Arjun Mathur: Working with even one of them is a blessing

Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; August 10, 2023)

Four years after Made In Heaven dropped on Amazon Prime Video, creators Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti are back with its second season. The show that touches upon socially relevant issues against the backdrop of Indian weddings, drops online today. Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur who play wedding planners and their on-screen teammates – Shashank Arora and Shivani Raghuvanshi – talk about their reunion and what’s in store for the audience this time around.

‘It’s quite an extravagant show’
Speaking about why it took four long years to return, Sobhita shares, “It’s quite an extravagant show. It’s set against the wedding backdrop, which requires a large setup and grand set designs. There is no joy in compromising and putting something out just because kaam khatam karna hai. It’s made with love and sometimes it takes time.”

Arjun adds, “We faced two lockdowns during our shoots. The shooting was planned for eight months, but took around 18 months. We shot in extraordinary circumstances, completely out of our control, but finally, we are glad that we are here.”

‘The new cast members and characters bring in a lot of freshness’
Apart from the main cast, the season will also feature Mrunal Thakur, Radhika Apte, Dia Mirza Rekhi, Pulkit Samrat and Sanjay Kapoor, among others, as guests.

Says an excited Shivani, “It feels nice and fresh, because otherwise wohi chehre aapko dikhte rehte hai. The new cast members and characters will bring in freshness.”

Arjun adds, “We embrace these new characters and include them into our family. We become the hosts. After seeing season one, most actors were ready to jump in and take on the opportunity.”

Shashank shares, “From the newer lot, I enjoyed working with Radhika, Imaad Shah, Sarah Jane Dias, Mrunal… you learn something from every person that you work with.”

It’s been a breakthrough show for me: Arjun
Arjun’s performance won him a nomination at the International Emmy Awards 2020 in the Best Actor category. He shares, “This has been a breakthrough show for me. After watching the trailer of the second season, I had to pinch myself. It is a matter of great privilege because as actors, we aspire to headline shows and shoulder the responsibility of big projects!”

Shivani adds, “I have grown up watching Zoya’s work. I have been a part of couple of projects, but after this show, people have started calling me Jazz (her character in the show).”

On-screen wedding planners Sobhita and Arjun take a rapid Bollywood quiz

What’s the best Bollywood wedding you have ever seen?
Sobhita: None, because I am never invited to one!
Arjun: I am a big fan of Virushka’s (Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma) wedding. I have followed it on social media.

What’s your all-time favourite wedding ritual?
Sobhita: In our Telugu culture, there is a ritual where a bride, after the Gauri puja, is put in a basket and all the uncles carry her to the mandap. It really looks cute; the bride in the basket looks like a doll.
Arjun: I just want to eat and go home. Just eating good food at a wedding makes me happy.

What’s your favourite location for a destination wedding?
Sobhita: I just love the traditional part of a wedding. I want to do the puja and spend the money on vacationing. Mujhe destination wedding nahi karna hai… kitna paisa waste hota hai!
Arjun: I love beach weddings.

As wedding planners, if the two of you are assigned to design Salman Khan’s wedding, how would you go about it?
Sobhita: Oh, very exciting! There will be so much hype around this wedding. It will be fun heading the marketing division of this shaadi.
Arjun: I think I will sell tickets in black, for people to come and see this wedding (laughs).

A perfect song for the sangeet night would be?
Sobhita: Any massy Tamil hit number
Arjun: Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna

A funny line on your wedding invitation card would read?
Sobhita: Showing up is not necessary!
Arjun: Empty stomachs are not compulsory!
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Reprising his role in Made in Heaven 2, Emmy-nominated actor Arjun on how the finest directors came together to service the script
Hiren Kotwani (MID-DAY; August 10, 2023)

“Thank God we are here,” smiles Arjun Mathur, as the second season of Made in Heaven drops online today, over four years since its opening season. Something tells us the sentiment is echoed by the audience, who lapped up the first edition that revolved around big, fat Indian weddings and two wedding planners—essayed by Mathur and Sobhita Dhulipala—at the centre of it all. The delay between the two instalments was due to the pandemic.

“Every time someone tested positive, we had to stop. And if you lose one actor’s dates, it throws the schedule astray because the show has an ensemble cast,” explains Mathur.

The actor’s performance as Karan Mehra had earned him an International Emmy nomination in 2020. Was it easy to reprise the character after such a long gap? “In your mind, you can be a bit anxious, wondering whether you will find it again. But once you get on the set, one shot is all it takes. When they call for ‘cut’, you know you’ve got it. The character is so beautifully developed on paper [that] it becomes easy.”

Mathur adds that creator-director duo Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti have made his character’s journey darker this time around. “It’s more personal, hence more intense. Zoya, Reema and I know that I relate to Karan Mehra quite a bit.”

The beauty of the Amazon Prime Video series—also starring Kalki Koechlin and Jim Sarbh—is that it beautifully includes different voices as five directors examine the ills of society against the backdrop of dreamy weddings. This time around, Neeraj Ghaywan of Masaan (2015) fame joins Akhtar, Kagti, Alankrita Shrivastava and Nitya Mehra to share the directorial duties. Mathur admits that collaborating with such fine directors is a dream come true for the artiste in him.

“If an actor gets to work with even one of them, it’s a blessing. Here, we’ve got six of them [including Prashant Nair in the last season]! Things can be difficult when multiple people disagree, but here, the script is the master. Zoya, Reema and Alankrita have written the show, so they’re all on the same page. We had days when we would be shooting different parts with [different] directors, but it was easy because they were all in sync.”