Boy-next-door actor Namit Das tells Sakshi Sharma that his role in the latest series, Aarya, is nothing like what he has done before
When we called up actor Namit Das, he shared that he was enjoying the rain and trying to absorb nature’s rhythms — pure and peaceful. Trying to spot patterns and shapes in the clouds and watch them shift, he said, “What else do I need? How does it get better?” Certainly, like many of us trying to make sense of unprecedented times, he is a man who has learnt to find joy in the little things of life. But then hometown does that to you. Takes you back to where you began. And for Namit, it has got him to write poems again.
But he got back to camera mode the moment we mentioned his latest offering, Aarya, a dark crime thriller. He plays Jawahar, who he described as a “fearless, unpredictable and dark” character, unlike any other role he has essayed before. It’s hard to imagine someone who loves the rain and is the loveable boy-next-door in a negative role. That, too, one who is into guns and the narcotics business. “Jawahar is just the opposite of what I have played so far. His values and politics are completely different from how I am in real life and how I behave. He is an outsider who wants to be inside the game and eventually rule it. He wants to gain that power and in pursuit of that, he ends up being in situations where he creates an arc for himself. And that is probably the biggest arc in the show. That’s very interesting. It’s a multi-layered and unpredictable character. Till the end you won’t understand his motive behind doing things. That is what keeps one hooked till the end,” said the actor.
The web series is an adaptation of Dutch drama Penoza, which revolves around Aarya Sareen (played by Sushmita Sen), who takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of the truth and bring the culprit to justice after her husband Tej Sareen (played by Chandrachur Singh) is murdered by a masked man. But, everyone in the series has secrets of their own. The series explores a few questions — Who has murdered her husband and why? How far will Aarya go to survive and protect her family?
It was a challenge disguised as an opportunity for Namit as he wanted to play something different and look unusual. “When director Ram (Madhvani) showed me how Jawahar would look and his character board, I was thoroughly excited because I have been waiting to break out for a long time,” said Namit. “The audience doesn’t want to see you in usual or similar roles. Therefore, it’s very important to break our moulds constantly and become other people (characters) because that’s what actors are supposed to do. Versatility is the game changer,” he added.
Though Jawahar is a cocaine-sniffing business partner, the actor doesn’t want to label the character as a negative one. He said, “I wouldn’t call this a negative character because defining roles with a term dilutes its essence. These are judgemental statements. He is that grey character whom you wouldn’t understand and that’s what makes him interesting as you watch the story unfold through his eyes.”
Namit doesn’t believe in defining a character as he feels every actor builds a role and plays it in his own unique way. And in every role you can see a glimpse of the person the actor is. “Which is why it’s important to have rich life experiences so that you can use them while playing someone,” he told us.
His biggest takeaway from his role was the amount of responsibility he can take for his actions in life. In the show, his character only wants to be entitled to the profits and not losses. So that moral debate has got him thinking.
Since it is an adaptation, the makers of the show have kept in mind Indian sensibilities. Namit said that the nuances had been changed according to the context and scenario. “If you are talking about a semi-metropolitan city in Rajasthan, how would it be? The kind of business they do, their style, way of talking, personality, and their ability to handle people and situations are all situational. All these things were explored and various new elements were added to cater to the Indian audience.”
Namit credited his director for developing a new facet. “On his sets, there is no action or cut, there’s only ‘go’. We don’t discuss the kind of shot we have to give. You live that scene and that is the closest you can get to reality by doing things your way. It was also easy because you live closest to the character when you are constantly living his/her life,” said he. However, Namit didn’t watch the original series as he didn’t want to get influenced and play the character as he understood it. He said, “You decide what your graph is going to be. You create that. The show has multiple layers but you have to find how you fit into them.”
So where does Jawahar fit? “One of my co-actors said Jawahar is Aarya’s host,” he quickly responded. And post this, he would like to explore espionage (spy thriller) and horror genres.
Since he has now performed on all media — TV, web and films — which is his favourite? We heard a laugh as he said, “This is like asking a mother who is the favourite of her two kids! Every media has its own charm, challenges and level of satisfaction that comes with it. At the end of the day, you express yourself as an artiste, that’s it!” For now, he is enjoying the dark alleys as his next venture is called Mafia.
