Exclusive Interview with Aarya's Bob aka Alexx l Aarya Web Series l Hotstar

From Cheeni Kum to Aarya, how has been your journey till date?
It’s been an adventure, an absolutely incredible adventure I have had the amazing good fortune to star in over 30 feature films and series in 6 different languages, along the way working with the absolute best in the Indian film industry including directors like Santosh Sivan, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Srijit Mukherjee and now Ram Madhvani.
Beyond that I have also worked with just about every Indian actor I could possibly want to collaborate with. If you recall, my first dialogue in Hindi cinema was to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan himself: “Kheema Bahre Salim Murg Pulao”.

I have also done a film with Akshay Kumar, then Amy Jackson’s first feature Madrasapattinam which starred her, Aarya, and myself. Randeep Hooda and I did Main Aur Charles, with Adil Hussain and Riccha Chadda as well. I have worked with Mammotty in two films, with Prabhu Deva, Vidhya Balan, Genelia Dsourza, I have worked with just about everybody - Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, actually RajKummar and I have a new film coming out as soon as the theatres open called Roohi Afza, but he and I have worked together quite a few times over the years, our first was a film called Chittagong that also had Nawazuddin Siddique, Manoj Bajpayee, Barry John, etc.. such amazing actors.

Then in between we did a series called Bose: Dead or Alive.
It has been an adventure of epic proportions! And I’ve learned so much, and apart from, acting, I even had the chance to dance live for the country in Nach Baliye 3!
So its really been a unique journey and I hope you have enjoyed watching some of it.
Now my journey has kind of opened up a bit, Aarya is my first music-based character, and just prior to the unveiling of the series (which happened, as you know on the 19th June), I released my first debut original music video single entitled ‘Still On My Mind’ which featured myself and Shama Sikhander. It was incredibly well received, I’ve been inspired to focus even more on doing music. I was going to do that anyway even if people hatted it but now I am looking forward to my second original music release on the 3rd of July called “Twenty Days”, also starring Shama Sikander. But smack in the middle of those two singles, is Aarya .

Born and brought up in the west, what made you aspire Hindi Cinema?
Great question, but the answer is : “I didn’t”!
I was actually a stage actor for 10 years and I'd worked in over a dozen plays, studied acting as well, and then I took a break from it. I first came to India because I was working with a US marketing company that wanted to be multinational and as a young employee of the firm working directly for the owner of the company it fell to me to determine where to open the offices and then to go and open them and run them. So I was working in India then I was also working in South Africa, the Philippines, the UK and also back in the US.

All the while I continued modelling, as I had been doing in the US, and then I started picking up some ad roles, I did a bunch of television commercials which led to my first films, which led to Nach Baliye which led to more films and more programmes and finally... here we are. So, ya it was actually while I was on a break from acting that I came to India and because of the nature of my work I was able to do both. I actually also started my own marketing company and thereafter I an animation firm, so I have certainly been an entrepreneur at the same time as doing other things but increasingly acting took up more and more of my time and mindspace. Only quite recently did i decide its “now or never” - that i needed to focus on the other passion which is so incredible close to my heart: music. And so one of the most beautiful things about Aarya is that it allowed me to combine both my love of acting with my love of music.

How did Aarya happened to you?
It’s a funny story - I was meet India’s one of finest casting directors Abhimanyu Ray and he and I were talking about something completely different - a feature film which still has yet to be started but its incredibly exciting and we went through the various meetings required for that film and then he called me a couple of weeks later.

He said “look Alexx I may have something else interesting for you that you might fit quite well, let me send you some information” . You see, in our first meeting we chatted about lot of things, he’s a very sweet guy we talked about his travels, he’s been to Amsterdam which is where I am right now, and we talked about music because he has some guitars in his office and I had mentioned I'm a musician, so we connected on that level as well.

I think that stuck in his head because when he got in touch with me couple of weeks later it was because there was a role of a musician. And I said “alright that’s right up my alley, sounds great, let me read what you’ve got and when I started to read the material he send I found it absolutely captivating. In that sense, I knew from the start that I wanted to be part of Aarya. Bob Wilson is a extremely interesting character and I am going to get into that in your next question.

