New Delhi: From an investment banker to now an actor - Mukul Chadda has come a long way. He played the titular role of Jagdeep Chaddha (Michael Scott equivalent) in the Indian edition of the international hit show The Office successfully and was recently seen in Vidya Balan starrer Sherni and Sunflower web series featuring Sunil Grover.
Mukul Chadda tells Zee News Digital in an interview if he and his wife Rasika Dugal will ever work together on-screen:
Q. What clicked you to say 'yes' to Sunflower web series?
A. Two things. One, I thought the script was quirky and well-written. And second, the character of Ahuja was very different to the kinds of roles I normally get to play. It was a great way to expand the range of roles people see me in. One has to always work hard to fight typecasting :-)
Q. How was the experience of working in 'The Office'?
A. Wonderful! The role was a challenging one to play - it was always hard to pull off Jagdeep's antics and dialogues and make them believable. Plus, he's such a fantastically flawed character, that it was a delight to inhabit his world. And finally, it was a great group of people to work with, which made the experience so pleasurable.
Q. From an investment banker to now an actor - what's more challenging and exciting?
A. When I was a banker, I don't think I ever wanted to do that role for long. And because it was difficult to walk away from a seemingly coveted career, the hard part was motivating myself to continue. And that made a lot of the daily tribulations even harder. As an actor, there are tons of challenges, but I'm keen to continue doing this. So while things can get difficult - and they do - at least I'm not second-guessing myself. So I suppose my previous career was more challenging, and this one more exciting.
Q. Do you watch Rasika's shows and give your feedback?
A. Of course.
Q. Will the fans get to watch you both together in a web show anytime soon?
A. I would hope so.
Q. Tell us about your future projects.
A. There's an independent film called Fairy Folk, directed by Karan Gour, that I shot a couple of years ago. It's very different in both its style and in the way it was made. The basic structure of the film was written out, but the actors had to improvise the dialogues within each scene. For this reason, we had to shoot the film linearly, Scene 1 followed by Scene 2, followed by Scene 3 etc. The film is in post-production and should release next year.
Q. How was it working with Sunil Grover?
A. Sunil is a wonderfully talented actor, and a really nice person, too. I got along very well with him during rehearsals and on the sets. Unfortunately, I didn't have too many scenes with him. I hope that changes in Season 2!
