Exclusive: ‘Grahan’s Anshumaan Pushkar Talks About Sensitive Portrayal Of 1984 Riots And His Struggles

On Jul 9, 2021

BUY-SELL | HELP WANTED | MATRIMONIAL

If you have seen Jamtara, you can’t just overlook the character of Rocky played by Anshumaan Pushkar. He was recently seen in Grahan which is set in the backdrop of the 1984 riots.

His character of Rishi Ranjan was a sensitive one and could have backfired had he not been portrayed sensibly. But after watching the show, I can tell you that the makers took care of the fact that every dialogue and scene was scrutinized before it was finally given a final nod for streaming on OTT.

For Anshumaan, Rishi was a character that is one of the turning points of his life as the story of Grahan was narrated from his lense. I got in touch with Anshumaan Pushkar to understand his journey of playing Rishi Ranjan in Grahan, and how he overcame all the battles in his personal life.

Here are the excerpts from my interview:

I have seen you in Grahan, Jamtara, and Kathmandu Connection and I must say that your acting is commendable. You come from a background in theatre and there’s a popular perception that people from theatre are more of method actors. Do you also follow method acting?

It’s not like only one thing makes you a good performer, you observe a few things and pick them up. Theatre does help you to grasp things quickly and there’s a whole process. But then, you learn from experiences too and for me, it was all about that.

In method acting, we pick up reactions from the other actor who’s paired opposite you and react accordingly. In Grahan whenever Wamika was around, I didn’t have to work too much as I picked up her reactions and my job was done. She is that good. I am someone who does go by method acting and as I belong from a rural background, theatre helped me understand the nitty-gritty of this art.

All the characters that you have done so far, be it Rishi Ranjan from Grahan or Rocky from Jamtara, they are completely different from each other but have a certain rawness to them. They are connected to their roots. What’s your psyche behind picking up such roles?

Well, I am not in a position to choose yet but I have been lucky enough that these roles landed in my lap. By the grace of God, I have got such directors who have given me certain thumb rules and theatre has taught me the language of a director. For me, the script and what the directors wanted out of me were important.

I feel there should be a connection with the audience. All I see is if my character has that essence and if there’s an emotional graph in his journey. Soumendra Padhi, Sachin Pathak, and Ranjan Chandel have completely different techniques and that’s where what I learnt from theatre comes into play. I just get into the character and work on it as the script demands.

If you take Rishi Ranjan for instance, it was a controversial character as many people are emotionally connected to the riots of 1984. It was one of the darkest chapters of Indian history. Were there any inhibitions before taking up taking this role?

It’s not just this character but before any character that I have played so far, meri raaton ki neend kharab ho jaati hai. There surely is a sense of nervousness before taking up any character. I feel people who do not get that anxiety should rethink it before taking it up.

I first got Jamtara, then Grahan, and later on Kathmandu Connection. The release got delayed as the makers were very conscious of not hurting religious sentiments. They understood the complexities behind the subject and how many people were connected to it. If any of the sequences got misunderstood, it would have hurt people since the riots had a strong impact.

If you talk about my character, I fell in love with it. When I got a call from Mukesh Chabra’s team saying that I am being considered for the role, I didn’t want to lose it. We were so sensitive about how my character was portrayed that we all went through every sequence in detail. I wasn’t scared because I knew it was in sensible hands.

Rishi Ranjan’s character is integral to the show and somewhere, it’s around his character that the story was woven. You have done two series before this and you landed such an important role. How do you feel about that?

Aap kisi ek dhaage ke saath ek kahani ko piroh sakte ho and that could have been any character. Yes, Rishi was an important character and I feel grateful that I got such a role to portray. As an actor, you want to find what new you can do every time you are thrown a challenge and Rishi’s character was that for me.

From Rishi, I learnt the quality of sacrifice and how far you can go to protect your loved ones. I was somewhere sure that show will get a good response but I am happy that people are loving my performance. I think all the characters had a story to tell and were important in their own way. You can not centralize any one character. All the characters had their own uniqueness and added to the story.

I was reading one of your interviews wherein you had said that you had had a tough time for more than three years and there was a moment when you had completely lost hope of making a mark in the industry. How did you overcome it?

Someone I follow told me that ‘Winners can’t be quitters and quitters can’t be winners’ and it worked wonders for me. I have never thought about quitting or else I wouldn’t have been here. You know it’s just that you lose the focus sometimes. I feel it’s the low points when a person can truly define himself. You learn about yourself when you hit rock bottom.

I won’t say that I was struggling to feed myself. I have seen many others who are struggling more than me and I have also realized that many of them turn to aggression in those low moments. And you know you are going through so many thoughts, you do get into that destructive mode. All I want to say is that if you manage to stay composed, you will win the battle.

Mumbai can be a tricky place for people who do not have a stable background as it’s insanely expensive. As I have stayed in Mumbai, I can totally relate to it. Were your initial days in the city difficult?

My father is no more and it’s my brother who has taken care of me. He is a father figure to me. I didn’t have any problems per se in terms of having food but what bothered me was till when I would be stuck here. I have done MBA and I was seeing people earning a handsome salary.

At the end of the day, you have responsibilities towards your family. I couldn’t fulfill even the basic necessities, so the question of having luxuries didn’t arise. I was working hard but work wasn’t coming my way and I was losing hope. You are giving auditions back to back but it wasn’t working out.

If you belong to a middle-class family and are coming to Mumbai, you need to come with the belief that whatever the situation the city throws at you, you will stay calm. The city does teach a lot, so come with an open mind.

As you told me your brother supported you all this while, how does he feel seeing you grow?

Not just my brother but my sister and all my family members never doubted me. A few people that I know used to tell me that I need to take life seriously but my brother was pretty sure that I would make it.

My brother is the first one to complete my shows whenever they get released and takes time out from his hectic schedules to do so. He is proud of me and it keeps me in a happy space.

Not just your brother, I am also very proud of you. Do you somewhere agree that audiences have become smarter and have understood the difference between stardom and talent? I think they are not blinded by how much fame the actor has anymore and I am glad that the shift towards this is happening. What about you?

Yes, I definitely agree with this, or else you wouldn’t have been talking to Anshuman Pushkar (laughs). It’s after OTT that many others actors who don’t have an influential background got the chance to showcase their talents.

Four to five years back, the audience had a different outlook on consuming content. The change started a long time back as directors like Anurag Kashyap, Tigmanshu Dhulia, and Imitiaz Ali got such stories that people understood the difference. I am glad that OTT gave a push to actors like me.

I, too, agree that there’s a positive change, and all I want to say that I only wish luck for you. Hope to see you give more such strong characters in your career.

Replica of Print on your device!