“I can’t forget my struggles just because I’m getting praise today. I’ll never forget that younger version of me. He cried alone but never gave up on this version of me, so I won’t give up on him. I’ll always be grateful to that boy,” says Mimoh Chakraborty.

For someone who once entered Bollywood with the weight of great expectations, Mimoh Chakraborty’s journey has been anything but conventional. The actor, who debuted with Jimmy (2008) at 24 and hoped to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father, Mithun Chakraborty, was met with harsh criticism and brutal rejection. But years later, the Mimoh we meet today is far more composed and grounded.

His portrayal of Himel Majumder in Khakee: The Bengal Chapter marked a turning point, earning him praise. Reflecting on the contrast between that performance and the shaky beginnings of his career, he says, “I’m still a student. If I were to meet Mimoh from 2008, I’d tell him the same thing I tell myself today: you have a lot to learn. I feel more responsible now because people liked what I did in Khakee. It’s not a victory, it’s the victory lap. At 41, I believe I’m entering my prime and feel like I’m finally part of the race. Everything happens in its own time and place.”

He vividly remembers being written off early in his career. “Nobody likes being told they’re not good enough. Back then, it shook me. In my head, I believed I was good because we all see ourselves as the hero of our own story. But when that illusion breaks, you realize it’s not about you. That’s when bitterness slowly starts to turn into something better. It’s taken years, but I’m in a better place now,” says Mimoh, who will soon be seen in Haunted 3D: Ghosts Of The Past.

There was a time when Mithun Chakraborty reached out to people to put in a word for his son, but the response was silence. Mimoh laughs as he recalls, “I’m like the poster boy for anti-nepotism. My father reached out, but nobody responded. Not because they had anything against him, but because it didn’t matter to them. This is a professional industry. Nobody owes you anything. Opportunities come when someone believes in you. Neeraj Pandey and Vikram Bhatt believed in me and offered me Khakee and Haunted 2 after auditions. My father never even spoke to Neeraj sir. It’s not about favours. It’s about belief. That belief from a filmmaker changes everything.”

Having made his debut with the expectations that come from being Mithun Chakraborty’s son, does he still feel the weight of his surname? “The responsibility will always be there. But I don’t obsess over it. My father’s legacy is unique — not just in cinema, but in his humanity. I can’t replicate that, and I’d be foolish to try. I need to set an example for Mimoh, not for Mithun Chakraborty’s son. That’s my identity. Being his son is an honour, but Mimoh should define who I am,” he concludes.

Chitrangda Singh recently completed 20 years in the Hindi film industry. And last month, she made her web series debut with filmmaker Neeraj Pandey’s Khakee: The Bengal Chapter.

Ask why it took her so long to foray into this format, and she says, “The script must be really good for web shows, as they have so many characters. Everyone should have a good character arc unlike films, which are spearheaded by just one person.”

The 48-year-old adds, “Unlike films, web shows don’t have the crutches of songs or slow-motion shots. In fact, these days, more time is spent on slow-motion scenes than the actual content in films. Web series, on the other hand, are purely dependent on the script, acting and execution. So, I was always apprehensive about the OTT space. I was offered quite a few series, but I always felt that they weren’t written well enough. That’s one of the reasons I stayed away.”

Chitrangda says that with Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, she found the same freedom and scope for exploration that she did with her debut film, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005): “I started my journey in the industry with something very similar. But for some reason, these kinds of roles don’t get written that much. I would love more such work because naturally, I steer towards characters which are more complex, human and flawed. My character in this show also has a strong emotional graph. I found it very interesting to play someone who is struggling with pain, ambition, love and idealism.”

Chitrangda wishes to play more such roles in the web space. “Long formats are ideal if you want to hone your skills. It gives you a lot more time to explore your characters. I have tasted blood now, and I have to look for something that is just as good,” she ends.

With outings such as Bandish Bandits and Khakee: The Bengal Chapter to his credit, Ritwik Bhowmik has emerged as a popular face in the OTT space. The actor admits that he has been able to find a foothold despite not meeting the requirements for the ‘quintessential’ hero. And the credit for that, he says, “goes to the makers of my projects.”

Ritwik elaborates, “They placed their trust in me, irrespective of my social media following or the fact that I don’t look like the quintessential leading man. So far, I have been navigating well because I have been able to meet makers who only care about whether I fit the part or not.”

However, with popularity on social media almost becoming a pre-requisite for bagging projects, especially among the younger generation of actors, does he feel any pressure to succumb to norms? “I am an anomaly. I am not very active on Instagram, but fortunately, quite active as an actor. That just shows it’s not relevant everywhere,” he responds.

Though he has the image of the ‘guy next door’, Khakee allowed him to break the mould by playing a gangster. The 32-year-old shares, “It’s human nature to be fascinated by whatever we don’t understand. Whenever the audience perceives me in a certain way after a project, I break that image in the next project. I have been blessed to be able to do that. I feel, jis din main samajh mein aa gaya [logon ko], uss din main ek button ban jaunga.”

