MUSBA HASHMI catches up with ADHVIK MAHAJAN to know about his excitement of playing Jogi in Zee TV’s Teri Meri Ikk Jindri, the preparations that he did, the days when he was out of work and his journey from Soham to now Jogi
Forgetting Soham from Bani — Ishq Da Kalma is a nightmare for the fans of Adhvik Mahajan. Only if one would have saw that TV show, one would understand the craze of the character in the sweet but short serial. But as they say, all good things come to an end and so did that show.
However, that doesn’t mean better things were not on their way. A case in point is Zee TV’s latest Teri Meri Ikk Jindri. The show has given its fans a lot more than just entertainment — Soham but in a different avatar — Jogi.
Not only the fans, but Jogi aka Adhvik too is extremely excited to play the character and be seen in a challenging but fun avatar.
“I got an offer for a film but since I had already given my commitment to this show, I said no to it. I don’t know about other actors, but for me satisfaction of work is more important than the medium. And this show, I knew, was what I wanted to do without any second thoughts,” Mahajan says with a confident voice.
What attracted Mahajan towards the character on the first place was the challenges that it offered. “I don’t share any similarities with Jogi despite the fact that we both are Punjabi. He is a lively person. He knows how to be happy in every situation which is, of course, not possible practically. He knows the way out of everything. To sum it up, he is full of life and everything nice. I knew it will be a task for me to play such a role and that’s why I made up my mind that this role is mine,” Mahajan tells you with a smile.
Such was his curiosity or excitement to play the role, that Mahajan decided to walk an extra mile and send an audition clip that is hard to be rejected. And for this, instead of recording in front of a white wall, he shot in the fields, to bring in the authenticity of the character. That was, of course, a do or die situation for Mahajan. “I knew no one can play that role but me. And I have to give an audition that speaks for itself and which gets selected at once. Hence, I gave it my all with full energy and enthusiasm. Fortunately, it got selected and the team told me that nobody was able to replicate my version. That did feel great to hear,” he explains.
Not that the excitement faded once he started shooting instead it is growing even more. “I look forward to going to the sets. The atmosphere is so and comfortable that it feels like my second home. I share a good rapport with Amandeep Sidhu (who plays Mahi) and it adds to our performance. When one enjoys the work he does, the output is definitely good. This can be one of the reason why people are showering the show and us with their love,” he asserts.
The preparation part, he says, was tough too. He loves to spend time with himself, unlike his character, and during this me time his focus was to improvise his character. He took inspiration from his father, who is a Punjabi of course, to add minute details to Jogi. “I also lost a few inches. That wasn’t so hard, but the only challenge was to get into the skin of the character so well that it becomes a part of me,” he says.
The journey from Soham to Jogi, he says, is full of learnings. “After Soham, people told me that my life will change for the better and that work will pour in from all directions. However, the reality was far away from this. I had no work for about two years after that show. In these seven years of my career, I have shot for four years in totality and for the rest three years I was out of work. To make ends meet, I stepped into a lot of side businesses as well. Some of them worked, while others did not. But there was never a moment when I felt like quitting. That’s not me. My father’s faith in me gave me the motivation to fight. I used to wake up every day with a smile, dress up, go to auditions and get rejected. But never gave up. One always learn from their failures and so did I. Having said that, it’s a no-brainer that God has been always kind to me,” he recalls.
Another learning, that many of us have had in our life, Mahajan says, is that he learnt to unmask fake friendships. “There were people who took a step back from me when I was out of work. But that didn’t bother me. I silently saw their actions. Some of them even turned back to me when I had work, but it is fine. I have my best people with me and they have always supported me. The rest of the people are like puppets to me, I just observe what they have in store,” the actor who believes in staying grounded says.