Exclusive! Modern Love Mumbai actor Bhupendra Jadawat: The creative ideas have gotten stronger due to OTT

Bhupendra Jadawat is one of the rising actors in the OTT industry. The aspiring actor got his recognition after portraying Lutfi in Modern Love Mumbai opposite Fatima Sana Sheikh. He has also been witnessed essaying a substantial character in the Bobby Deol starrer Class of 83. 

In a candid chat with OTTplay, the actor spoke about his acting journey, his latest film called Ittu Si Baat and how OTT played an important part in his career so far. Bhupendra also informed us about his upcoming projects and more. Excerpts.

We've seen you only in a few projects till now, however, all the characters you've played are quite different from each other. Is it a conscious decision to keep experimenting with new stuff even at the beginning of your career?

Yes, I can say it’s my conscious decision to choose such projects where I get to play different characters. As an actor, that is my hunger and I feel that if I show my range as an artist in the first few projects, be it playing a security guard, an encounter specialist or a lover boy, that is how I will get to learn. My aim is not to sit in my comfort zone and enjoy. 

Which of the characters you've played till now is your favourite and why?

All three of my characters are close to me and all are my favourites. Each of them had their own set of challenges, their own demands. Shukla was a shrewd, grey character, Lutfi was a confused escapist and I like Bittu because I got to experience all different kinds of emotions through it. If acting has navrasa, I got to explore them all through Bittu.

The story of your recent romantic film, Ittu Si Baat, is something which is quite common, especially in small towns. Is the film actually inspired by a real-life event?

It’s not actually inspired by any real incident. It’s a fictional story written by Adnan Ali and Kamal Shukla. But having said that, such kinds of incidents do happen in small cities. You see your love through your financial crisis. This is like a small-town mindset that if you don’t have money in your pocket, you don’t have the right to love and I have seen that. Even in big cities’ people have seen such issues, but the difference is that people here just see them on screen, whereas in the ground reality of small cities, people actually experience it. It is a story of every small city and we have taken the concept of love back to its roots with this story. In this world where love happens through left or right swipe, where it is so accessible, these kinds of stories also deserve a space where someone loves from afar and with lots of struggles. And these stories create a freshness. 

Your accent as a Kashmiri in Modern Love Mumbai was quite impeccable. How did you prep for your character? Also, how was it working alongside Fatima Sana Shaikh?

Modern Love Mumbai is a special project for me because it came to me when I was dealing with a lot of ups and downs in my personal life as well. When I first met Shonali to hear the story, I was floored by her clarity and conviction in it. In a half an hour story, she created a whole world and that is commendable. I learnt a lot from her. I come from a theatre background and I have done workshops there to build a character and similar kinds of workshops I did in the process for this film as well. Shonali would give me and Fatima tasks to perform the backstories for our characters that other people would write. There was our teacher there Sanjeev Kaul, who taught us the Kashmiri dialect. We did so much work to build our characters. For some parts, you have to free yourself of any personal baggage and I did that for this role. 

As for Fatima, what a real and honest person she is. She is honest not just to herself but to her craft as well. She still has that hunger to perfect her work and that is very rare. Actors tend to get a little laidback after reaching a certain level, but Fatima doesn’t have that attitude. She is extremely hardworking and brings something new every day. You meet her one day and then meet her again after 2 months and she will tell you 10 new things she has learnt in this while. She is a brilliant person at heart. 

Do you think that due to this sudden burst of content on OTT platforms, the aspiring actors as well as the established ones, who were not getting their dues in the industry are now getting one?

OTT has brought a paradigm shift for all the filmmakers, actors, directors and technicians in terms of ideas. There is a lot of work for actors and a lot of challenges for directors. To crack a 10-episodic series is not easy and even the audience has gotten richer by seeing the kind of work on OTT. When you feed the audience content that they have never seen before, even their bars of expectations get higher and its effect reflects on cinema as well. So, the creative ideas have gotten stronger because of OTT.

Obviously, a lot of underwhelming work also happens as everything is not good, but everyone gets opportunities here. I don’t know about getting their due, but good ideas, good characters and good actors have gotten a lot of opportunities because of OTT. Everyone has gotten enriched because of the digital platform, but having said that, nothing can replace cinema. The magic of the 70 mm makes people completely immerse themselves in a world for three hours leaving everything behind, there is nothing better than that. 

What's your take on the censorship on OTT platforms?

More than what I have to say, the makers, the directors and producers have the idea of the freedom the platform gives to express themselves. We should not use things just for the sake of it as they are allowed on the platform. But if something is necessary, it is justifiable. Censorship should be everywhere but it shouldn’t come in between of anyone’s creativity. However, creative people should also not make ill use of that freedom. You need to be honest as well. More than censorship, it’s about the belief one has in their idea and how much censorship they need for it. If it is needed, why not but one should have their own conviction for that. 

Your favourite actor and director to work with at least once.

I really admire Vishal Bhardwaj sir’s work. He has made cinema aware about literature and that is commendable. So, there is him and Hansal Mehta. I also want to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir but for that I will have to work a lot harder. I want to work with Vikramaditya Motwane, he is amazing. I also want to collaborate with Laxman sir again, with Imtiaz Ali and Rajkumar Hirani. These are the people whose work have made us all understand cinema. If I work with any of them, I will learn a lot and I hope one day, I will work with all of them. 

Your upcoming projects and your characters in those.

My fingers are crossed for some amazing projects that I am currently in the process for. By the end of this month, I will surely share some good news. But for now, it is too early to talk about anything. Let’s hope for the best.