Whether he’s melting hearts as the nation’s favourite Mismatched crush or stepping into full-blown Bollywood-hero territory with Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, Rohit Saraf still shows up with that easy, genuine warmth that his fans can’t help but adore. During the shoot of our episode of the Philips LatteGo presents Bombay Times Lounge powered by instax FUJIFILM in association with Skechers & U.S. Polo Assn., Rohit had the live audience completely smitten – especially when he posed for pictures with every eager fan present there. No rush, no airs, just peak Rohit Saraf behaviour.

The hype around the 26-year-old isn’t just real – it’s earned. With the promo of the episode dropping today, here’s a little starter pack of quotes and moments that capture the vibe. Think of this as your warm-up to a conversation that’s equal parts honest, fun, reflective and unmistakably Rohit Saraf. Watch out for the full episode with Rohit Saraf on the Bombay Times YouTube channel, dropping soon.

Reflecting on the immense popularity he enjoys, Rohit says, “It is so easy to be swayed by all the love that you get on Instagram, but the real deal is when you meet people in person, I absolutely love it. When people give you a hug, and you see a fan crying because you’ve given them a hug – those moments stay with you. Every single time that happens, it feels like a scene from a film.”

Looking back at his journey, he says, “When I came to Mumbai at 15, I literally knew no one and had no idea what I was doing. Starting from there to wherever I’ve reached today and the kind of love I enjoy, I don’t think it’s something that I would give up for anything.”

While he has shared screen space with many renowned actors, there's one leading lady he is crazy about. Rohit shares, “It’s a known fact, but whoever does not know this, I am completely obsessed with Vidya Balan ma’am. She’s incredible. I think she’s a beautiful human being and a phenomenal actor. I’m actively, every single day, manifesting a project that I get to work with her on.”

But behind the popularity is immense hard work, and it does get tough sometimes. The actor says, “There have been times when I felt, why am I putting myself through this when it’s just easier to not. But then I remind myself why I started out doing this, and I know this sounds like such an Instagram quote – ‘Remind yourself of why you started’, but honestly, that’s what’s helped me.”

Rohit made the term ‘future wife’ in Mismatched a viral trend. When asked what are the traits his future wife needs to have, he replied, “I think ambition is very, very important to me. Not just my future wife, but any person I meet and anyone I talk to – I am really fascinated by people who are ambitious. Also, she should be respectful, and if she has long hair, it’ll be a bonus.”

Ask him about his relationship status, and he says, “I would really like it if my fans stop thinking that I date every single actress I work with, or every girl I am seen with. It’s crazy! Contrary to many different opinions on the internet, I’m single.”

Talking about being excited to himself in the newspapers, Rohit shared an anecdote from his school days.

He said, “When we were in school, we would see photos of toppers with their percentiles published in newspapers. For us, that was like the biggest thing ever... like you have arrived in life if your photograph is in the newspapers. The school would make cutouts of the articles and put them up on notice boards. And I would say to myself…one day I’ll be there. So now, every time I see myself on the pages of a newspaper, I secretly want to take a cutout and go back to school and pin it up on those notice boards.”

The promo for the episode with Rohit Saraf drops today. Look out for the conversation filled with spontaneous, charming and unforgettable moments that drops soon on the Bombay Times YouTube Channel.

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Actor Jugal Hansraj has kept busy with OTT projects like the series Mismatched and recently the film Nadaaniyan, where he played debutant Ibrahim Ali Khan’s father.

When probed about the negative online reactions to the film and Ibrahim’s performance, he tells us, “The feedback can be constructive, not personal. People can be kinder, and that’s lacking sometimes.”

He adds, “Being in films is a public job. One has to be ready for criticism as well as the praise. You take everything in your stride and just move on.”

However, he adds, “I am very happy with the response. It was a good experience working with the team.”

Considering he has ample experience in the industry, did he have any advice for Ibrahim? “He’s a wonderful guy, very well-mannered. It was an absolute delight to work with him. The affection towards him, the fatherly affection, came naturally,” says the 52-year-old.

Over the years, Jugal has been selective about the work he associates himself with. Now that he is doing back-to-back projects on OTT, is this the busiest phase in his career?

He says, “I get a lot of different kinds of roles now. Mismatched featured me as a flamboyant character. Nadaaniyan was a doctor-father. Mismatched was my first big OTT show. I have a couple more releases this year.”

Actor Anjini S Dhawan, niece of actor Varun Dhawan, firmly believes that “with the influence of the younger generation, people have become more woke and open-minded.” On National Youth Day today, the 24-year-old opens up about what it’s like to be a young actor in the industry and how Gen Z can change the game.

