Neeraj Madhav: Playing Moosa in The Family Man gave me an address as a pan-Indian actor

If the pandemic didn’t bring the entertainment industry to a standstill, Malayalam actor Neeraj Madhav would have already started work on a couple of web series and also a Bollywood project, backed by Dharma Productions. The actor, who played the antagonist Moosa in the first season of The Family Man, however, is not complaining. He became a father in February and has been making most of the downtime, spending it with his family.

With the second season of creators Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK’s The Family Man set to drop on June 4 on Amazon Prime Video, fans have already started asking Neeraj if his character Moosa would be making an appearance. While he is tight-lipped about that, the actor tells us what the role meant for him and his career, in a candid chat.

What did the role of Moosa mean to your career?

It’s a character that completely changed my image as an actor. Till then, people liked me for my happy-go-lucky characters in movies like Sapthamashree Thaskaraha or boy-next-door roles in those such as Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam. Moosa gave me a makeover and helped me prove my potential as an actor.

It must have also opened doors for you in other industries?

Actually, a lot of opportunities came my way due to The Family Man. I had, in fact, agreed to do a project by Dharma Productions and I was in talks for a couple of other web series too. Last year, before the pandemic, I was in Mumbai having committed to a few projects. Even after the lockdown, I had shot for a Netflix anthology titled Feels Like Ishq in November. I am part of director Sachin Kundalkar’s segment that also has Aamir Khan’s niece Zayn Khan.

Your casting as Moosa added to the shock value of the storyline. Did Raj and DK have that in mind when they picked you?

Even when you mention a twist, it has to be convincing. Raj and DK wanted that element of unpredictability. I believe they cast me for two reasons. Had it been anyone from Bollywood, the audience would have figured it out from the start that this character had something up his sleeve. Also, there was a trend in Bollywood to cast someone from the North as a South Indian and get them to speak with a fake accent. But because Raj and DK were from the South, they took the effort to cast Priyamani as a Tamilian and me as a Malayali.

I am still surprised that they saw the potential in me for Moosa’s transformation in the second half. I haven’t played any action-oriented characters before, but they believed that I could do it and I am glad I could pull it off. That is their brilliance.

Your rise to national popularity through the web series has also redefined what South actors can achieve. How much do you think those aspirations have changed with the advent of OTTs?

I always wanted to step out of my comfort zone and experiment. All the choices I have made in my career were based on my instincts. There was a time when I was acting in eight films a year and I was getting fed up doing the same kind of roles. The changeover came only after I began doing movies like Oru Mexican Aparatha. But as an actor, when nothing new was happening, I was looking forward to something solid and that’s when in 2018, I got the offer for The Family Man.

Back then Netflix was popular, Amazon Prime Video had launched but I wasn’t aware of any originals that they were producing. But I decided to take it up because of the brand name and becauseI had huge respect for Raj and DK’s work including Go Goa Gone and Shor in the City. Then there was Manoj Bajpayee; you know that he wouldn’t agree to be part of a series if it didn’t have potential.

When I heard the story, I knew it wasn’t a role that I would get to play in the Malayalam film industry in the near future. It had a lot of potential, but I never thought it would be this big. My aim was to not miss the opportunity to be a pioneer from Mollywood to do something like this.

The funny thing is that when I discussed this with a few people in 2018, they told me I was making a “wrong choice moving from films to a serial”. I told them that it wasn’t a serial, it was much bigger than that and it can be bigger than films too. But people weren’t convinced. So, the pressure was huge on me when I took a break from movies for almost a year to play the part of Moosa. But it was all worth it because today, OTT is the only platform that exists. I am sure even five years later, because the character was so well written, people aren’t going to forget it. So, it has given me an address as a pan-Indian actor.

The biggest aspect of OTTs is that you don’t need to be a star with an established fanbase. On OTTs, you just have to perform and anybody can become a star. There is enough space to prove yourself.

Last year, your hip-hop track Pani Paali had been trending on YouTube. How important is it for artistes now to use digital space effectively?

In the past, many used to consider YouTube videos lame but now people have made careers out of it. As far I was concerned, music and especially hip hop was something that I always wanted to do. During the lockdown, when I got time, I could use that space and now I seriously want to progress my music career along with films.

What are your upcoming projects?

Apart from the Netflix anthology, I have completed shooting the Malayalam film Ka, which is directed by Rajeeshlal Vamsha, and have a movie coming up with Aparna Balamurali. I also have a web series.