Tell us something about your role in this hotstar special?
So... Bob... Bob Wilson is fluent in Hindi, Alexx ONell is not so fluent in Hindi. Bob Wilson adapts the Bhagavad Gita music and to his life, he knows Sanskrit and recites the Shlokas from memory, while Alexx ONell had never read Bhagavad Gita. So i knew from the start that this was not going to be easy, but as I learned more and more about this project I understood that despite the fact that it would be difficult, it would be equally rewarding. Bob Wilson and I have few things in common, we are both American, we both love India, we’re both musicians, but that’s kind of where the similarities end.

As I mentioned Bob’s work in language whether its Hindi or Sanskrit is extensive and it was going to take me great deal of work to get to that level and I put in the work, Director Ram Madhvani send me 3 copies of The Bhagavad Gita and I began making my way through one of them, and then obviously working with Sanskrit specialist and through the proper understanding pronunciation and memorisation of some of the post beautiful passages of The Bhagavad Gita. Shlokas which now I recite in my sleep. So it was truly a role that I could comfortably step into, but then needed to work very hard to portray properly.

A little bit about Bob in terms of the story: he is married to Aarya’s sister Soundarya so he marries into the family and he remains kind of in an outer orbit of the family. However his world and Aarya’s world continue hitting against each other, and often times in very uncomfortable ways. Until finally Aarya’s world and Bob’s world smash into one another in an unspeakable tragedy, and that causes this gentle character to do something that you could never have imagined.

The fact that he is a musician, the fact that he is interested in the Gita, that he knows Sanskrit - these are all exceptionally beautiful character points. But when there is a character graph that means that the character changes so significantly, that is what actors really look forward to with regards to being able to deliver a memorable performance. I am truly indebted to Ram Madhvani for trusting me with this character Bob Wilson but also trusting Bob with the Bhagavad Gita – a work so important to Indians and India.

The Bhagavad Gita’s characters and Gods are everywhere in Indian society, when we talk about Indian Holidays, Traditions, and Parables, Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Arjun and Lord Krishna, they are ever present. So being trusted with such a foundational text, and having that work be so important to Aarya, was at the same time both exhilarating and terrifying.

How was it working with your co-stars, Sushmita and Chandrachur?
It was phenomenal and I guess everyone is going to say that so let me add to it something a little more personal and hopefully a little more insightful. Sushmita Sen to me is indeed “Miss Universe”, but not in the sense that you may be thinking. I'm not talking about a pageant title, I am not talking about a competition. Yes, she is supportive, kind, and all the things you might expect, but more than that, what struck me most was her ability to make you feel, when she is talking with you one on one, that you're the only person in the universe.

The time that I spent with her I will always cherish, the relationship, the things that I learned... And I look up to her as someone who has conducted herself and her career with such grace. It's a difficult thing to do in an industry which is sometimes trying to drag you down by its very nature of existence.

Working with Sushmita Sen as a co-actor: I couldn’t have asked for anything more. She is professional, she is skilled, she’s talented. I think too many people, especially in India, put too much emphasis on talent, talent is what you are born with, skill is what you develop, and I think that both Sushmita Sen and Chandrachur Singh are exceptionally charismatic and that’s great, you can be born with charisma. But they are also exceptionally skilled, and that’s what takes work and dedication, and that’s what I respect much more than talent and charisma - Skill.

Chandrachur Singh, the first time we met, we were introduced by a common friend years ago when we were out one night in Mumbai, and he and some friend came back to my apartment when I was living in Versova. We were chilling, listening to music, playing guitar and singing all night. He is a fantastic singer, and such a charismatic and wonderful guy that its hard not want to be around him. That’s how we first connected but we lost touch for all these years, even though I had done some work with his brother Abhimanyu Singh who’s a producer, projects like Jhansi Ki Rani years ago and more recently 21 Sarfaroz on Netfilx. So we’ve always been in each other’s orbit but never reconnected until Aarya - and I am so glad that we did because he is such a wonderful human being.

And then there's Priyasha Bharadwaj who plays my wife - she is phenomenal as well, you are going to hear a lot about her after this series. And Virti Vaghani who plays Arundati is amazing as well. I would say these two actresses, Priyasha and Virti, play the roles that Bob has the strongest connection to in the Series and they are both exceptional. Virti and Viren (who plays Veer) being so incredibly professional and effective at evoking emotions at such young ages is really inspiring.

