Arnav Maggo on balancing notes, scripts, and future plans
Arnav Maggo is emerging as a fresh new face in the entertainment scene. The young musician is now making his foray into Bollywood with an acting debut in the upcoming series Hai Junoon, alongside Neil Nitin Mukesh and Jacqueline Fernandez. In an exclusive conversation with Indulge, Arnav opens up about his artistic journey—from music to acting—and shares insights into his experience on set.
Arnav Maggo on shifting gears to acting debut
Can you take us through your musical journey? How did music hit you and the journey over the years?
I have been playing the guitar since I was 13. I never took any lessons; I mostly learned from friends, YouTube videos, and by ear. I listened to a lot of different artists throughout my school and college, which helped me develop a kind of database of music in my head. In college, I started drawing from my influences and started composing music. So far I have released about seven songs, and I am working on a new one currently.
At what point did you feel the pull toward acting, and how did that transition begin for you?
I have always been a fan of cinema, I took some acting courses at my college (New York University) at the Tisch School of the Arts, which got further inclined me towards it. I moved to Delhi and started auditioning for acting roles, I moved to Mumbai when I started getting locked for advertisements. Within a month of being in Mumbai, I got my first role in Neeraj Pandey’s The Freelancer, for which I traveled to Morocco- that’s basically how my acting journey started.
Your character, Saransh in Hai Junoon, mirrors your own journey as a musician. How much of yourself did you bring into the role?
Yes, the character is similar to me in some ways, and in some ways it’s not. I am also a singer-songwriter like him, so that helped me get into the skin of the character and his mind. However, he is incredibly rebellious and extremely gutsy; he is willing to burn bridges as needed. So some traits were in me and some I had to pick up.
You’re sharing screen space with Neil Nitin Mukesh and Jacqueline Fernandez in this series. How was it working with them?
Although I don’t have scenes with Jacqueline in the show, I met her during promotional events and she was extremely warm and welcoming. It was great working with Neil Nitin Mukesh- he would give me a lot of tips while shooting, which I feel I’ll be able to use throughout my career. He makes you feel comfortable in the scenes and makes sure that your performance comes through nicely.
Do you feel being a trained musician gives you a unique advantage as an actor — especially in emotionally charged scenes or rhythm-heavy performances like in Hai Junoon?
Yes, it definitely did, I was able to actually play the real chords of the song and sing while shooting, which made the scenes look convincing. My performance in the song ‘Likha Hua Yeh Pal’, where I am singing the song in a singer-songwriter/ rockstar type of way has been received well because I made sure that the musicality and mannerisms were accurate.
You’ve lived in Delhi, New York, Dubai, and Mumbai — have these cities shaped your creative identity and approach to performance?
They have all shaped me in different ways- I think I have I have taken a part of every city as I have lived there. I think it’s very interesting to observe different people and their cultures and perspectives. For example, I learned some acting techniques in New York and while the core remained the same, I had to tweak my methods a little once I was in Mumbai.
Tell us about your upcoming music video release next. Can you share what we can expect from it?
Basically, I have redone one of my older songs Aa Chalein Hum Kahin and enhanced all aspects of it. We are working on a music video which will best capture the emotions of the song visually- we are in the pre-production stage right now. It will be out very soon!
If you had to choose just one path — music or acting — which would it be and why?
I really cannot pick one- they are fulfilling to me in very different ways. I think they are both important to me and I wouldn’t be able to pick one.