Tahir Raj Bhasin spoke about his character Alok in the web series Shaque: Trust No One. He said he never judged his role for having an extramarital affair. "What Alok was doing was written in the script," he shared. He feels the character shows a new, vulnerable side of masculinity.
In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Tahir Raj Bhasin spoke about his character in Shaque and why he did not judge him for having an extramarital affair with Parineeti Chopra's on-screen friend played by Harleen Sethi.
Tahir Raj Bhasin's latest web series, Shaque: Trust No One, became one of the most-talked-about shows. Co-starring Parineeti Chopra and Jennifer Winget, the crime thriller is directed and co-created by Rensil D'Silva and Siddharth P. Malhotra. The actor plays Parineeti's husband, named Alok, who is in an extramarital affair with Harleen Sethi's Shreya. Embracing a grey character with perfection, Tahir added a new and fresh layer to the narrative with his convincing performance. But did he ever judge Alok? In an exclusive interview with Zoom, he said never!
Tahir Raj Bhasin says he never judged Shaque's Alok
Talking to us, Tahir recalled an important acting school lesson that he continues carrying with him. The actor said he never judges his character for its morality, and that has been a priority since he played the antagonist in Mardaani. Bhasin believes if an actor enters a scene thinking about what the character is doing, judgement comes along. "What Alok was doing was written in the script. He was adding a layer to the drama," Tahir shared.
Bhasin further added, "Some people sympathise with Alok and some people don't. It is exciting to play a part that gets such varied reactions."
Tahir Raj Bhasin on changing definitions of masculinity
Tahir, who has played grey characters in the past, such as Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein on Netflix, said he feels Alok is in the middle of the conflict between white and black. Understanding that his character is a father, a son and a husband who is trying to support his wife, Parineeti's Anvita, amid her mental health struggle after losing her daughter, Tahir agreed that Alok has also taken 'flawed decisions'. "It is balancing the human nature of a character along with the circumstances that he is put in. What also made it different for me was that it was a different kind of masculinity. Today, we have so many definitions of masculinity. This was more vulnerable," he decoded the new definition of masculinity.
Tahir Raj Bhasin says audience must never emulate fictional characters
When asked if the current representation of masculinity in Indian cinema could adversely affect the audience, Tahir said, "I wouldn't want to put a label to it because there are as many good examples of masculinity as there are toxic. Affect, yes. All forms of art, including music, affect the kind of person you grow up to be. At the same time, today's audience is mature. When they enter a world like Shaque where characters are fictional, we don't want the audience to emulate what fictional characters do."
Shaque: Trust No One also stars Soni Razdan, Anup Soni, Harleen Sethi, Sumeet Vyas, and Dhruv Chowdhary. The show premiered on September 24 on Netflix.