And obviously this applies to the rest of the cast and crew as well. It’s the truly been an honour working not just with the two you asked about, but indeed this entire team.

Who is your Fav Bollywood actor and why?
I've worked with amazing actors day in and day out so, frankly I cannot pick a favourite. Thats also because not being abel to pick favourites is part of my personality. I cant really pick a favourite anything, I don’t have a favourite food, I don’t have a favourite place, I don’t even have a favourite song!

So its part of my character to not have any favourites I think its also a matter of survival in this industry not to have any favourites. There are so may incredible actors in India and I have worked with the absolute best of them so I welcome every opportunity to work with them again to work with the many actors I haven't had the chance to work with. The interesting back ground that I come from is such that I didn’t grow up with Amitabh Bachchan, or Manoj Bajpayee, or Akshay Kumar in my consciousness. I was introduced to these people these actors in my 20’s and 30’s, so for me they don’t have that aura around them.

Sure I look up to them, and sure I respect them as artist and actors, but I don’t have the same kind of reaction when I am doing a scene with Amitabh Bachchan that i might if perhaps if I was doing it with Jack Nicholson or Robert De Niro or Robert Downey Jr because those guys are ingrained in my consciousness the way that all of these Bollywood stalwarts amazing performance are ingrained in yours. And I think that might have helped me a bit because being starstruck doesn't help your performance.
So I am not going to pick a favourite Bollywood actor but, if you refer to the list in question one, perhaps I have given you the list of my tor 20 favourite actors there ;-)

A message to readers why they should watch Aarya?
See Aarya for the spectacular performances of a 'dream team' cast. I could not imagine anyone else playing those roles.

See it for the intelligent screenplay and world-class production quality. There is a team, I believe Ram mentioned, of about 400 people who have worked on taking Aarya from conceptualisation to completion and it truly shows - its immaculately conceived and its absolutely beautifully constructed. I believe that, just like a handful of Indian films have put Indian cinema on world stage, this series is going to put Indian digital content on the world stage. The fact that its been distributed in Singapore, the US and the UK as well as India means a lot. As does the backing of Disney.

See it for Ram Madhvani's 360 Degree process whichI truly believe is a revolutionary way of making movies. You’ll notice that every frame is in motion because every shot is steadycam. You'll also notice more honest and convincing performances because the process often means the actor does not know where the camera is. The actoprs are forced to forget about the camera and focus on the moment, be in the moment and inhabit the character.

Your Upcoming projects?
Right now I am so incredibly excited that Aarya fits so perfectly well after Still on My Mind, my debut music video which released on 16th of April, and my next single and music video Twenty Days which also stars Shama Sikandar and is releasing on 3rd of July.

After that I am hopeful that theatres are going to open up soon and one of the first films that should have a release when they do is Roohi Afza, a film by Hardik Mehta, my third project with RajKummar Rao which also stars Jhanvi Kapoor and Varun Sharma
I did a cameo in Chehre along side Emraan Hashmi which stars a host of other amazing actors including Amitabh Bachchan.

Then I have ‘Golondaaj’ the Bengali feature which stars myself in a main role opposite Dev Abhikari. Dev and I had spectacular time working on this together, its a football-based film in which he and I are rivals, going head-to-head, leading our teams against one another in an epic battle on and off the pitch. Unfortunately unlike Roohi Afza, Still on My Mind, Aarya and Twenty Days, we still have more days to shoot Golondaaj, so I am excited to return to India, and West Bengal to finish up this absolutely beautiful Bengali feature film.

I have Banarasi Jasoos which is completed directed by Pankaj Parashar in which I play a main role.

Dr Rakhmabai in Marathi which is my first film with Tanishta Chatterjee.
And Rani Rani Rani the second that Tanishta Chatterjee and I did together which is in Hindi and English. it’s a truly amazing Sci fi, time travel, thriller and I cant wait to see what people think of it.

Right now I am most excited about Aarya, following that Twenty Days, and after that Roohi Afza, and so on. I don’t want to look too far ahead and I don’t want to get excited too soon about projects that are still going to be a few months from hitting the screen, whether that’s the small screen or big screen, remains to be seen.