Actor Anshumaan Pushkar talks about his early struggle and newfound success post-Jamtara

The journey from Mor Mokama to Mumbai hasn’t exactly been a cakewalk for Anshumaan Pushkar, but with each new performance he is slowly but surely cementing his place as a promising actor working in the Mumbai film industry. His consistently good performances in the web shows ‘Jamtara’, ‘Kathmandu Connection’, and ‘Grahan’ have opened up a whole world of opportunities for him.

In this interview, Anshumaan talks about his early struggle and newfound success post-Jamtara, his preparation for his part in ‘Grahan’ and the controversy associated with the show as well as the chemistry he shares with the Punjabi actress Wamiqa Gabbi, and his upcoming projects.

Excerpts:

 You have been consistently good in three shows back to back over the last year and a half. How did your acting journey start? Tell us about your early struggle.

I consider myself really fortunate that my work in ‘Jamtara’, ‘Kathmandu Connection’, and ‘Grahan’ has got noticed by the audiences as well as the critics. I hail from a village called Mor Mokama in the Patna district of Bihar. Everyone in my family is very fond of Hindi cinema and so the influence was always there. After finishing my Class X from a school in Mor Mokama, I moved to Patna City for higher studies. After completing my graduation, I took up a job there. Simultaneously, I was also preparing for an MBA. The real plan was to get to Mumbai and try out my luck at modeling and acting as people often used to compliment me about my looks. All the time they would advise me to go to Mumbai and so somewhere I too grew in confidence.

To tell you the truth, I was very passionate about cricket in those days but I didn’t see a very bright future there. In 2010, I appeared for Maharashtra’s CET exam and got the admission. I specifically opted for a college in Andheri so that I can stay connected with people from the entertainment industry. But once the MBA classes started in full swing I realized I had no time for anything else. By the time I finished with the course in 2012, I was fully convinced about taking up acting as a career. So I joined Nadira Babbar’s theatre group in 2013 after the realization came to me that acting may look easy but it is far from it. By 2017, after four years of struggle, I started getting minor roles here and there. In between, I also tried my hands at business but failed miserably. Then in 2018, I finally cracked ‘Jamtara’.

How did your life change after ‘Jamtara’?

Ideally life should have changed after ‘Jamtara’ as offers had started coming to me. But then the pandemic happened and everything changed for the worse. During the pandemic I was forced to stay at my brother’s place in Gurgaon as I was in Delhi for an ad shoot when the lockdown was announced. In a way, I was fortunate because I saw some of my friends suffer a lot during the lockdown. It was in Gurgaon just after the lockdown last year that I started auditioning for roles again. In those days it was so difficult to approach anyone as people weren’t comfortable stepping out of their homes. I think the pandemic has been a great learning lesson for us all. Somehow I got someone to record the auditions for me on a mobile phone. Now with the back to back release of ‘Kathmandu Connection’ and ‘Grahan’ I have finally started experiencing some stability.

Your character Rishi Ranjan in ‘Grahan’ has different layers. How did you prepare for the part? Also tell us about your chemistry with Wamiqa Gabbi who plays Manu as the two of you share deeply passionate scenes in the series. 

I think the credit goes to Satya Vyas for creating such a wonderful character. Now, I had read major portions of his novel ‘Chaurasi’ when the part came to me. There is a certain innocence and sincerity that defines the character Rishi Ranjan. Also, the story is set in the ‘80s. So it was a challenge to get Rishi’s mannerisms and inner drive spot on. In order to get that right I watched a lot of movies and songs from the decade, mostly the ones featuring Kamal Haasan and Rishi Kapoor. My friends also helped me a lot in the endeavor. I am also grateful to the series director Ranjan Chandel for his inputs. The trust that he showed in me, gave me the confidence to play the part with conviction.

Speaking of my chemistry with Wamiqa, I think there is purity to the love between Rishi and Manu. Also, there is great contrast between the two of them. Now, Wamiqa is already an established name in the Punjab film industry and so as a newcomer it was always reassuring to have someone like her around. So, as an actor I was mostly reacting to what she kept bringing to her performance. Also, Ranjan Chandel was always there to guide me. And the rehearsals helped a lot. Things do get easy when you have such a good team. I also called up Satya Vyas whenever I felt the need to have a deeper understanding of the character and like an elder brother he was always available to help and guide me.

The show ran into some controversy with the critics when the Disney+ Hotstar sent a note with the screener for ‘Grahan’ instructing critics how to review the show, what to include and exclude. What are your thoughts on the issue?

The series is set in the backdrop of the 1984 Sikh riots and since it’s a sensitive subject we got many threats ahead of its scheduled release in March. As a result, Disney+ Hotstar decided to hold its release for four months in order to ensure that there wasn’t anything inappropriate or hurtful in it. So, from what I have understood, those instructions were sent out to the critics as part of the strategy to avoid any further controversy and there was no intention on the part of the platform or the makers to prevent the critics from exercising their right to freely review the series. At some level the platform was trying to be extra careful because of the rumors that were going around at the time.

As someone who owes his career to OTT platforms, how do you see the web as a medium?

Well, the web is a personal medium and so it allows actors like me to establish a personal connection directly with the viewers. I see it as a boon not only for actors but for all kinds of creative people who want to work in the entertainment business. Also as a viewer one gets to watch so many new things and so it’s greatly responsible for bringing diversity to the world of content.

Tell us about your upcoming projects.

‘Jamtara 2’ is expected to start soon. Currently, I am shooting for a project in Benares but I am not in a position to talk about it. Also, a couple of other projects are in the pipeline but because of the pandemic there is still some uncertainty associated with them.

(Cover: Actor Anshumaan Pushkar in a still from Grahan)