Exclusive! Manish Chaudhari: Seeing different age groups altogether under one canopy is the speciality of storytelling on OTT

The Hotstar special Shoorveer was released a few weeks ago and garnered praise from the viewers. Starring Manish Chaudhary, Armaan Ralhan and Regina Cassandra among others, the action-drama series talks about the soldiers from all three forces coming together to battle with the enemies. 

In a candid chat with OTTplay, Manish and Armaan shared their experience of working together and with other cast members on the show and also talked about their upcoming projects and more. Excerpts:

When asked them what is that one trait that they like about their characters and they think that the audience will also appreciate, Manish replied, "Resilience. Ranjan Mallik doesn't give in or give up no matter what." Meanwhile, Armaan answered, "In Viraj (his character), there is a certain amount of angst, which I think separates him from others and he is a decorated and a very very talented pilot."

Talking about living an army life through the show, Armaan shared that he always thought that the soldiers' lives are tough. "And the show kind of simplifies and we get to know that it's even tougher want we think of it in terms of stunts. There had been a few tough days on set while shooting some difficult stunts such as one day we were all tied up and we had to film the whole sequence like that. So, that was a tough day. 

Speaking about how the OTT is one of the biggest reasons that so many talented cast from different backgrounds and age groups are able to work together in one project, Manish mentioned that the show has three to four experienced actors like Makrand Deshpande, him and others as well as a great set of young and talented actors. "I think that's the speciality of storytelling on OTT that we are seeing different age groups altogether under one canopy," he added.

When asked if it was a conscious decision of the makers to keep diversity in the cast as it is in the real forces, Manish replied, "Yes, Offcourse. And that is very important for the show and it has been done very well."

Moving to Armaan when asked why the audience doesn't get to see much of him, the actor replied that he waits for certain kinds of projects to come through. "After Befikre, I was getting a lot of stuff but I was getting plenty of similar stuff and honestly I didn't want to repeat myself. So waiting for the right project was kind of frustrating but Ajeeb Daastaans happened and now Shoorveer."

Manish has done a barrage of versatile roles in multiple films and shows, but a lot of viewers still remember him as Sunil Puri from Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year. Reacting to the same, the actor replied, "Interestingly, when the film came out, it didn't do that well at that time. But what happened with Rocket Singh is over the next decade it just got rewatched and it became the film that was shown to corporate workers and business schools and more. To be a part of such work that gives you so much recognition among the normal public is in itself a privilege. 

When asked them to share their views on the censorship on OTT platforms, Manish went first and said, "I really don't have an answer to that question, Because as an actor, the work that I've done over the last couple of decades in cinema, if you notice, none of that work had that question come up. I think I just have a natural affinity for doing the work, which actually tells humane stories and if a part of those things comes under censorship then that is not for me to comment on." Agreeing with the former's comment of the same, Armaan mentioned that answering this question is way above his thought process. He further added, "Maybe one day when I'm producing a film, I might have that experience. But right now, I would need more information to comment on that."

When asked about their upcoming projects, Armaan went first and shared that he has a fun and exciting part in an upcoming film and has just signed a project that's start shooting in January 2023, however, the actor did not reveal the title of his anticipated ventures. 

Meanwhile, Manish said, "There is a film that I've done with Mr Nagarjuna, which we shot in Telugu but will release in multiple languages all over the country soon."