With a career spanning across two decades, Mohib Mirza has ruled the industry for the most part with his varied performances as an actor, a theater director, a television host and a comedian. The man has only grown, both professionally and personally, over time but lately, we haven’t been seeing a lot of him on our TV screens. We, at Galaxy Lollywood, therefore, recently sat down with the man himself for a candid conversation. Here are a few excerpts from the interview where Mohib Mirza opens up about his life interests, experiences and his upcoming projects.
Until Deedan, your last TV serial Firaaq was aired back in 2014. You’ve made your fans wait for quite a long time. Why such a long gap?
I took my time to wait for a good script instead of grabbing just any project, just to stay relevant. I got a lot of lead role offers these past few offers but the characters just didn’t appeal to me. The plots were getting repetitive and there was nothing new. I truly believe that an actor should and must evolve with time and the offers I was getting didn’t align with that. Deedan, on the other hand, has given me an opportunity to prove my versatility. I have worked really hard on it and have broken quite a few stereotypes through it. I couldn’t have asked for a better comeback project.
How does it feel to have a comeback tag attached to your name?
I haven’t made a comeback as I never went away. *laughs*
Listening to words like ‘comeback’ etc. tend to be tiresome for actors like me who choose to lead their lives – personal and professional – on their own terms and desires. Technically speaking, it is a comeback as I will be reappearing on the screen after four years. It definitely was a long break. I am currently constantly on a look out for powerful roles and thankfully, I am getting them too.
Bachana did really well whereas Teri Meri Love Story and Arth both opened to luke-warm responses and didn’t perform well at the box office, as well. What, according to you, went wrong?
Yes! Bachana fared well while TMLS struggled to get its act right with the audience. The audience shouldn’t be blamed for disliking a film. Personally I felt, TMLS had a good script but something went intrinsically wrong with the technical support i.e. colour grading and sound until the final screening. Lack of promotions was also a cause for its debacle. As for Arth, it was completely Shaan’s visualization from start to finish. As an actor, I surrendered myself to him and completely trusted his vision. Each film has its own destiny, maybe the hype around the film was missing or it wasn’t the right time to release it. As an industry, we are still in the experimenting zone and it is really unfair to label a film a hit or a flop. It’s a tough phase for the actors, distributors and filmmakers.
You seem to be getting more and more selective with your filmography. As an actor, has it been hard to find scripts that satisfy your soul?
Cinema is a combination of talent, hard work and perseverance; all three of them are needed to cement one’s place in the industry. I want to do something that I am remembered by. I never read a script with pre-conceived notions, I let go off them completely and then read with an open mind. However, at the same time, I am open to the idea of being a part of commercial potboilers, provided the story is good. I will always choose something that gets me excited. If I am not seen in films, it is not that I am not getting offers.
I feel as a performer I should justify every bit of my work. After all it is my bread and butter. One thing I have realized over time that as an actor, you can’t take long breaks mainly because ‘Jo Dikta Hai Wo Bikta Hai’
What are your future plans? What can we expect from Mohib Mirza in the coming months and years?
I am doing another drama serial titled ‘Dushman’. Besides I will start shooting my next film from January 2019. It would be too early to reveal much about the film but I shall surely get back with some exclusive scoop for Galaxy Lollywood.
