Actor Mrinal Dutt, who was recently seen opposite Richa Chadda in Arati Kadav’s sci-fic flick 55km/sec, is all set to play one of the most challenging roles of his career. The model-turned-actor will be seen next in ALTBalaji and ZEE5’s His Story, an urban relationship drama, where Mrinal will be seen portraying an unapologetic human with a different sexual orientation. Here, he talks about exploring the complexities of a relationship with a guy who has been married for 20 years. Excerpts:
What was your reaction when you were offered the role of Preet in His Story?
I just jumped into the idea of playing a character in a story which is so different. I felt really happy to do it.
Tell us more about your character.
The writers did a commendable job in etching out each of the characters with such finesse. That first and foremost helped in getting a clear idea about Preet. I also spoke to a lot of my friends to understand the psyche of a person in such a situation. I tried to get into the skin of a person whose freedom is curbed by society. Some people hide it while others are in denial and there are some who come out of the closet and are unapologetic about their sexual orientation. Preet is the latter. I also gained a couple of kilos to look fuller.
There are kissing scenes between you and Satyadeep Misra in the series. How challenging was it? The challenging part was to do justice to the characters. The writers had created them sensitively. Once I got into the character it was normal. It’s the same as a guy kissing a girl on screen. Even if I was uncomfortable, I wanted to break that conditioning and hesitation. Also, Satyadeep as a co-actor is a mature professional and we helped each other out. Kissing is quite natural between two people who are in love and it’s just that, organic.
Did you have a reference point for the role?
I cannot pinpoint one. Of course, there were many characters that played on my mind but nothing was specific. Also, I made sure it’s not a caricature. I just showed him as a normal man with a different sexual preference.
What’s next?
After His Story, you will see me in a show on Voot and then two short films on Disney+ Hotstar. I will also be filming for another project once the situation normalises.