“The kind of roles being offered to us (younger generation) have changed drastically. Now, we get to do roles that are more inclusive, such as in Mismatched, as well as women-led, which was not the case earlier. I remember watching Chameli (2004) and there wasn’t any other such film for a long time after that,” Dhawan shares, adding, “Films like Sadma (1983) were also just one-offs. But today, there are so many women-led films such as the upcoming Alpha [starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari].”

Talking about Gen Z’s role in making such changes possible, Dhawan adds, “The younger generation is changing many norms, and it’s eventually them that’s going to run the country and the world. People are also open to a lot more things than they were earlier, and I think mindsets are changing — which is a good thing.”

Going back to the world of Mismatched always fills Vidya Malvade with joy. But shooting the third season was a tough experience for the actor, who reprised her role of Zeenat Karim in the Rohit Saraf and Prajakta Koli-led romantic comedy. Malvade recalls that she was battling a severe eye infection, caused by an allergic reaction to prawns, during the show’s Hyderabad schedule in early 2023.

“We were shooting all night. For dinner, I indulged in a prawn dish. Little did I know it would leave me with swollen, bloodshot eyes in less than an hour. The next thing we shot was this endearing scene between Sid [Rannvijay Singha’s character] and Zeenat on the terrace, and all I wanted to do was scratch the hell out of my itchy, watering eyes. It was painful,” she recounts, before quipping, “I thought I looked like ET.”

Despite her discomfort, Malvade filmed her portions. After the schedule was wrapped up in June, the actor had to undergo eye surgery as the condition had aggravated.

Despite the challenges she faced during the shoot, Malvade says the camaraderie on the set made every moment worthwhile. As the third season of the Netflix show receives love from its fan base, the actor is glad to be a part of the “Mismatched magic.”

The secret to the series’ success, she believes, lies in its honest depiction of young love. She reflects, “There is a reason why love stories have the power to change your world. I am so touched by the outpouring of love from fans.”

We might know her from her YouTube sketches, web series and films. But Prajakta Koli steadily continues to use her voice as a young influencer to champion different causes. The actor-influencer, along with Freida Pinto, has lent her voice to She Creates Change, a live-action animation film that promotes gender equality and the importance of education in women’s lives through six stories of young girls around the world. The endeavour is backed by Room to Read, a global education non-profit tackling illiteracy and gender inequality, in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, the short film series premièred on March 8, 15 and 22 in Asia. Now, as the project is set to screen at Tribeca Film Festival 2024, Koli says, “I was bowled over by the film. It is uncomplicated storytelling, but effective. When you work on something like this, you feel closer to the reality of people who live in this world. Films like this remind me of my social responsibility, something I want to prioritize at every step of my career.”

Koli is currently shooting for the third season of Mismatched. She believes that the Netflix series’ charm lies in how it is unabashedly romantic.

“The beauty of Mismatched is that it’s heartwarming and pure. Every day, we work towards holding on to the simplicity of it. Our director Akarsh Khurana and writer Gazal Dhaliwal intimately get what people expect from the show. They get the genre of young adult stories better than most people have in recent years. As a consumer of romance fiction, I haven’t had my fill of the story even so many years later. The audience is bored of people talking at them; Mismatched speaks to them, not at them.”

It has been two years since we last met her character Dimple Ahuja, a young ambitious, nerdy girl who finds herself torn between her heart and mind. How does she pick up her character after a long gap? 

“Dimple is someone I carry in my heart. In this season, she is older, but not necessarily wiser. Of the past three seasons, this is the most I have related to her. The other day, an AD [assistant director] asked me how I prep for Dimple. I actually don’t. I have lived her for five years. The lines between where I end and she starts are blurry.”

The idea that opposites attract is hardly novel, but it became endearing when we witnessed it in 2020, as Mismatched became a runaway hit. People loved the chemistry between Dimple and Rishi, played by Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf respectively. The second season saw the much-loved couple part ways, find new love interests, only to find their way back to each other. While the journey seemed effortless on screen, behind the camera, things were not that simple, at least for Saraf.

Koli says that despite the two-year gap between the two seasons, Dimple’s character never left her, owing to “the constant love that slipped into our social media”. “In the time that we spent apart, I watched Mismatched too many times. So, in a way she never left me,” says Koli, adding, “Dimple is personally dear to me because I relate to her, and I am always rooting for her irrespective of whether she is right or wrong.”

