Vishal Jethwa: Before Human, I was a person where I didn't have a choice but now I could say no to a project

Directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah and Mozez Singh, the Disney+ Hotstar Specials series Human has been penned by Mozez Singh, and Ishani Banerjee. The medical thriller is slated for a release on 14th January 2022 and will feature a great cast of Shefali Shah, Kirti Kulhari, Vishal Jethwa, Ram Kapoor, Seema Biswas, among others. The show taps on the subject of human drug trials and it will manage to dig only deeper throughout the 10 episodes that there are.

Vishal, who continues to receive love for his role of Sunny in Mardaani 2, spoke to India Forums about the show, the journey, the transition, and more. Read the conversation here.

How excited are you about the show? 

I am very very excited for the show and I've been told by those who've already seen the show that they are very confident and the Hotstar team is too and its added to it. I am so happy that my performance will be seen with such beautifully talented people and such great names of the film industry. I can't wait for people to watch the show.

Tell us about your character, and the journey with the show.

My character is Mangu, he is from a lower middle class family and he belongs to rural Bhopal, a teenager. You will see him as any normal teenager found on the streets of Bhopal, he is a dreamer and he wants to fulfil his family's dream too. He wants to do good things but he ends up doing mistakes. The character has a lot of good arcs and variations in his life and you will see it through the 10 episodes. I used all my experience from Mardaani 2 here. My script was the biggest weapon, I was briefed about it, I did my research and I also requested our director to hire a talent coach for us so that we look authentic. I didn't want it to look simply external but there should be something from inside also and that gives you the authenticity to perform. 

From Mardaani to now this, how has the transition so far been for you?

It was unexpected. It is not real for me. I feel like I am living my dream after Mardaani 2 and I didn't know people will love me so much even after hating my character in the film. Even now, people praise me about the character. Even after two years, people talk about Mardaani. It was not easy for me to come out of that character and then get into this character.

-

How has it been working with your co-stars, all some of the finest from the industry?

I happen to work with producer's wives only. (Laughs) It is really very overwhelming because these are superstars and these are artists I've seen from childhood and working with them is not even a thought that comes to you but when you share screen space, you feel grateful to the universe and I feel thankful. This is very huge for me. Shefali ma'am and Kirti ma'am are both effortless actors, but I know how much effort does it take for making it look that. I don't learn from their performance only, but also their professionalism - they are on time, they are ready, they know what they are doing, they know the soul of the character and it is not easy to reach their for an actor. Look at their variations, you will see the difference and I see more of these things.

Before this show, a time came in my life where I could say no to a project and that has never happened in my life. I was always a person where I did not have a choice, where I had to audition and I might be one out of the 10 people and this is one thing that changed.

- Vishal Jethwa

Any memory that you might have from the show that you want to share with fans?

There is one scene in the show where my sister is hitting me and I am apologizing to her and even after cut, she did not stop. So that's one thing, we were so deep into it that we forgot everything. Pranali (Meena) was too much into the character. Another thing, before this show, a time came in my life where I could say no to something and that has never happened in my life. I was always a person where I did not have a choice, where I had to audition and I might be one out of the 10 people and this is one thing that changed. And another memory is how on the last day of my shoot, Mozez sir waited 2 hours for me so he could wish me luck and say goodbye.