:-Anil Mishra
Panaji:Actor Abhishekh Khan, who recently featured in Project 9191, a Sony LIV web series, has said that as an actor the most important part for him was to act.
In an exclusive interview to UNI, he said, 'Being an actor, the most important part for me is to act. And when it comes to platforms, no platform will guarantee you success. At this point, script is the king. And a great example is Scam 1992 on Sony LIV.'
When asked how did he feel when he got the message that he had been selected to work for Shah Rukh Khan’s production Red Chillies Entertainment that too for his debut series, Abhishekh said,'I was called actually and I was speechless after the call ended. As I never imagined my first break coming from Shahrukh Sahab and his beloved company (Red Chillies Entertainment) It was special and always will be.'
Did he face any problem while relating to his character of Johnny in Sony Liv’s series Project 9191?
Abhishekh said,'I got to read the script after I was finalised by the creative team. As a character, Johnny is very dissimilar to how I am as a person. I have no knowledge about coding and programming and this is very regular for Johnny. I did connect with him in the later half of the show, where we get to see his emotional side as an individual.
But it was never difficult to connect with it as an actor. Johnny isn't that complicated.'
On the other role he would you go for in the series, if he gets a choice, the actor said, 'I would still choose Johnny over everyone. Because I don't fit well for any other character in the show. Also not being diplomatic, but everyone on the show have done an excellent job, so I can't even imagine myself playing any of them.'
Speaking about the significance of his character in the series, he said, 'Johnny is one of the most important characters of the series. He's basically the show-runner of Unit 9191 and without Johnny, the technical aspect will go down and the team will be clueless. He's the one who's always trying his best to get some genuine cases on board. And his relationship with Sharad and Amitabh turns out to be very complicated in the later half of the show & that's very interesting to witness as an audience.'
When asked what did he like about Johnny as a person, he said,'What I like about him is he's upfront and honest with his responsibilities and yet so emotional and compassionate for people around him. Johnny as a character will be adored by everyone.'
About uniqueness of Project 9191, he said, 'Project 9191, the idea itself is quite distinctive. To stop crimes before it happens. Also people might think it's the remake of - Minority report or the tv show - Person of interest. But it's not similar to them in any way. The plot of the show revolves around civic surveillance and that's where we stand out when compared to other shows. Project 9191 is for everyone because it's about everyone.'
When sought his opinion on second wave of Covid 19 which is more powerful than the first one, the actor said,'I don't know how to answer this question as theatres have been facing huge losses anyway and so are the production houses. But I definitely think and believe things will get better with time & everyone will bounce back soon. Cinema will never stop and it never should. I was diagnosed with Covid last year in September and it's been more than six months now and we are back to lockdown again. It's no one's fault in the end, Covid is unstoppable and with the population we have, it's tough to contain it. The only hope is vaccinating people as quick as possible and pray that things get back to normal soon.'
So, what’s next in line for him?
Abhishekh said, 'For now, I can't reveal anything. It's still in the process but there's an English music video that I shot for and that should be out soon. I also make music, for now I've released a track called - Far. It's available on all available platforms & next in line is a track called - Scarab. This will release in the first or second week of May.'
Abhishekh had previously made a name for himself as an actor in a Netflix web series ‘Bard of Blood’ produced by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment.(UNI)
