Roshan Mathew Shines in Kankhajura and Its Cast
Roshan Mathew is one of the most exciting young actors in Indian cinema today. In the upcoming Sony LIV series Kankhajura, he gets over five hours to show his acting range. Roshan, 33 years old, plays Ashu, a clever man who carefully moves through the minds of different people to protect his brother Max, played by Mohit Raina.
Kankhajura will be released on May 30. It is a remake of the Israeli show Magpie. The series also stars Sarah Jane Dias, Mahesh Shetty, Usha Nadkarni, Trinetra Haldar, and Ninad Kamat. It is co-written and directed by Chandan Arora. The cinematographer is Rajeev Ravi, whose wife Geethu Mohandas directed Roshan in his breakthrough film Moothon (2019).
Roshan’s Journey in Acting
Roshan speaks both Malayalam and Hindi. Since Moothon, he has appeared in many good projects like Kappela (2020), C U Soon (2020), Darlings (2022), Poacher, and Paradise (2023). Roshan told Scroll in an interview, “Moothon showed me that I can do more than I thought. It will always be my biggest milestone.”
Understanding Kankhajura
in Kankhajura Ashu is a simple and naive man but don’t underestimate him. You need to be careful around him and not treat him as a fool. There are many ways to play a character. You can use your body and expressions in different ways because people like Ashu are rarely shown on screen. (Also read: Dhanush to Play APJ Abdul Kalam in Mega Biopic First Look Revaled)
Roshan’s main focus was to understand what drives Ashu — his deep love for his brother. This love was the starting point for the character.
Working with Director Chandan Arora
Before shooting, Roshan and Chandan didn’t discuss much. The director wanted to see Roshan’s approach, and Roshan wanted to see how Chandan worked with the character. After shooting began, they worked closely. Chandan often asked Roshan to try different ways of playing Ashu. This helped Roshan explore the role more deeply and stay in the moment.
Love for Thrillers and Dark Comedies
Roshan enjoys thrillers and dark comedies very much. In college, he produced a stage adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope and also directed a dark comedy play called A Very Normal Family.
He admires Martin McDonagh’s work for its dark and witty style, especially his play The Pillowman. Roshan also recommends the Malayalam crime film Aarkkariyam, directed by Sanu John Varghese.
Experience Working on Paradise
Roshan praised director Prasanna Vithanage, calling him one of the best and most experienced directors he has worked with. Prasanna’s style is simple and powerful.
Paradise is a minimalistic film where almost everything is a symbol. Roshan had to express emotions in a very simple way.
No other director had pushed Roshan to act so minimally before. Prasanna didn’t explain it in words, but Roshan naturally adapted to the director’s style. This experience was very valuable to him.
Also read: Nawazuddin Siddiqui on Fake Friendships and Untrained Actors in Bollywood.