Focus Should Be On Creating Good Content, Not Stars: Made In Heaven’ Actor Arjun Mathur

Mumbai: Made in Heaven actor Arjun Mathur believes OTT platforms have emerged as a good space for talented artistes who were otherwise not getting opportunities in the mainstream Hindi cinema. Mathur, who is nominated in the best actor category at the International Emmy Awards, had planned to watch the Monday ceremony with his close friends at his home but his COVID-19 diagnosis changed things.

This is a huge win already. Now, whatever happens doesn’t matter that much, Mathur said about the nomination. Shows such as “Made in Heaven”, “Pataal Lok” and “Scam 1992” have led to the popularity of its actors be it Mathur, Pataal Lok star Jaideep Ahlawat and most recently Pratik Gandhi in Scam 1992.

The actor, however, said he is averse to the idea of the star culture. I would not like to say that OTT is creating real stars. Creating stars is the whole problem, it should be about creating content, good material and good cinema and let that create stars instead of us create stars and then create content that surrounds around stars, he told PTI.

Mathur, who started working in the industry in 2007 and has acted in movies such as Luck Aana and My Name is Khan, was praised for his portrayal of Karan Mehra alongside Sobhita Dhulipala’s Tara Khanna in Made in Heaven, a show revolving around two wedding planners navigating personal and professional crises. Mathur believes his character is path breaking in its representation of the gay community in India.

It represented an entire community of people in a way that has not been done in our cinema before. That is a huge section of society that is being ignored in representation. I think it (show) is something that represents them correctly, he said. The London-born actor believes art is the most powerful tool to bring about a change in the society.

Set against the backdrop of quintessential Indian weddings, the series is directed by Zoya Akhtar, Nitya Mehra, Alankrita Shrivastava and Prashant Nair. Despite the success of Made in Heaven, Mathur has been taking things slowly as he believes careers don’t change overnight. I like to keep my expectations in control. Also, people are extremely careful about announcing and shooting projects this year.

His upcoming projects include season two of Made in Heaven and Voot Original series The Gone Game, a film with actor-director Anushman Jha and another project for which he will begin shooting next month.

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