Of course, the attachment also scares the actor, but she wouldn’t have it any other way, especially since it was her acting debut. Saraf, who came back to the show after several projects in the interim, says he couldn’t relate to the 22-year-old protagonist anymore, especially more so post the Coronavirus pandemic.

“During a lunch meet organized for the cast and crew, we read a few lines. I was perplexed about playing Rishi again, because I was no longer the person I was when I did the first season. The pandemic had changed too much in my life —  not just professionally, but personally too. We lost people and family dynamics had changed. I was suddenly an emotional wreck, which I didn’t think was possible,” reminisces Saraf, who finally found relief when he noticed that director Akarsh Khurana was in the same boat.

“I wasn’t the only one feeling like that. It did take hard work to come back to Rishi, which was exciting and challenging. After the pandemic, people came back with more sensitivity and actors brought in more depth to their characters,” he adds.

Since the second edition focused on their individual trajectories, did Saraf feel envious of the chemistry between Vihaan Samat, who played the character of Harsh, and Koli? “Initially, I did feel threatened as an actor when I saw Vihaan perform.” says Saraf, while reassuring himself that it is okay for the project to be bigger than himself.

“I feel if the show gets more attention because people like a certain track that doesn’t involve me, so be it. I remember being on set and watching a beautifully written scene between Vihaan and Prajakta. What he brought to the table that day was exceptional. I heard Akarsh, who is usually a man of few words, say, ‘Outstanding’. While I was proud that this scene was going to be part of our show and that Vihaan was getting the opportunity to do it, I wondered why I haven’t got it. It was challenging and that pushed me to work harder.”

Actor Rohit Saraf might have had back to back releases on the digital platform, but he doesn’t want that to define him. That’s why he is not okay with the label of being an OTT star.

The 25-year-old asserts, “I do not want to label myself as an OTT actor, or a film actor. If there is even a street play, and I think it is really exciting and something from which I can learn, I will do it.”

Saraf walked into Bollywood with Dear Zindagi in 2016, following it up with Hichki (2018), and The Sky Is Pink (2019). It was followed by back to back OTT outings with Ludo (2020), Mismatched and Feels Like Ishq.

He admits his focus is on doing good work which makes him happy. “Now, whether that project releases on an OTT platform, on YouTube or in the theatre, it doesn’t really matter. But I don’t want to put myself in a box saying that I’m an OTT star” says the actor.

Saraf continues, “That’s because it was never the case to begin with. I started off with films, which did well at the box office, and simultaneously I was doing TV commercials. Ludo was also for theatre, but released on the OTT platform because of the pandemic.”

For him, the idea is to expand himself where he can reach every single person in this country and the world. “This year is very exciting for me. There is Mismatched Season 2, and Vikram Vedha with (actor) Hrithik Roshan, which has been a dream. It is also something outside of my comfort zone... Things are looking brighter for me,” he concludes.

Dealing with the issues of modern youth, Mismatched was viewed as India’s answer to the British comedy, Sex Education. Gazal Dhaliwal, who adapted the book, When Dimple Met Rishi, into the Netflix India original, considers it a compliment. “Everyone in the writers’ room loved Sex Education. We were inspired by its storytelling. That said, our story and characters are completely different,” she says of Mismatched that is nominated for Best Series: Romance/Comedy at the mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards.

Dhaliwal relied on the source material as well as her memories when creating the Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf-starrer. “I went by my personal experiences of college life. Sandhya Menon’s book was a love story about Dimple and Rishi. To make the show wholesome, my co-writers [Aarsh Vora and Sunayana Kumari] and I created unique characters, and added ideas that matter to us — sexuality, disability, impact of social media, and class difference.”

While the series was lapped up by the youth, the plot point of Rishi wanting to get married at 21 rang false. Taking the criticism in her stride, the writer says, “It was from the original book. If it’s an adaptation, the origin points need to be the same. I wanted to stick to it. I understand why it doesn’t sit well with people. But of seven billion people around the world, I am sure there’s one kid who thinks like Rishi. We have explained his motivation and reasons.”

While the book, When Dimple Met Rishi, is set in the US, the writers changed the milieu to Jaipur in the series.

- Mismatched has been nominated in the Best Series: Romance/Comedy category.

The other nominees are:  

- Bandish Bandits (Amazon Prime Video)

- Bhaag Beanie Bhaag (Netflix)

- Four More Shots Please 2 (Amazon Prime Video)

- Masaba Masaba (Netflix)

- Panchayat (Amazon Prime Video)

- Log on to www.hitlistottawards.com to cast your vote.

- You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c as on the website) to 57575.

- Voting lines close tomorrow.

