EXCLUSIVE: Kumud Mishra’s Untold Interfaith Marriage, The Army & Performances

Exclusive interview with actor Kumud Mishra as he opens up about his inter-faith marriage, friends beyond cinema, challenging roles in his career and upcoming projects.

Are you in London?

I am in York.

Are you shooting for Kuttey?

No, Kuttey is complete. I am shooting for Capsule Gill, alongside Akshay Kumar.

I believe it’s very hot there.

Yes, it is. But we come from such a place that we feel okay.

It’s hot here in India too over your Dr Arora.

(laughs). I am in York so I am missing out on the reactions and conversations around the show. I am not even on social media so I miss out on all the news. I get to know when my friends text me. Now when the series is out, I would know the reactions of people.

You had a hesitation over the subject of Dr Arora?

Yes, there was hesitation. The kind of topic it is, the way we look at this problem, we all have certain weaknesses, we have certain problems. I am also a part of this society and so I was hesitant to be a part of this show. But OTT platforms have given a lot of freedom to express and I advocate tfor his freedom. I believe that people should be allowed to make whatever he/she wants to and the audience should have similar freedom. The audience can then pick what they want to watch and what not. That said, I would also like to do the work that I like and the work that comes within my limits.

When Imtiaz Ali sir offered me the role, I said yes, but when I read about it, I declined. I think I had raised concerns that whether I would be able to do it or not. But when I read the script, I found out that it had been written beautifully. I liked the script a lot. The characters are very layered. The humour is the by-product. It’s not like the things that make us feel embarrassed are being depicted via humour. We are saying what we want to say. So, I liked the story. I enjoyed working on the show. But yes, I was nervous.

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Did you hesitate to use words like Yoni and Ling because these are not the words you use in everyday language?

No, not at all because when I decided to do this series, I met one or two doctors. I pretended to be a patient because I wanted to note the reaction of doctors and how they deal with it. We often judge people (patients and doctors both). But when I met the doctors, I realised how normal it is. And then, it was easy for me to use such words. I wondered why we make such a big deal out of it.

Do you think doing this role has changed your perception about sexologist or bedroom problems?

Yes, of course. We generally feel embarrassed to talk about these problems. But now I realize that it is very normal. The way you get a fever, this problem is similar to any other health problem. And if everyone starts looking at it this way, people would be able to find solutions to their problems. People would be able to look at each other equally. We often blame women for such problems. I think it’s important to normalise this health issue.

Do you think personally there is lot of hypocrisy around this subject?

Yes, of course. This subject is such that there is a lot of hypocrisy around it. Even for other health issues, there is a lot of hypocrisy. If you go to a village, you’ll know that if a woman is sick, the family won’t take her to a hospital until very necessary. It is because they want to keep women behind the veil. So they wish that the woman gets better at home. They would rather bring a doctor home, the one that they know personally, even if he is incompetent. Our society is wonderful when it comes to hypocrisy. We call women ‘devi’ (goddess) and then beat them up, keep them in the veil, and deprive them of education. So, there are a lot of things. So, this subject is anyway very difficult. But we have made an attempt via Dr Arora. We are telling a story and I hope that people will watch it with their families.

Do you think there was a very focused decision to not make it vulgar or obscene?

I don’t think that it was even a topic of discussion ever. You can’t add the words ‘vulgar’ and ‘obscene’ with the makers of the show. The way Imtiaz Ali looks at art and life, vulgarity can never come in the way. This is just a story from our society. We all know the kind of cinema Imtiaz Ali makes.

The creator Imtiyaz Ali has given you that confidence to do his subject?

Yes definitely. I initially said no to Imtiaz Ali also (laughs). But my ‘no’ would have never converted into a ‘yes’ if it wasn’t for Imtiaz Ali. The subject is very sensitive and it has to be dealt with maturity, which this team had.

Did you put on the weight while doing this show?

No, I was already heavy when I was doing this show. And I think it goes well with the character. It brings some vulnerability. But it wasn’t deliberate. I just happened to be a little overweight.

Very little is known about your personal life. You had an interfaith marriage with Ayesha Raza, so was there any problem in a polarised time?