Explaining his analogy, Ritwik shares, “Every actor in the industry is a button on the remote of a television. After a certain point, every actor gets associated with a signature genre — for example, (Shah Rukh) Khan sahab for romance and Akshay (Kumar) sir for comedy. In that sense, all of us become a button after a certain point.”

He adds, “Having said that, I am looking forward to becoming a button, as that is stardom. When you become a star, you represent a narrative and become an image. I’ll be glad to be an image, but until that happens, I want to be an actor.”

Aadil Zafar Khan made his acting debut on the big screen with Shikara (2020). However, it is on OTT that he has found footing as an artiste. Aadil’s performance in his latest outing, Khakee: The Bengal Chapter, has earned him rave reviews.

He tells us, “Shikara released in February 2020, and a month later, the entire world went into lockdown. After almost two years of being out of sight and out of mind, (filmmaker) Neeraj Pandey sir gave me Special Ops 1.5: The Himmat Story, and it revived my career.”

Aadil says that he, too, has experienced the problem faced by most young actors today — casting decisions being driven by an artist’s social media following. He shares, “Social media popularity should be the byproduct of your work as an actor and not vice versa. Thankfully, I feel that the practice is slowly declining. We have makers like Neeraj sir, whose only criterion for casting is an actor’s suitability for the part.”

In the same vein, Aadil asserts that he understands the makers’ compulsions: “If you look at it from a business perspective, the reach of an actor does help the project. It becomes a problem only when social media popularity is prioritized over talent. There is a difference between content creators and actors, and that should be kept in mind.”

The actor says that he is grateful for getting a chance to show his versatility. “It’s my mother’s blessings from up there that it is all happening naturally. The hunger for being appreciated and loved by the crowd will never end. Acceptance is your earning as an actor,” he says.

Chitrangda Singh is having a great start to the year. It began with Khakee: The Bengal Chapter this week and is currently shooting for the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Raat Akeli Hai 2. The Honey Trehan directorial venture is the sequel to the critically acclaimed 2020 film. The first instalment was a taut murder mystery that kept audiences guessing until the end.

While details about the sequel remain under wraps, Singh teases, “The world of Raat Akeli Hai is dark and twisted, and this time, we’re taking things a notch higher. Expect more intrigue and secrets.”

The actor claims that the role is so intense that it often takes time to get in and out of it. Singh shares that sometimes music helped her get into the zone. “It’s the first time that I’ve felt I don’t want to be on set because the story consumes you until you are done. It does take a toll on you as you’ve been in that zone. Sometimes certain kinds of music [helped me] get into it and stay [there],” she explained.

Singh shares that she is thrilled to break the stereotype and experiment with characters that people least expect from her. She refused to bend to the pressure and play bold characters. When asked how she managed to break into the male-dominated business, Singh says that she doesn’t like to “cry woman” when she doesn’t get her way.

“If you’re trying to get into a level-playing field, you have to be ready to give that much. Your work should speak for it, not your gender. You can’t have [success] faster just because you’re a woman. I’m all for equal opportunities. Talent doesn’t have gender. [Playing the] woman card is embarrassing because you are in a male-dominated world and you know it’s the fight,” she adds.

In the Netflix series, Chitrangda Singh plays a fierce leader of the opposition. “Her transformation into becoming her own person has been a joy to play. I don’t think I am like that. So, it doesn’t come easy for me. The writing tackled most of it,” shares Singh.

Actor Chitrangda Singh, who was seen in Gaslight last year and has a cameo in the Akshay Kumar-starrer Khel Khel Mein, has signed an OTT project. We have exclusively learnt that she will be seen in filmmaker Neeraj Pandey’s upcoming web show.

Confirming the same to us, Singh tells us, “I am offered many web projects, but I feel hesitant in committing to something that is half-baked, especially when it comes to OTT. It’s a longer format and needs a certain kind of writing. I am currently shooting for Khakee: The Bengal Chapter with Neeraj Pandey and I am quite excited about it. I am also about to sign a film and get back to the commercial space.”

In her two-decade-long acting career, Singh’s filmography has been limited, owing to her choice of projects. “When I wasn’t getting good offers and the kind of work I wanted to do, I produced Soorma (2018). Even now, I am developing projects and hopefully, by the end of the year, we should be able to put two projects into work — a web series and a feature film,” says the actor-producer.

Singh adds that the current uncertain box-office scenario has made it quite challenging to be a producer: “We’ve been struggling for the last three-four years. The pandemic derailed everything and even now, people are struggling to get back on their feet. It makes things more difficult, especially for someone like me who is a passion producer. But I’ve been trying and only those who fight can survive in this industry.”