Turned down web shows for two years until 'Samantar' happened: Swwapnil Joshi

Actor Swwapnil Joshi, who is making a foray into digital space with "Samantar", says he had been consistently saying no to web content for two years until the Marathi series bowled him over.

The actor said it wasn't that the offers coming his way were not good, but somewhere he couldn't get hooked to anyone of them.

"I've been saying no to web content for the last two years. It has been consistently offered to me, some main lead some co-lead but I always wondered that everything I've done on TV and films, if I do the same on web, why would they want to see me in the format?" Swwapnil told PTI.

The 42-year-old actor said he had to ensure that whatever he does on the web caters to the kind of content people are consuming.

"If I'm venturing in a new format, I need to tap its strength, do something that the web audience can like and consume. I'm a very intuitive actor. Unless it connects with me internally, I don't commit to it. If I can't commit to it, I won't accept it. I couldn't connect with any other projects the way I did with 'Samantar,'" he added.

Directed by Satish Rajwade, the series is an adaptation of Suhas Shirvalkar's Marathi book of the same name.

"Samantar"-- also dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu-- traces the journey of Kumar Mahajan, whose life changes when he hears that a man called Sudarshan Chakrapani’s past will be his future.

Swwapnil said the MX Player original series gave him the perfect opportunity to step into a zone as an actor where he hadn't been before.

"It was an amazingly wicked experience to play him. I've never done a character like this in my entire career of films and TV. He's extremely hurt with the whole world, constantly upset about everything in life and is under tremendous pressure to live up to people's expectations.

"It is a very multi-layered character and I've never portrayed someone as complex as him as an actor ever."

The actor, known for featuring in popular Marathi films, including "Duniyadari" and "Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai," said he had been wanting to adapt the book for close to a decade but it never materialised, until with the arrival of web medium in India.

"Initially we wanted to make it as a film but thought this isn't a subject that can be bound in 2-3 hours. We knew this isn't a film script. Back then, web wasn't great in idea so we thought of doing it as a TV show.

"But the story has a definite beginning, middle and an end, unlike TV where it has a daily soap format which goes on forever. We couldn't find the right platform until web happened. Then I decided this will be my web debut."

Swwapnil hopes with "Samantar"—spread across nine episodes—people rediscover the richness of Marathi literature.

"I hope people are once again reminded that how powerful is Marathi literature, how powerful was Marathi writing in all its glory. The primary thing for me is to be able to tell a hardcore Maharashtrian story in all languages.

"'Narcos' and 'Money Heist' are regional stories but makes you fall in love with the craft of cinema, irrespective of where it comes from. That's the same effort with this one," he added.

Adapted on screen by Ambar Hadap, "Samantar" also stars Tejaswini Pandit.

(Graphic: Twitter)