Roshan Mathew interview: Poacher is not fully a Malayalam series

Actor Roshan Mathew is revelling in the critical success of his latest series, Poacher , created and directed by Richie Mehta, with Alia Bhatt serving as an executive producer. The series centres around a high-profile investigation led by the Kerala forest department that resulted in the largest-ever seizure in the history of the illegal ivory trade.

As Poacher unfolds against the backdrop of Kerala forests, the series is predominantly in Malayalam. However, Roshan is hesitant to pigeonhole the series into a specific language, emphasizing its diversity.

Poacher breaks language barriers

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"Honestly, I don't fully think of this as a Malayalam project. Partly because of the people involved, but also because it is a multilingual project. It's not like we're only speaking in Malayalam. Malayalam is one of the four languages used in the show. I've actually spoken about this in interviews dating back to, I think, maybe 2020 when 'CU Soon' came out on Amazon Prime. Since then, I've been saying, I think this is the time when we need to start making things that aren't restricted by language," Roshan Mathew shared with OTTplay.

Highlighting the fluid transition between languages within the series, Roshan applauded the effortless portrayal by the actors and emphasised that the diverse linguistic landscape of Poacher mirrors India's everyday reality.

Language fluidity in Poacher

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"How many cities in India have only one language spoken? Among your friends, you must be speaking two or three different languages, I guess. You keep switching languages every day. How many days go by without you handling at least two different languages in today's world? So why does a film or series have to be fully in one language? I've generally been excited about exploring this space. Now that it's beginning to open up, especially with a project like 'Poacher' on a platform like Amazon, I'm hoping that space widens, and more work happens in the multilingual space," reasoned Roshan Mathew.

Roshan Mathew plays the leading role of a software programmer named Alan, who employs his knowledge of technology against fighting crimes against wildlife species.

Poacher, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, also stars Nimisha Sajayan, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kani Kusruti, Ranjitha Menon, and Maala Parvathi.

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