No, there was no problem. Of course, there was doubt from my side because my family hadn’t seen any inter-faith marriage. But I talked to them. There was so much love between me and Ayesha that everyone agreed to our marriage. We have a wonderful marriage. My wife is now everyone’s favourite. We have polluted our minds with moralities, rights and wrongs.

How did you meet Ayesha?

She is an actress. I was doing a play and she had watched it once. Then we were doing a play by Manav Kaul. That is how we met.

You have named your son Kabir. It is acceptable in both religious communities. Was it a conscious choice to name him Kabir?

Both communities refuse to accept too. It has always happened with Saint Kabir. It might have been a reason subconsciously. We thought about a lot of names and we both found Kabir the most suitable name for our son. People in my family thought that Kabir is a Muslim name while in Ayesha’s family, they thought it is a Hindu name. We find religion in names and trees, so we can’t really do anything about it.

Does the understanding between both also involve conversion?

No, she hasn’t converted. I am completely against conversion. She follows her faith, I follow my faith. There is no need for anyone to convert. But if someone wants to convert, that’s a personal choice. And they should have that freedom.

Has Ayesha seen Dr Arora?

Not yet. I am waiting for her reaction.

Are you nervous about her reaction?

Yes because she is very critical when she watches the cinema. It doesn’t matter to her if I am a part of it. She may or may not like it. And I think it is a very beautiful trait of her. She doesn’t believe that my work will always be good. She hasn’t seen a lot of my work because she got any idea that it would be bad.

What work of yours she has praised?

She watched the trailer of Dr Arora and reacted positively. She appreciated the characters. Otherwise, mostly when she doesn’t like something, she just sits quietly. But this time, she called me and praised the trailer. I felt good to get her validation.

You come from a family of soldiers. You wanted to be a soldier. You got a chance to wear the uniform in film 1971. Are there any characters that you wish to play that you haven’t played yet?

There’s a whole world left out. I don’t have any specific character in mind. I think that whatever role I am offered is a living character on its own. If I play it well, it would be an achievement. I am not waiting for a specific role. Whatever comes my way, I try to make it special.

Talking about the army, it is very special to me. A lot of my batchmates are in the army. They are Colonels and Brigadiers and hopefully, some of them will be promoted to Major General. My dream is getting fulfilled via them. I see them in awe.

They also must be looking at you in awe because of the success you have seen.

They are very proud of me. I am from the batch of 87. My batchmates are more closer to me than my family.

You have a lot of other films and series coming now. Anything you can tell about TVF Tripling 3?

The makers have given more attention to my character in season 3. The story focuses on the parents now. I enjoyed working on it because we have worked together in the past. We have a connection from theatre too and we are friends anyway. So, it was less of shooting and more of a party.

When you did it first, you didn’t realise that the show would be such a hit.

I initially did it just for my friends. Akarsh Khurana and Sumeet Vyas are my friends. And now, we just party and perform while on sets.

Is TVF Tripling season 3 ready?

Yes. Hopefully, it will be out in one or two months.

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Is that one of the shows that you looking forward to apart from Dr. Arora?

Yes, of course, because the characters are very different. When we started, the characters were different and now after a time-lapse, a lot has changed in their lives. And, you’ll see those changes in the show. There’s a logical progression. it is not a forced season.

When you were doing Dr Arora, were there any scenes that you found difficult to do?

All the scenes were difficult because when you are talking to patients, you have to be correct. You can’t be emotional. And you have to behave differently with every patient. For me, every interaction was difficult. Whether I have succeeded or not, only the audience can tell.

Have you found any other film or role difficult?

Ram Singh Charlie was very difficult. Thappad was very difficult. As a character, Thappad was difficult because it’s very easy to say good father but how do you make him human and good. Good characters are always projected flat and that’s why negative characters are very exciting to perform and watch as well. Varied layers can easily be found in a negative character. But as an actor, it is very difficult to find layers in a good character. It was very difficult for me. Ratna Pathak Shah has contributed a lot. She is a very capable actor.

Do you think after doing Dr. Arora you have tasted blood and you would not want to do a smaller role?

No, it is not like that. If the character is small and interesting, I have no issue doing that. Everything I have done so far is not because I was helpless. If the role is full in itself, then I have no issue playing it. The script has to be good.

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