Recently, we caught up with the Kaabil actor Rohit Roy at his residence for an exclusive interview. In a tête-à-tête with Koimoi.com, Rohit spoke about his first ever web series which is titled Bouma Detective. His Bengali web series will be launched on the app called Hoichoi. Apart from his web series, he is also doing another web series with Vikram Bhatt called Memories. Rohit also shared his views about digital content and how it will be taking over in the next 3-4 years.
Interestingly, he also revealed to us that he is soon going to direct a film for Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Looking at the current state of affairs and controversies around Bhansali’s film Padmavati, Rohit also quips that hopefully, his film won’t have any rows! Not only this, Rohit also expressed his desire to be the part of Hrithik Roshan’s all-time loved franchise film, Krrish 4!
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Excerpts from the interview:
Q. Tell us about your role and what is this web series all about?
As you know, it’s called Bouma Detective and it basically means the daughter in the house is a detective and nobody knows about it. I play a role of a superstar from Calcutta film industry and he gets involved in a murder case, he doesn’t know how to get out of it. That’s how his wife starts helping him. He doesn’t know like nobody knows that she is like a detective. She believes on her husband that he hasn’t committed the murder.
Q. Can we say that is it a grey shade character?
It’s a grey shade character. I feel that everybody’s life has grey shade. There’s nobody who has a black or a white. A good guy has some spots on him and bad guy has some moments of kindness and goodness in him. I have always felt that grey characters are more interesting for an actor than staying black or white. So in that aspect, it was interesting for me to do and also the concept of the show is such that it brings out the edginess of the show. It’s not a straight screenplay, it jumps from this situation to that. Even though its one story with ten episodes, every episode will leave the audiences wanting to watch the next one.
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Q. This is your first web series. So how was the experience of exploring something new?
You know honestly, it wasn’t very different from working on television or films. The only difference is the time factor. The pace of shooting is very different from films. And right after Kaabil, this is what I did next. In films, you get a lot of time for preparations but in this case, you obviously get a couple of days to prepare your scenes. It wasn’t very difficult. The challenge of shooting in that kind of time frame is superb. And our director Srijit, he is a TV director, his pace was very fast. So as an actor, you have to be ready for the next shot. That way it was a challenge but I think there’s not much difference between working on TV and web series.
Q. Are you following any web series in general? Which has been your favourite?
Unfortunately, there’s nothing that I have seen on Hindi platform. But I watch web series on Netflix a lot. I have been addicted to House of Cards, Narcos, I have just started watching a new show called Mind Hunters which is fantastic…why web series is going to be the future because I think it is very convenient. You don’t have to be at a particular place, at a particular time to watch the show. You can be anywhere in the world and watch the show. In India, it has just started off, the revolution of digital but it’s going to be very big in the next 3-4 years.
Q. My next question was about this only that do you think digital media is going to be next big thing in future?
It’s going to be huge. What happens in India that we are always about 7-10 years behind the West, whether it’s Hollywood or British. We somehow have this tendency to I don’t know why but try the things which they have already tried or be like them. Very few ideas come before they get it. In coming couple of years, it’s going to be the future. Currently, there is Hoichoi, ALT Balaji and there are apps…in the coming years you won’t need an app, your service providers will give you the service. Even the competition is going to be big.
Q. You also doing a Vikram Bhatt web series. What is that all about and have you started shooting?
I have finished shooting for it. It’s called Memories and it’s written by Vikram Bhatt which is one of the main reasons I am doing it. It is probably the best piece of work that I have been involved in the last few years. It’s about this guy who is like Arnab Goswami or Randeep Sardesai, he is head of a channel, he is one of the respected journalists. He believes in giving the good news or the correct news to the people. Its not that he tweaks stuff for TRPs. But he has a near-death experience, he meets with an accident and doctors pronounce him dead and they remove all life support from him and he comes back to life in spite of what happens after 10 minutes. He comes back with a power that he can touch a dead body and relives the last moments of that dead body’s life, he can go to their memories. That’s why the show is called Memories. It is not a dark show. It’s like a detective show with a difference. For me as an actor, it is very challenging because I am there from the first frame to the last frame, in every single scene but either I am present life or I am in dead memory.
Q. So, what’s next on the platter for you?
Next on the platter is the Vikram Bhatt web series. Both my web series are going to be released in December. I have two web series releasing back to back and I hope both of them do very well because I have enjoyed working on both of them. I can’t pick one from the other. Then early next year, Jihaad will release. It is about terrorism. And then in August, Paltan will release which I have just finished shooting. Now, I am focusing again on my directorial venture, so I think that will start now. I am directing a film for Sanjay Leela Bhansali and hopefully, there won’t be any rows in that (laughs) because it is a very nice film with a nice story, and it is musical, so I don’t think there will be any fights with that. I am currently working on the script, I have a few actors in my mind but it’s too early to talk about it.
Q. By any chance, Kaabil 2 is on the cards?
I died in Kaabil, so I hope not (laughs). I don’t think the second part will be made. But I hoping that I am a part of Krrish 4! So, that will be a better thing to do.
