Boman Irani and Samara Tijori play father and daughter in Masoom, a thriller series on Disney+ Hotstar that has been adapted from the Irish show Blood. In a video interview, the actors shared details of their latest work, which unfolds in Punjab when the Kapoors lose a central family member.
Would you describe 'Masoom' as a whodunit, a psychological thriller or a father-daughter relationship drama?
Samara: It is all of the above. The show is full of thrills, drama, and relationships. Each sibling has a different relationship with the other. The dynamics are so varied in just this one family, which should be very interesting to watch.
Boman: It is an intriguing thriller about people, but then the characters and their relationships, and whether they resolve them those questions take over. It’s a route to understanding human relationships and the human condition.
Also read: Masoom review: The menacing shadows of family dysfunction
Have you seen the original series 'Blood'?
Boman: We made a conscious effort not to see the original. We had a script that had been adapted and Indianised. Eventually the breathing of a character and making him a real human being is up to you, in the moment and in the world those characters are living in. If you have seen the earlier performance, it can influence you – conditioning my mind to do something that might not be truthful to what my gut tells me. So we decided not to see it and that made me more comfortable and I felt what I was doing for my character, and what Samara was doing for her character, was truthful for the world we are creating. The story is about how the plot affects Samara’s character and me, wherever we might be – England, Ireland or India.
Samara: I didn’t watch it either. In fact I didn’t know it was a remake till I did a reading with Mihir (Desai, director). I decided not to watch Blood because I think it can influence you to try to do the same thing.
Boman, a thriller is a less explored genre for you. Was that one of the attractions to this role?
No. It’s never the genre but always the writing and the exploration of what is being said. Can I relate to it, because if I don’t relate to it at a personal level then I can’t expect the audience to relate to it either. The last thing on my mind is how I can showcase my acting skills. The question is will the part give me a good chance to act? What is the piece speaking about?
Masoom has intrigue and speaks of a father-daughter relationship. How do you deal with your daughter after the death of your spouse? How do you identify with dissent and how do you deal with a daughter who is feisty? The genre is just a way to tell this story. If the piece has universal themes, then you feel you are not just talking about a twist in the tale but a little more than that. That is what attracted me to Masoom.
Samara, you were last seen in Bob Biswas but this is your first major role. What was the biggest learning for you?
The writing did a lot for me. There was so much on paper and in the scenes for me to execute. I was very invested even when I was reading the script the first time. I was glued. That is important. My gut was to say yes. Mihir was a blessing. I did readings with him for a very long time. We made notes scene by scene: what is her mood, the emotion. Also for the world of the show, which is a small town in Punjab, I read a lot of Punjabi poetry and listened to Punjabi music while we are on location, just to get familiar and comfortable playing Sana and being in that zone. I would not have gotten that many layers in if it wasn’t for Mihir’s help.
Boman, what was it like working on your first web series and was it in any way different to working on a feature film?
I don’t see any difference. I just enjoyed being on a set. Acting is acting. There is a camera, there are lights and assistants are screaming in your ears. Sometimes the economy of working as a character actor in a film is challenging. It can be a bit of a bummer because you could have done that little bit more to layer the character a bit more because sometimes we have just six to seven scenes in a film within which to capture all the motivations, arc, and everything. This series allowed me to do a nice character arc and that has to do with direction and writing, and what I bring within the truth of the piece.
How much does the shooting location help get you into the mood of that world?
Samara: It is most helpful to be in that atmosphere. We were shooting in a lot of local areas. The commute was also long. It would take one to one-and-a-half hours to travel from the hotel to the location. During those journeys, I would look out the window and see what life is like. That made me more comfortable and more familiar, which was helpful for playing the character. Even the set was beautiful.
Boman: In theatre we are taught about the importance of a detailed imagination. So when you are staring at an audience, which is the fourth wall, what does that wall comprise of and where are you in relation to it?
Everything has to be imagined and it takes a lot of hard work to be in the moment, in the momentum of what is going on. Shooting in Punjab, for example, the travel, weather, the smells, help put you in the moment so that leaves you to concentrate on the other part of the imagination – the emotional part.
I have to imagine the feeling or find the truth of what is happening in the moment and I am free to do that rather than worry about the green wall behind me and imagine what is in that space – is there a lamp, a stethoscope, or a painting. The first thing you learn in theatre is your relationship with the space, and we were in the thick of it.
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