It has been a great year for web series with so many becoming the talk of the town shortly after their release. These also included various series that caught the interest of the South-Asian audience in particular. Among the major hits, was the novel adaptation by BBC titled “A Suitable Boy” which starred talent from across the border including veteran actress Tabu.
Sajeer Shaikh from MangoBaaz recently interviewed two cast members from the series via Instagram live. She was joined by Danesh Razvi (Kabir) and Joyeeta Dutta (Tasneem) and here’s all that we found out about the show.
Danesh plays one of the suitors on the show and his character has been well received by the audience, with many rooting for him and Lata to end up together. Danesh shared that he was overwhelmed with the love and the response he has received from fans. He credited the success of Kabir to the excellent direction by Mira Nair that helped him perform so well.
Naturally, Sajeer was curious to know how Danesh grabbed the role for ‘A Suitable Boy’.
Danesh shared how it was actually a stroke of luck that he got connected to Mira through his mum who is a yoga instructor. She taught Mira a class when she was in Mumbai casting for ‘A Suitable Boy.’ While chatting, Mira asked about Danesh’s profession and instantly called him.
Speaking about his experience with the cast and crew, Danesh was all praises, especially for the senior actors on ‘A Suitable Boy.’
He termed his experience as superb. Danesh was present on location for the entire shooting spell and his interaction with the cast mostly happened off-set. He was grateful to the team as they helped him out in terms of work. Danesh once again attributed this great chemistry to Mira, who put in the effort to align all the departments.
Sharing his take on Lata’s decision, he did not hold back!
Anyone who has watched the show took sides and many were Team Kabir. Sadly, Lata didn’t choose him. Danesh agreed that the outcome was unjust for Kabir as Lata could have chosen him in the long run after developing a better understanding. But at the same time, he also revealed that he was Team Harish when he watched the show!
Upon asking if he could identify himself with Kabir he revealed that the character’s experiences and his personal experiences had a lot of similarities. For him stepping into Kabir’s skin wasn’t difficult at all.
People have been crushing over Danesh’s good looks, too. That was addressed. One noticeable feature is his eyebrow cut which has a story behind it.
Turns out it was an accident when he was around five and he was playing with his sister and father. They were hopping and he froze in between and fell, hitting the bed in the process. He shared how sometimes make-up artists fill the gap but he doesn’t like filling it.
When asked about an assumption about the industry that turned out to be false, Danesh shared that there are not as many divas.
People in the industry are friendly and supportive. Getting a role is competitive but it is nothing personal it is just that they fit the role better.
We also found out fun facts about him including his birthday that is coming up very soon i.e. January, 14. He would love to work on a Pakistani or any international project as long as the script and the team are good. He wants to work with Deepika Padukone. Lastly, he advised everyone who is nervous or struggling to face the camera not to worry about judgment from others.
You can watch the complete interview here:
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Sajeer Shaikh also spoke with Tasneem from ‘A Suitable Boy,’ who is played by Joyeeta Dutta.
The conversation was extremely interesting with Joyeeta expressing her wish to meet SRK one day and starring in a Zoya Akhtar film. Joyeeta also walked us through her journey with ‘A Suitable Boy’ and much more.
She shared how she never dreamed of being an actor but a conversation with a friend changed her perspective and she started working towards this goal.
She started reaching out to people and finally got in touch with Adil Hussain who has worked in renowned films like ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist.’ Then she met a casting director who asked her to audition for a musical. Mira Nair was present at the audition who cast her for the musicals. She was also working on ‘A Suitable Boy’ and Joyeeta was given a chance to audition and she ended up getting the role.
Joyeeta raved about her experience with the cast and crew of ‘A Suitable Boy’ as well.
Masterclass for her as this was her first time on a set, she got to witness the meticulous attention to detail that went into making every scene possible. There were best of the best on the set and she got to learn so much from them. She shared that the overall energy on set was so positive and praised Mira for bringing together the best of people.
When asked who was her favorite from the entire team of talented actors from the show, Joyeeta shared Shubham Saraf was her favorite as her character journeyed with Firoz. Moreover, off-set they had a blast as well as they are in the same age group.
Sharing her views on Tasneem and Firoz’s connection, Joyeeta termed it as an unfinished connection.
She found the conclusion of their story very tragic but there is nothing Tasneem could do about it either and on some level, they still had some kind of connection.
To prepare for her character, she took training in katakh, learned how to speak and write in Urdu, and visited a Muslim family to learn more about their lifestyle. She styled herself in shalwar kameez for a while to get comfortable with it. There were things that they prepared, but they did end up doing some spontaneous things as well.
For Joyeeta, her character was relatable in parts.
She didn’t relate to Tasneem in the context of her background and household. At the same time, there were some elements about her character that she felt every girl has within them like wanting to find someone to love, and going through heartbreak was the part she could relate to Tasneem.
She also shared her two cents on Lata’s decision and turns out she was also Team Kabir! She believed they made sense together so, Lata should have picked him. But she understands that sometimes things don’t work out, even for people who love each other.
Joyeeta also appreciated Pakistani content and expressed her desire to come work on some projects here.
She praised Pakistani content ‘Churails’ in particular and hopes to work on a Pakistani project someday. She has the biggest crush on Mahira Khan. The conversation ended with Joyetta advising everyone to try to be there for others.
You can watch the interview here:
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What do you think about these live sessions? Have you watched both of these? Let us know your take about what the cast members from ‘A Suitable Boy’ shared in the comments.
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Cover image via BBC One