I find it difficult to tell what are right and wrong choices: Roshan Mathew

New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) Actor Roshan Mathew says it’s difficult to determine the “right” or “wrong” choices in his career as traditional metrics like box office success aren’t always the best indicators.

A film might perform well commercially, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it was the right choice for him as an artist, said Mathew, known for his critically-lauded performances in many Malayalam and Hindi movies.

“I find it very difficult to tell what are right choices and what are wrong choices because the easy way to tell is to go by numbers and see how a film performs in the theatre and then decide…

“But it’s not as simple as that always because there are so many films that don’t perform really well, which you might personally really enjoy… So this whole idea of what is right and what is wrong in terms of choices becomes very ambiguous territory when you think about it from the perspective of the end result,” the actor told PTI in an interview.

For Mathew, the ideal situation would be when a film he enjoys also becomes a commercial success, but this isn’t always the case.

“What I’ve understood is that at any point when I feel like this is a project that I want to be part of and I believe I will have a good enriching experience from it, then that becomes the right choice.”

An alumnus of Drama School Mumbai, Roshan began his film career with

the 2016 film “Puthiya Niyamam”, before delivering notable performances in Malayalam films like “Anandam” (2016) and “Koode” (2018).

His breakthrough role came in the critically acclaimed film “Moothon” (2019), directed by Geetu Mohandas, and he later starred in films such as “Kappela” (2020) and “C U Soon” (2020).

Mathew made his Hindi film debut with Anurag Kashyap’s 2020 movie “Choked” but it was his turn as Zulfi in Alia Bhatt’s 2022 black comedy “Darlings” that earned him a fan base.

As an artiste, Roshan said when he steps outside Malayalam cinema, the project must offer an “exciting opportunity” for him to consider it.

“I know that my stories belong here. I am from this place. This is the place that I think of as home. I’m sitting in Kochi as I say this. So when I leave Malayalam and go do a project outside, I know that it has to feel like an exciting, unmissable opportunity.

“Otherwise, there’s no reason for me to go. Any project that satisfies that particular ask will be a good experience when I go out and do it. And those are the ones that I look for. Everything that I’ve done in Hindi so far has been decided on that basis and has also been a very good experience to work on,” added Mathew, whose most recent Hindi release was the Janhvi Kapoor-led spy thriller “Ulajh”.

The actor said he is aware of the limitations that come with ethnicity and language that might reflect in some of the offers that come his way.

“I guess you have to look past it and see if there’s something else that is exciting about it or are they calling me just because of these things? If it reduces me… like he’s a guy who comes from the south of India and hence we’ll call him to do the South Indian character, then maybe there’s nothing in there that excites me as an actor.”

Post “Darlings”, Mathew said he could see which offers were coming specifically with the intention of repeating what he did in the Jasmeet K Reen-directed movie.

“I guess that would lead to some level of stereotyping. But it’s very easy to identify from a distance when the project first reaches you. So you just have to say no to that and wait for something better to come,” he said.

Mathew will be next seen in SonyLIV series “Kan Khajura”, the Hindi adaptation of the Israeli crime thriller drama Magpie. The show will also feature Mohit Raina and Sarah Jane Dias.