Prakash Raj on Mukhbir: The Story of A Spy: This is a human story, it's not just the story about war

Patriotism in Indian content’s landscape can be jarring and jingoistic, bordering on what we now have a term called hyper-nationalism. It can also be restrained and rousing, like Meghna Gulzar’s Raazi. What do we have in store when Zee5 drops Mukhbir: The Story of A Spy on November 11? To answer this, the team of the show that includes Prakash Raj, Adil Hussain, Zain Khan Durrani, and Barkha Bisht, spoke exclusively to Firstpost. And during the interaction, they also spoke about the experience of shooting the show, and how content has evolved over the last many years. That, in fact, was the opening question.

How much do you feel content has evolved in the last many years?

Prakash Raj: Content is continuously being made to get us here through a lot of things. There comes a point when you want to associate yourself to the kind of content you believe in. Let’s not judge about the content of others, let’s talk about our content.

Adil Hussain: The content is constantly evolving and the audiences are maturing. They have access to different forms of content across the globe, and keeping that in kind, writers are trying to write complex content. Our content Mukhbir is equally, equally good, if not better. We have made something special, based on actual events, mostly fictional.

Zain, do you remember your first reaction when you read the script?

My first reaction is related to Adil sir. I was shooting with him in Scotland and we were shooting for another project. I told him I really needed to do something I can put my teeth into. After reading the script, that was my exact feeling. It spoke to me and inspired me at so many levels, and I hope it transpires the same way for the audience.

As actors and even audiences, how do you view the portrayal of patriotism in cinema today?

Prakash Raj: Every Indian is a patriot. Everyone contributes to the Nation in their own styles. Some stories are talked about, and some are not talked about, this is the way of life. You can’t say this is how patriotism should be expressed, there are different ways of expressing patriotism. Mukhbir is a human story, it’s not just the story about war. This is a story about the war within. It talks about the wounds that are deeper than flesh. It’s a very freshly told human story that talks about war, spies and a lot of other things on different levels. As Zain said, there’s so much for me to unlearn and learn in the whole process. I’m very sure the audience will also go through that turmoil and process of growing through that situation. No stories happen because of heroes, heroes are born of stories, out of the situations, as simple as that.

Adil Hussain: Every Indian is patriotic, even a farmer. We call this in our ancient Sanskrit culture Swadharma, the dharma of the self. Because of our inner calling, we opt for the work we choose to do, be it a teacher, or an engineer or a doctor or someone who suffers quietly like our main character. This is a story of unsung heroes, that quietly protect their country. But like you said, patriotism is something we can do more about it within the context of cinema today. We can talk about the patriotism of a farmer or a vegetable seller or a teacher. We could do better in bringing these diverse stories of patriotism. In Mukhbir, we are also talking about people that are not generally talked about within the intelligent community. We generally don’t sing their songs or their heroism because they work in shadows.

Zain, how has been your experience working with Prakash Raj and Adil Hussain?

Adil Hussain: Don’t lie (laughs)

Zain: Adil sir and I have done two projects together and somehow, we have not been able to share screen space together. It was the first day of shoot in town and he was there, so I hurried only because I wanted to be there with him. With Prakash sir, I would like to say, number one, it’s an honor. It’s a very trite way of saying this but it’s an honor. He’s someone who has not only made his mark in the industry with his work but someone who knows how to handle his character with his skills. It becomes so much easier to work with an actor who is so much dedicated and present in that situation. You want to be more like such people. I remember that he doesn’t shy away from advising you as well. I was doing a scene and he saw me trying to go around the set and do too many things, and he asked me to get back to it. He told me ‘Listen, your concentration is diverting. This is a trap, this is a trap where an actor falls in. Your concentration is wavering. You’re trying to help people out but you forget to help yourself.’ And I really thank him for that. Even Shivam sir came to me and said that something was wrong with me for the last two days. So I have these two experiences with these two gentlemen.

Barkha, you’ve acted in films, television and now a web show. Do you see any similarities or differences between these mediums?

No similarities to television whatsoever, none at all. I’m feeling everything that Zain said, he said in context to Adil sir and Prakash sir, of course. But I feel exactly like Zain does. There’s so much I learn from the actors around me and people around me. Some of them have not been from television, so they have a different outlook towards acting and characterization. This is the learning I have to do because I also have to unlearn, unlearn to be in the web space since I’ve done so much television.

What has been the one takeaway for all of you from your respective characters of Mukhbir?

Adil Hussain: Zain ? Barkha?

Barkha: Zain?

Zain: I love the passing the parcel. My takeaway is always picking up scripts that let you dig into them.

Barkha: He’s asking your takeaway from the character and not the show. (Laughs).

Zain: The other takeaway is so much to learn and so much to unlearn. Beneath all the stories, the real aspect of any story is the human story. The truth of any story is that. The better you work at it, the better the outcome will be.

Barkha: The one thing that I have taken away from my character is that pain, sadness and betrayal are all parts of life that will help you grow as a person. And you have to keep it, feel it, and move on.

Adil: I take away my limitations (Laughs). That I have to be more convincing and dig deeper into the present moment. It has become easier over the years, to be in front of the camera or on the stage and to bring in a convincing performance, but it’s very very challenging Vinamra to be truthful and dig deeper. There were few scenes where I had no clue how to do them, my learnings were constantly being challenged. I got a lot of help from my team and veteran actors like Dilip Shankar, who’s also my mentor, and Kashyap ji, who plays Lal Bahadur Shastri, so those are all veteran actors, and I’m grateful to have worked with them. And then of course, Zain, who’s a brilliant brilliant actor, so I’m very happy I’m a part of this series.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.