I am not sure how many of you have heard of the name, Roshan Mathew. For those who do not know, he is one of the youngest actors in Indian cinema industry today who works in Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil films. While a promising actor indeed, what made me a fan, was his awesome ability to communicate, whether setting a stage on fire with an electrifying speech or a subtle way of tackling rapid fire questions in an interview, he just mesmerizes you with his sheer screen presence and an out-of-the-world way of delivering his thoughts.
Earlier in the evening today, I happened to watch an interview he gave, with Johny Lukose, one of the toughest interviewers in Malayalam media world. One of the questions directed to Roshan was about his choice of films and how selective he was compared to some of his peers. The first question was followed with a tail end question as well about whether he did not find it risky to be rejecting many roles and choosing only a few. His answer sounded quite philosophical when he said, ‘You need to be afraid only if you have a well laid out plan for years ahead. If you consider every opportunity you receive as a blessing, then you have nothing to worry’.
What promptly followed was a question about his debut movie. Roshan spoke about his foray into theatres that helped with developing a passion for acting. He received an offer for a movie named ‘Puthiya Niyamam’, a Malayalam crime drama, with lead roles handled by two of the highest paid and immensely capable actors in Indian cinemas today. Mammootty, the mega star of Malayalam cinemas and Nayanthara who is a South Indian sensation. Roshan was offered the role of a villain.
His first ever film and the role was of a villain! That did not go well with some of his close relatives and friends. They all tried to dissuade him from signing up for the movie citing the fear of getting typecasted. That was when Roshan gave an answer which truly resonated his philosophy of life. He said, ‘You need to worry about typecasting only if you are sure of getting a second film. When I am not even sure if I will get another opportunity, why would I let go a dream-come-true moment for an actor to work with stalwarts such as Mammootty and Nayanthara?’
It gave me goosebumps! Who knows? Maybe this young man is destined to be in the leagues of legends such as Anthony Hopkins or Mohanlal who either had debuted as villains or were shot to fame in a movie where they portrayed a negative character!
Opportunistic, is usually considered as a negative trait. But this is when you take away something by hook or by crook what rightfully belonged to others. On the other hand, if you are an opportunist to grab what could be rightfully yours and not being reckless to throw away what could turn out to be a pot of gold, then you are nothing but being positively opportunistic!
Ask yourself, what have you been, when opportunities knocked at your doorstep?
Tail End: Happy to share a personal moment of pride when I got to know Roshan is from Changanacherry, my own hometown in Kerala. If you want to know what really converted me as a big fan of this guy, you must watch the speech he gave at Spoken Fest Mumbai 2020: Every Story Has A House.
A friendly warning: You may want to hold on to your chair while watching the above speech!
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