpts from the interview:
We have seen you in TV shows, playing both negative and positive roles. What made you shift from TV to OTT? You have had a successful run on TV.
I would say that there's never been a shift from TV to TV. I am still an actor who's open to all the mediums, be it TV or your films. TV is never a downer for me. TV is a stepping stone, and TV's all will always be very close to my heart. So there's no way that I can say that I'm running away from shifting from TV to OTT. TV is my heart. TV is where my soul lies. I love television. At its core, it's just a matter of the script, the role, whatever attracts me, be it any medium, it can be TV or OTT. I would say that was a was a shifted shift. It's just that I'm exploring more mediums now.
How is OTT different from TV?
On TV, we call out regressive content. OTT is different from TV. Of course, OTT, you know you have a bound script. The first major difference between OTT or film (A) and TV is that in TV you don't have a bound script; in OTT you have a bound script. Also, I won't rate anyone above anyone, but I would say that OTT also has its pros and cons, and as for TV or TV, maybe kuch mediocre banta hai. I can’t say one is great work and one is mediocre work because it happens both on OTT and TV and is no different.
TV is being called out for its regressive content. What are your thoughts?
I don't think so; I would say that it's the demand, and people are being smart to present whatever is being said, and people will watch. So it's just being smart because people see TV works on what people people like, and they are very smart people. They know what works, and they know what is working and what is not working. Every Thursday, they come to know what track is working and what track is not working.
You never know what clicks. So, you can't really label television as regressive content.
In Dolly Armaano Ki, we saw you as a possessive husband, and in Kulfi Kumar Bajewala, you were seen as a protective father. How did you conceptualize such diverse roles?
Honestly, I'm not the one who conceptualizes such roles. It's the work of a producer and a writer. Mera kaam sirf screen par kaam karna hai, just to fill in the boots and be in the boots of the character and portray with honesty whatever has been written and whatever has been given to me. So, conceptualization is not my thing, really. It’s the work of creative people behind the scenes, or I have just done whatever has been given to me in the best possible way. So yeah, all the credit goes to the whole team. I'm not saying I'm not taking it away from me, but I think the whole team is behind it. Right from the right director, actor, editor—you know, all of them.
Tell us in detail about your role in Chamak. What pulled you to Chamak?
His name is Guru. He is the next in command, in charge after his father. And he is the one who is the most sensible out of the lot in the family—his brother and sister—and he is the one who will eventually take charge of the company. And so, as you know, he's gay. So, what attracted me was, you know, a lot of things. Being gay is not something I would say is, you know, attractive. No, you know, the way he's been raised, what he's going through at the moment, what conflicts does he have? What fears does he have? Or, you know, what he wants from life? What does he desire in life, and what are the obstacles?
Carry on...
And it's a beautifully etched-out character with a lot of complexes and issues. And so I like characters, you know, Joe, to have issues with, you know, like, and I am somehow attracted to such characters. So, obviously, being gay is also not easy in a city like Punjab. And when is it? It's out in the open that he's gay, and it's not a secret anymore. So, you know, he is going through a lot of trauma. There's a lot of trauma that has gone. He has seen a lot of trauma. The way he has become is because of that trauma; it is something that attracted me. So, you know, and also, the whole arc of Guru was very attractive. The way he acts, the way he grows.
So any character that attracts me firsthand is the character's journey, its growth, whether he's growing, you know, towards the end of the show or is there any growth in him. So Guru is on similar lines. He is somebody who's been low-status, who's never in charge of his emotions, is sensitive and aimless, is, you know, and is also a people-pleaser. I would say that he gained this high status by controlling his emotions and becoming indifferent. So, the whole journey of Guru is from being sensitive to indifferent with, you know, no empathy in his life, from empathetic to no empathetic.
And also, the star cast of the show is what really pulled me—the director's vision is what really pulled me. I've known him for a couple of years, and you know, we thought that we should work together someday. And this is the project where we finally work together. And I really like him as a person. He's very passionate.
You have worked as a singer for Kulfi Kumar to learn how to be a very different singer.
In Kulfi, Sikandar was a singer. He was very spiritual. But yeah, Guru, he is more of a business guy. This guy had strong creativity here, but I think it's never been explored so much. It is obviously true that every being is creative, but he's heavily guarded with his mind, and I think he has a very strong and resilient mind at the same time. And so, creativity can use the view here, but he is more of a business guy.
You are working with Gippy Grewal; how was it working with him?
I'm honored to be a part of the show where, you know, Gippy Grewal is there. But I never had a scene with him because he played Kala's father. And who got shot while he was performing on stage? And that's how Kala comes into the picture. And to take revenge. And where does he face Tejasur? And Tejasur, you know, has been owned by my father, who's played by Mono Pawadi Pratapdhul, and his two sons, one of whom is Jaedul and the other is Guru. Guru is being the next in command because he is the second-most eligible person in the family. So that's what the Kala is. The conflict that happens in season 2 is all about this conflict between Kala and Guru, where Kala wants to take revenge and Guru's standing just right in front of his father. So there's a lot of conflict, a lot of revenge, and a lot of bloodshed.
How was your journey from Delhi to Mumbai? Do you share some intriguing things about your struggle period?
I never really thought that, you know, I would come to Bombay someday, but it just happened. I think it's all destiny, and the journey is always special. Or, if the journey doesn't teach you anything, it's not a journey. I think it's really taught me a lot of things about myself, and you know, the lessons I've learned doing the way so, and everybody has their own journey, and my journey has not been easy again.
And I don't want to glorify it as other people do. But I think it's really important. We'll have a journey, you know, and ups and downs are very important. You share some intriguing things about your struggle. I don't know. I struggle. What is a struggle? I don't really understand. Yeah. Struggling for work. And more than that, I think it's your mental struggle, your physical struggle.
But I think the most important thing that matters to me and should matter to everyone is their mental struggle and the kinds of ups and downs you go through and how you tackle them mentally. And I've had my own journey, from not being a very, very mentally resilient guy to becoming a resilient and mentor-residency guy. I had my own issues when I came to Bombay. Now obviously, I've worked on myself so much, and I've worked in the industry so much. And I think I have only grown as a person, and the journey is still with you. It's never an event that happens overnight. It's always a process. So yeah, I mean, the struggle goes on. It just goes on because, for a person like me who's never content and a person like me who's a workaholic, I think the struggle never stops.
How many auditions did you give, and how did you land your first role?
My first role was Kaha Hoon Mai, for which Star called me up. They saw one of my pictures in one of the magazines in Delhi, and they called me for an audition. I came to Bombay with one of my friends, my best friend, and I auditioned. I went back, and then I got a call that I'd been shortlisted. Why don't you come back to Bombay? That's how I came to Bombay, and I got that role. I must have given a lot of auditions for the ad, films, and TV shows. But I think I was never confident as an actor. I would say that I was not an actor when I came to Bombay. I just wanted to do something for myself. I never really thought that I would become an actor.
Will you return to TV or keep working in the space of OTT?
As I said, I've never gone away from TV.
Mohit Malik made his debut on TV with show Miilee as Aaoni on Star Plus. Post that he was seen in many TV shows like Betiyaan Apni Ya Paraya Dhan, Pari Hoon Main, Banoo Main Teri Dulhann, Godh Bharaai, Durgesh Nandinii, Doli Armaano Ki, Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya and Phulwa.
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