After a spate of ineffective movies, Vidya Malavade of Chak De! India (2007) fame had written off her Bollywood career. "I wanted to stay away as nothing excited me. Now, the scenario has changed. There are more meaningful opportunities for actors," says the actor who branched into digital entertainment with Vivek Oberoi's The Family.

The boom in the OTT space has given Malavade a new lease of life as an actor. As she puts it, "I may have been absent from the scene, but I did not abandon my dream—acting. I honed my craft; attended workshops, while yoga instilled patience. It made me see the light at the end of every rejection and disappointment."

Malavade was recently seen in ALT Balaji's, Who's Your Daddy 2 wherein she played a loud, Punjabi spa owner. "She is a funky, fun, and loudmouth character, something I had not done before," added the actor, who was a last-minute choice for the series.

Incidentally, Malavade was also roped in at the eleventh hour for the Netflix series Mismatched. "I was in the USA when I was approached for the show. I flew in directly to the set in Jodhpur, jet-lagged, I read the script through the night and began shooting the next day."

Akarsh Khurana's youth-centric show sees her playing an older student, Zeenat Karim, struggling to find her feet and adapt to the new world with millennials. "I found the character close to me in real life." Her hunger to explore unchartered territories and follow a long-lost dream was something Malavade identified with.

Earlier in 2020, she was seen as a police officer in ZEE5's Kaali 2 and as an NRI whose daughter gets kidnapped in Eros Now's Flesh. With four releases in a year, Malavade could not have asked for more. "It is a new beginning for me. I get to play distinct characters in every show."

Dolly Singh and Prajakta Koli have never met. Yet, they catch up like old friends when we set up a meeting on Zoom. The Instagram, and now Netflix stars, are riding high. Singh has amazed audiences with her natural talent in the Swara Bhaskar-starrer film Bhaag Beanie Bhaag, and Koli has been all over social media in a magical career where people can't get enough of her. In the recent film, Mismatched, she makes her film debut.

Koli started her YouTube channel, Mostly Sane, in 2015, and Singh debuted in the South Delhi Girl videos on iDiva in 2017. The last few years have then been life-changing—in a recent post to celebrate her Netflix debut, Singh's celebratory cake said, "Nainital to Netflix", a hark back to her humble beginnings, when her parents used to run a gift shop, and live in a tiny house (she recently bought them a new home).

Ask them if their success is a result of being in the right place at the right time, or hustle and hard work, they say, both. "When I started my career almost six years ago, nobody saw this coming, right? Who knew this was going to blow up. Back then, my biggest dream was to have 30k followers. That's it! But so many avenues opened up—I can now act, write, edit, write songs. Nobody saw this coming. The audience is also more accepting of newer content," says Koli, 27, who managed 2.9 million followers. 

Singh, who has 1.1 million followers, says it is them, the first generation of social creators, who are figuring out the medium as they go along. "We may be driving the audience to watch us now, as we already have big followings. But when we started, we had to audition for everything—multiple times. It's not only because you got famous that you got a show. It's a lot of hard work," she says.

The two are naturals, making good use of the training they received while playing different characters on their Instagram and YouTube videos. One of Singh's most loved characters has been Raju ki Mummy, whose typical Indian middle-class ways will have you in splits. Koli's videos which would feature her playing the dad and daughter, were also full of slice-of-life humour and wisdom. "I always had the Bollywood ka keeda. I loved performing. But when I started doing YouTube, it was so empowering, since we are not dependent on anyone. I could play whoever I wanted to. Maybe because of that, I wasn't looking at auditioning every day, but I did take up every opportunity I got."

For Singh, even saying that she wanted to be in Bollywood was like asking for too much. "I didn't even have the audacity to say it. But yes, TV pe aana tha. On my first day on set, I was overwhelmed, with so many people around. You had to now act with people, not just by yourself," says the 27-year-old.

Koli seconds her, adding that the "acting is reacting" bit hit her hard, especially on the first day she went on the sets of Mismatched, and had to shoot a scene with co-star Rohit Saraf. "That's when I realised, this was a whole different ballgame." They may have now started the superstardom journey, but they still get creator anxiety when they see all the new talent emerge on social media. "You always have to be relevant—I have been feeling old seeing all the new creators. But you just have to be true to yourself, or the fakeness will shine through." 

Koli feels there is enough space for everyone given India's vast audience numbers. "There are so many people in India, so as creators grow, the platforms will grow." Singh insists that there isn't as much jealousy, as mutual respect within the community. At this point, Koli says she remembers watching Singh's first home tour videos, where she gave her audience a look into her Nainital home. "I watched her new home-tour video now, and I am so proud of Dolly. We all know where we have come from, and the struggle we have gone through."

