Exclusive! Mini Mathur: Shef from Mind The Malhotras was more interesting in season 2 than 1

Mini Mathur’s Shefali and Cyrus Sahukar’s Rishabh Mahotra from Mind The Malhotras 2 have been making the right amount of noise this time too. While Shefali has turned chef, Rishabh dealt with a lot of Japanese culture on the show. We at OTTplay tried to understand if Mini and Cyrus actually took back something from their characters this time around. Here’s what they said…

What I want to know from both of you - since both your characters are dysfunctional in a way, do they help you learn a little more about yourself - about how you should and shouldn't behave? Any takeaway one of you would like to share?

Cyrus: There's a certain level calm with how Rishabh reacts to life situations. I'm a very different personality and get triggered by things emotionally. I found that it was interesting. You take from all characters and give a part of you to them too. It's interesting to pick up how Rishabh passes through all the curveballs life throws at him. The most magical part about him is his certain level of joy and fun in life. I want to imbibe that from him always. That's a good reminder to have.

Mini: It's pretty much the same for me. The fact that Shefali uses humour and quirks to justify situations and still stand up for the right thing when it comes to hard facts and how she raises her character is quite an inspiration. You come out feeling like no problem is unsolvable if you actually find a solution.

Have any of you seen the original show La Famiglia?

M: I watched the first season only. Sahil Sangha got the show to me and I saw the first episode of the show and said yes. I could understand the representation which made me say yes to a project so fast.

C: It's an Israeli show which has been correctly adapted to the Indian ideology and understanding how our family setup is. This was while keeping the similarities alive. The second season of Mind The Malhotras took a new arc.

Mini, you almost never appear in any film or show as an actor. Mushkil se you have worked in two movies. So it's really intriguing to know how did Mind The Malhotras actually happen to you? Do you get a lot of scripts and reject them? How did you get this offer? What was it that made you say yes? Tell me all about it.

You're absolutely right. Me and Cyrus took the same plane from Delhi-Mumbai and became VJs. I have been getting offers non-stop but rejected all of them because at that point of time, TV only offered me regressive roles that I didn't identify with or want to be part of. My first love was hosting and I didn't look at it as a stepping stone to be an actor. I never intended to be an action. I did those films also because of friends.

I met Sahil at Cyrus' party. He then approached me to play Shef. I saw La Familigia and said yes in two minutes. When I got to know that Cyrus was playing Rish, I was more than happy. It was the universe conspiring to make me a part of the show.

Shef turned chef in season 2. Did it feel like homecoming?

I loved it. It was a collaborative thing. I was thrilled. Apart from the fact that she was playing a chef - yes it felt very comfortable to play that - but what I really liked is that Shef represented the dreams, hopes and aspirations of women going through this phase in life. For me, Shef is a character who was more interesting in season 2 than season 1.

Mini, tell me how did Maria become a part of the show? Will we see her again?

How do I know? All I knew is that everywhere I looked, there was a dear friend - Sameer Kocchar, Cyrus, Maria. It doesn't get better than that.

Cyrus, there was a fair part in season 2 where you spoke in Japanese. Did you actually learn the language fluently or just picked up some words?

I wish I learnt Japanese fluently but that would be a disservice to Rishabh because he himself wasn't learning Japanese fluently. Knowing Rishabh, he decided to learn Japanese from movies and through an app. Most of the Japanese he saw were from Kung Fu movies and action movies. We wanted to keep it like that. People need to be able to understand the connect.

It was a big thing for Rishabh because his father passed away. He's now heading the company. It was his and his father's dream to expand the company, which is why he put all his eggs in one basket. He's also at an age where he wants to create a certain legacy. Like every optimist, he counts his chickens before he hatched. Rishabh tends to spend the money in his head before he actually becomes rich. I didn't learn fluent Japanese because of Rishabh but that's what causes a lot of comedic confusion.

I remember my first memory of Japan was falling in love with sushi and then I was introduced to anime and there was no going back. Tell me what was your first memory of Japan. How were you introduced to their culture?

My first memory would be an electronic item that my elder cousin brothers had gotten. There's something about Japanese culture that blows my mind. Perfection is really well followed. There's an ideology I read recently. It was by Wabi Sabi. It's about how mistakes can be fixed and how our imperfections are what define us. This Wabi Sabi pottery is beautiful with cracks filled with golden fillings. It portrays how our faults and mistakes define us and so instead of hiding them, we should make them more beautiful and imbibe them. I'm amazed. It's the one place I really want to visit. Every thing about their culture - their one foot is in the past and the other is the super modern culture. The disparity is seen mostly there.

So, Mind The Malhotras 2 started with the buzz around the merger with Japan but we saw what happened to it. Given how your character completely dived into the situation with almost turning Japanese. He actually put in the efforts to learn the language and culture and it was a focus point too, despite that, everything that happened on the show, were you disappointed even as a person because you put in all the efforts and then there was no trace of that ahead but then you being disappointed actually helped the character?

It was there in the script. With OTT, almost all the episodes are pre-written and then you go shoot them. So, I knew that was happening but how they explored the dramedy, desires and disappointments of life. He's got kids, is in his early 40s, his father just passed away, he wants to take his legacy forward, has a wife who wants to do her own thing. There's even a moment during therapy where he says that Shef has her own life, his kids will go away to college and the feeling of loneliness dawns, which makes him wonder why is he doing certain things in life. The average man today has responsibilities he may or may not want, disappointments that come with age that he also has to deal with. Underneath all that, I felt quite sad for Rishabh that he celebrated everything so much that when it doesn't happen, there's a shock factor. It felt interesting to see a character go through all the things. I find it so interesting because the soap operas that are usually tragic are treated with comedy. In many ways, that's like life.

What is the update on season 3?

There's no information yet. They're just enjoying the success of season 2. The season ended on such a cliffhanger, so let's see where it goes.

Your upcoming projects?

C: I've got Potluck 2 and It Happens Only In India. That will be launching in a month.

M: I'm going through two scripts for shows. The second season of Mini Me is ready. I'm shopping for a platform.

So you are now open to working on OTT, Mini?

Yes, I've been looking at it and I've got a lot of people who woke up and asked where was I. My rules don't change for me though. It has to be something I really enjoy.