Exclusive! Bestseller actor Arjan Bajwa: Acting is playing real in unreal situations

Popular actor Arjan Bajwa is back with another web series Bestseller. The thriller, directed by Mukul Abhyankar, also stars Shruti Haasan, Mithun Chakraborty, Gauahar Khan and Sonalee Kulkarni, among others. The series is releasing on Amazon Prime Video on February 18. Ahead of the release, we caught up with the Fashion actor.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, the actor speaks about the show, his complex character, working with Mithun Chakraborty again and more. Excerpts:

The trailer of the series is receiving a great response from all the fans and even other celebrities. The show is nearing its release too. So, how are you feeling currently?

I am nervous, excited and happy, all mixed emotions. Every good news about the trailer, the show and the promotion makes me excited. Thinking about how people will like it makes me nervous. So it's a mixed bag of feelings.

What is it about the character that fascinated you so much that you decided to do this project? Could you tell us a bit about it?

It's not a very straightforward linear simple character. It is a very intriguing and layered character that has been written. So for an actor to portray so many emotions and so much to do in a project is very lucrative. And I'm glad that I found that in the way it is written in Bestseller. So obviously, I had to say yes. Also, it depends on who is directing and producing the project. Everything was falling into place very correctly with this series. And I had no choice but to say yes, since my good friend, Siddharth Malhotra is producing. Mukul Abhyankar, another friend of mine from a long time ago, came on board to direct it. And then, of course, we have Amazon Prime too, to do all the honours. So yeah, everything fell into place. I am also headlining the show. The story is very much about him, and what his life goes through. So it was a win-win situation.

As you mentioned, it is a complex character. So was it a challenge to portray him? Did it consume you, since I believe you had to also play it for about six months, that too, during the pandemic?

Yes, it does. Every complex character is a challenge for an actor. It's not that simple that you just go there, talk and move your hands and acting is done. There's a lot that goes into it, mentally, physically and emotionally. You have to leave everything aside and just focus on your craft at that time. Because like I say, acting is playing real in unreal situations and being real in unreal situations. So that requires a lot of mental balance, stamina, and concentration. And of course, I don't like to take my work back home because that will take a toll on you in every way, whichever projects you do. If you get stuck in that zone, then it becomes difficult. But I had a lot of fun playing this role. As I said, it's not simple and linear. So every day was a different challenge, a new challenge of playing something which you have not done yesterday. And that magic of the director and his craft, I think, is probably showing in the trailer very well. And we hope that the whole series is also received and loved by the audience, just like the trailer.

You mentioned that you try not to bring work home. So, did you have a certain process to get out of that character?

It's as simple as it may sound. You have to just switch it off, and not think about it. You have to get out of that space completely and do something else. And once you are home, once you are out of the shoot, then you carry on with other things in life. And that really helps. I start talking and meeting other people as well.

I believe the show is inspired by the book, Ravi Subramanian book bestseller that she wrote. So, Have you read that book before? Or did you read it after you signed up on the project?

No, I didn't. I didn't read the book purposely because I did not want to have any kind of preconceived notions about the character. I wanted to play it the way the director would want me to play it. Like you said, the book inspired the story. So there's a lot of difference between the book and the series that we've made. We have taken a little bit of gem from the book, but rest of the stories are entirely different. But now, I actually would like to read it and figure out what are the major differences.

I'm sure you must be getting this question a lot. You're reuniting with Mithun Da after Guru. So how was it like working with him again?

I am very happy to finally work with him on such a long journey of shooting Bestseller. In guru, we did not get much of a chance to shoot with each other. This time, I got to experience the whole, you know, the enthusiasm of our superstar Mithun Da, his humility, his loving nature and his kindness towards his juniors like me. So it was a fantastic experience.

In the trailer, we see you saying right in the beginning, 'Wanna be Chetan Bhagat'. I guess he was mocking himself, saying that. But in real life, are you a fan of his work?

Of course, I'm a fan of his work. I've seen so many of his films and read the books too. Whatever he writes, is so real and so close to people's lives. And still, he gets that little excitement, very edgy space to the story. When you read it, you probably feel 'I've also gone through this', but still the way it is written and the magic, he weaves in his words, make you read them.

And I believe you're working on another series, a multilingual one. Could you tell us about it and your other projects?

It's not a series, it's a multilingual film. I am very happy to be a part of it. Right now, I can't reveal much about any project that I'm working on. They are yet to be announced officially.