For now, they are focused on moving upwards and onwards, with better content and maybe new shows. But as they both say, every day is still a challenge, and they are constantly trying to rise above their own insecurities. "I am very shy. So every time, I am in front of the camera, I have to let my inhibitions go. It's my place to be outgoing," shares Singh. For Koli, the challenge is to fight anxiety over running out of content ideas. "Earlier, I would get upset and think, 'oh, I will have to shut my channel now'. Now, I just relax, and let it [the ideas] come to me."

Dolly Singh and Swara Bhasker share screen space in Netflix's Bhaag Beanie Bhaag

"I would get the heebie-jeebies during auditions." One would hardly associate the statement with an Internet sensation who spends almost every waking moment creating videos and has close to six million followers on her YouTube channel. Yet, Prajakta Koli, better known by her YouTube handle Mostly Sane, says that as much as she loves being in front of the camera, she had a mental block against screen tests.

"I would get audition calls from casting agents, but I used to find an excuse to get out of them. Auditions would break me into a sweat. I act in my videos, which is my world, but there was a sense of discomfort in acting in front of others," admits Koli, who has made her official acting debut with Mismatched.

She quips that if she had her way, she would have skipped the screen test of the Akarsh Khurana-directed series. "I went to the audition in a T-shirt, sweatpants and chappals. I did not even bother to wear contact lenses, instead sporting my glasses. I was sure they would never call me back."

The Netflix series, also featuring Rohit Saraf, has struck a chord with youngsters. "My first day on the set was a culture shock. As a YouTuber, I do everything myself — be it writing, or make-up, or shooting. On a show/ film set, you just have to say your lines in front of the camera and go. It was also novel to play a character I have not written," says Koli, who has begun shooting for her big-screen debut, JugJugg Jeeyo. The Karan Johar production stars Varun Dhawan, Kiara Advani, Neetu Kapoor and Anil Kapoor. Though Bollywood has come calling, Koli asserts she'll never stop making YouTube videos.

After the Irrfan-led road trip movie Karwaan (2018), Akarsh Khurana has wielded the directorial baton again for Mismatched. The coming-of-age series, which revolves around two students building an app while dealing with peers and professors, features Rannvijay Singha, YouTube sensation Prajakta Koli and Ludo actor Rohit Saraf.

"The show is about young adults, so almost the entire cast comprises kids. I realised I was twice the age of most actors on the set," laughs the director, admitting that one needs patience when dealing with youngsters. "Since I hail from a theatre background, I have a high threshold of tolerance. I realised they come from a different world. They can surprise and shock you at the same time. On the set, I picked up a new lingo from them."

As the captain of the ship, Khurana not only worked towards giving shape to the project, but also created a happy environment that encouraged creativity. "I always aim to create an atmosphere that is conducive to team work. When work starts feeling like a job, I run away. I have done so from several corporate jobs."

Written by Gazal Dhaliwal, the Netflix series is an adaptation of Sandhya Menon's 2017 book, When Dimple Met Rishi. While the book is set in the USA, the writer-director duo decided to reimagine their story in Rajasthan. "We wanted a setting where we could juxtapose the old school of thought with the new-age beliefs, which is the show's underlying theme. Since I had written the last two films I directed, I consciously wanted to work with someone else's story this time around," explains Khurana, who is currently shooting Rashmi Rocket.

Rannvijay Singha, who was recently seen in ZEE5 anthology Forbidden Love, is back on the digital bandwagon with Mismatched. The upcoming Netflix series, which also features Internet sensation Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf, sees Singha play a hot new professor who students have a crush on.

The actor was director Akarsh Khurana's first choice for the role of Sid. "My character is cool and snarky on the outside, but a softie inside. Professor Sid believes in tough love when it comes to his students. He wants to push them out of their comfort zones so that they can reach their highest potential," says Singha, who is synonymous with the television show, Roadies.

Writer Gazal Dhaliwal has etched his character as an unorthodox teacher who encourages his teenage students to think out of the box, and helps them develop a novel app. The actor believes that viewers will find shades of their favourite professor in his character. "We've all had at least one teacher like that in our lives. So, Sid has been inspired by several of my tutors. He may come across as uncaring, brash and sarcastic, but his intentions are noble."

Co-directed by Nipun Dharmadhikari and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, the coming-of-age series revolves around two teenagers, who are building an app while navigating oddball friends, nasty class bullies and each other.