Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub shines in A Simple Murder 

Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is on a roll. First, he has managed to steal the show in the film Chhalaang starring Rajkummar Rao and Nushrratt Bharuccha and now the web series A Simple Murder is trending. In both the projects, Zeeshan takes centre stage and shows his acting prowess unlike his previous appearances in films including Tanu Weds Manu 2, Shahid, Tubelight and others.

In A Simple Murder, a riveting dark comedy series streaming on SonyLIV since last week, the Delhi-born artiste plays Manish, who he sums up as ‘an ordinary man with multiple layers’. In a candid conversation, the 36-year-old tells us why the role appealed to him, and his desire to render many such interesting characters on screen. Excerpts:

Congrats on the releases. You must be very excited.

Yes, like any other actor, I am thrilled and what adds to the excitement is the fact that they are two different characters starting from their looks to their journey, strength, and courage.

Was it the genre, the script or the character that brought you onboard?

It is not easy to put a finger on any one aspect of the series. The plot is complicated. It’s about events that are happening due to coincidences and how a single coincidence can change the lives of so many people. Talking about the character, Manish is a loser, who is trying to achieve something in life. He has a lot of shades, and that’s what lured me to be a part of the series since it is a topic that is less explored.

How did you prepare for the role?

Consciously preparing for a character never works. If you’re copying something or someone then the outcome is never exciting. It becomes a hotchpotch or gets cliched. A character develops out of the subconsciousness. While building the character and performing it, all these influences which are there in the subconscious mind are reflected in it.

Were you able to identify with Manish on any level?

I think anyone can identify with him because he is a character of many shades. l can relate to all of them. While building the character and filming it we further improvised and added a lot of new dialogues and shades to it.

What is the one character that you would want to play in the future?

There are many such characters that I would like to play. I would like to play a hardcore romantic hero.

You are very active on Twitter. Are you addicted to it?

I used to be addicted to Twitter a while back, and then I consciously started keeping my distance. I interact with my fans at times and sometimes respond to paid and directionless trolls.

What’s next?

You will see me in Amazon Prime’s Tandav, apart from a Netflix original film that I have started shooting for