'The Real Thing Has Yet To Come Out On Table': Gashmeer Mahajani Opens Up About Betrayal & His Show Gunaah (EXCLUSIVE)

Actor Gashmeer Mahajani is known for his versatile roles in Marathi and Hindi cinema. He has captivated audiences with his performances in various television shows like Anjaan: Special Crimes Unit, Imlie, Tere Ishq Mein Ghayal, and others. 

Now, he is currently busy promoting his latest show Gunaah, directed by Anil Senior and is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. In an exclusive interview with The Free Press Journal, the actor spilled the beans about the show, his character Abhimanyu Naik, working with Surbhi Jyoti, some betrayals in life and more. 

What drew you to do this project?

Firstly, I wanted to get connected with Hotstar, since they have a wider reach and viewer base. Secondly, the show is an adaptation of the Turkish series Ezel. I liked that show, and even the character. It was intense for me to play Abhimanyu, the way they'd my character because of the adaptation, it shows Indian culture. So these two major motivations connected me with Gunaah and made me say yes to the project. 

How did you manage to hold on to the character, Abhimanyu Naik, since the first half is portrayed by Zayn Ibad?  

His part was shot differently, and I was not a part of it. His character is in the trauma and suffering phase, but his goodness is alive. My character is after his face changes, that is post-trauma, and every thing that happens in your life, big or small starts, changes you as a person, eventually. 

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What aspects of the role did you find most challenging? 

I had to keep the goodness of Shiva (Zayn Ibad) alive in Abhimanyu. Abhimanyu bhale hi grey hai, anti-hero hai, revenge lene aaya hai, logo ko barbad karne aaya hai, still the goodness of Shiva can not be taken from him. Even during our script reading session, I felt that Abhimanyu should not lose the goodness that Shiva had in his eyes. 

 How was it working with Surbhi Jyoti, since this is your first project with her? 

She is one of the best co-stars I've worked with so far. She's my favourite co-actor, so far. Surbhi is a fabulous actor. When I was doing scenes with her, I felt she was good, and not wow. But now, when I was watching the series, I did not expect this kind of work, I love her work.

Gunaah deals with complex themes of betrayal. Have you in your personal life faced anything as such, in the past? 

Betrayal is kind of glamorised when you speak of it in fiction. In a show, it is glamorised and made very big.  God forbid nobody should face betrayals ever in life. But small betrayals happen on a daily basis. You expect something to happen and suddenly a person flips. There are times when even in your professional life, you're talking very frankly, and in a straight way to a person, and you're dealing in a straight way to a person and that person takes another decision and doesn't even keep you in the loop. 

So you have opened your cards on the table but the other person doesn't open his cards and you blindly trust that person and suddenly that person opens the cards and you get to know about it from outside. This has happened a lot of times. So I felt bad at that time. Sidhe bol dete nahi karna hai yaar (I was like, let's just say no. If I've opened my cards, you also open them this is not possible or this will do). Sometimes we do things that people might not like so it can be a betrayal for them. So unknowingly, we are betraying people. So that's okay. You shouldn't take it too hard.

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Looking back at your journey so far, how do you feel you've evolved as an actor, and what are your future aspirations?

On a scale of 1 to 10, as an actor, I was at 0.5 and I've come to 1 somehow. But sometimes I slide down to 0.5. I don't know, whenever I watch the scenes, I feel ‘What have I done?’  Even while I'm watching Gunaah, I'm getting all this positive feedback and people are appreciating me, but every scene I see, I'm like, 'Why did I do this? I shouldn't have done this.’ So you keep feeling that and it's a good feeling also. I don't think, as an actor, I've evolved that well.. I think the real thing is yet to come out. 

What difference do you see between television and OTT, as an actor, in terms of content?

Oh, vast difference. Content-wise, OTT will always be superior. Film and OTT will always be superior, content-wise. TV mein, unless it's a finite series with fewer episodes, whose start and end is already written, and you have to shoot that many episodes, then you can monitor the content. But on TV, after a while, it becomes a money game, which is fair.  I'm not criticising it, and I'm not looking down on them. If I ever need a lot of money, I'll do a TV show. But if you say I'll get creative satisfaction there, I won't get that.

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Apart from this, what are your future plans?

If the makers plan the second season of Gunaah, I would be delighted to do it. Apart from that, there's a Hindi film that's coming out. It will be released this year. Then there is a Marathi film which I will complete soon. It has a 10-day schedule and I'll finish it at ND Studio. I’m also in talks for another web show.