Vishal Jethwa on 'Homebound': A dream come true

Mumbai, Sep 24 (PTI) "Homebound" has been a journey of many firsts for Vishal Jethwa but the actor's most cherished memory is taking his mother to Cannes on a business class ticket.

The actor, who started out with TV show "Maharana Pratap" in 2013-14 and broke out in movies with his negative role in Rani Mukerji-fronted "Mardaani 2" in 2019, stars as Chandan Kumar in the Neeraj Ghaywan-directorial.

The movie had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard category and was recently selected to represent India at the Oscars in the Best International Feature category.

"Like every other child living in a chawl, I would also get amazed by seeing a 'vimaan' (aeroplane) in the sky. It was a fascination for us. I had this dream of travelling abroad. I remember whenever one of my uncles, who lived in London, would visit us, we would think 'Oh, he is such a big man'. So I had this dream to be on a flight with my mother," Jethwa told PTI in an interview.

The 31-year-old actor said while working on "Maharana Pratap", he first got the chance to travel by a plane but ironically missed his flight.

"I have been in the industry for 15 years, but I never got the opportunity to travel abroad for work. (But) In the last one year, I’ve done five international trips with my film. I went to London, Switzerland, Paris, Cannes, Dubai and now Canada (TIFF). ‘Homebound’ brought a lot for me, both in my life and as an actor.

"However, the joy of travelling with my mother internationally is very precious to me. It was my dream come true moment. It might be normal for others to take a flight and it is easy for them. But for me it was a special moment to travel with my mom in business class. I take immense pride in this moment," he said.

The movie, which marks Ghaywan's return to direction after his much acclaimed debut with "Masaan" in 2015, is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's NYT article "Taking Amrit Home (A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway".

It revolves around the friendship between Chandan (Jethwa) and Shoaib (Ishaan Khatter), who aspire to join the police force for respect, but find their dreams challenged by caste, religious barriers and the lockdown during the pandemic.

Jethwa revealed that he almost missed out on the movie as he had his first audition didn't work out.

"I first auditioned for the role of Shoaib and someone else was selected for Chandan’s part. I felt bad that they did not consider me for any role but some last moment changes happened and then they called me for another round," he recalled.

The actor said when he was called again, he told the casting team to be thorough as he did not want to lose a movie that was backed by Dharma and would be directed by Ghaywan.

"Unfortunately, I had a cast on my leg as I had hurt myself at home. I requested them (casting team) to not tell anyone about my injury as I was scared about losing the role... I met Ishaan at Dharma office and they were checking our chemistry, we read together, they recorded us. And then they were confident I could play Chandan." Jethwa, who lost 10 kgs to play Chandan, believes he was destined to portray the role as his character's reality somewhat mirrors his own.

"I lived a lower-middle class life, I stayed in a chawl, then we started living in a better house, now I meet big people. I’ve seen both lows and highs. I’ve done bit roles, I have been part of shows that ran for three-four years. All these factors have always helped me in my acting. For an actor, the bad times are rather a great lesson because you learn a lot from it," he said.

During the course of the film, Jethwa said Ishaan became a good friend and they could understand each other despite coming from vastly different backgrounds. "Neeraj sir said if you want to show a good chemistry on screen between your characters then you both understand each other first, be vulnerable, talk about your personal life to each other. We created a safe zone for each other so that we can open up with each other. We became good friends.

"We both are different in many ways, like our upbringing is different, his family background, the way he perceives the industry and cinema, his experiences are different than mine but what’s common is that we respect each other’s point of view, and don’t judge each other." Asked what he wants to do next, Jethwa said he no longer thinks on those terms.

"My dream was fulfilled long ago when I did ‘Maharana Pratap', in which I played the role of Akbar... I’m living on a bonus. I’m not chasing anything right now. ‘Mardaani 2’ and all is a bonus. Now I’m going with the flow," he said. PTI KKP BK BK RB RB