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Nonika Singh

Karishma Tanna, the Jagruti Pathak of top trending Netflix series Scoop is on the top of the world and has every reason to bask in the glory of unadulterated appreciation. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is still looking for that lead part, but feels his pivotal role as Imran in Scoop is one step closer to his dream.

If on screen their chemistry of editor and protégé journalist is everything to write home about, off screen Karishma and Zeeshan are equally supportive of each other. Zeeshan believes in Karishma ka karishma and she goes ga-ga over how this incredibly busy actor has his hands full with a number of projects.

In an exclusive Zoom interview, together they take us behind the scenes of Scoop, share how they slipped into their respective parts and learnt the journalistic jargon and, above all, talk about their equation with the captain of the ship Hansal Mehta. Zeeshan has worked with Hansal before too in films like Shahid and Chhalaang, and has seen the director evolve and grow in the right direction.

Being a Gujarati

Karishma might have been a bundle of nerves when she was signed on to play the lead part, but Mehta instantly put her at ease. What worked in Karishma’s favour also was the Gujarati connect. She recalls how being a Gujarati, playing one and that too for a Gujarati director was a double bonanza. With a twinkle in her eye she shares how she and her director Hansal Mehta would suddenly break into speaking in Gujarati, crack jokes and often the target of their harmless bullying would be Zeeshan. To their banter, Zeeshan’s cryptic response would be ‘subtitles please’!

Jokes apart, essaying their respective parts was not a cakewalk. Especially for Karishma, who until the making of the series was almost oblivious to the way media functions and also about journalistic jargon. Thus the six-month shooting schedule of the series was a power-packed knowledge capsule for her and now she uses words like byline without batting an eyelid.

Zeeshan, however, was somewhat privy to the world of journalism. Studying in Delhi he has had many friends from the media, though, “I had never met an editor or been in the newsroom.” But, this NSD graduate, who is always spot on whatever be the character, loves to observe and draws heavily from real life and real people. No wonder be it the bad guy of Chhalaang or this incredibly principled man of Scoop, he cracks the code each time. “Also like Imran, I love reading and giving gyan,” he points out another relatability factor.

Emotionally overpowering

Part of several reality shows like Bigg Boss 8 and Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 10 and television shows such as Naagin 3, for Karishma playing a real-life character wasn’t the toughest part. But yes the challenge lay in portraying her character’s two opposite aspects; one where she has the nerves of steel and the other where her fragile vulnerability comes to fore. She could even relate to Jagruti’s ambitious streak, ‘her hunger for being on the top and her passion’, though Karishma is not quite as pushy. Indeed, she had not met Jigna Vora on whose book Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison and character Scoop is based, prior to the making of the series. Yet, when she did it was an emotionally overpowering moment.

She says, “I remember, she had come on the sets with typical Gujarati food. It was rather uncanny, almost surreal, for here I was on camera playing her in her presence. I could see tears running down her face.” Indeed, apart from grabbing the eyeballs of viewers, the series, they agree, is likely to be a catharsis for Jigna. Whether the tremendous success of the series has opened doors for Karishma, well, she is hoping she is now on the ‘go to’ list, but adds, “Immediately there are no tailor-made roles just waiting for you.”

Zeeshan rattles off the names on the long list of projects he will soon be seen in. To name a few in the line-up there is Devashish Makhija’s Joram, Prakash Jha’s Laal Batti, Akshat Ajay Sharma’s Haddi and Nikhil Advani’s KD remake. But no deal he shares as yet has been sealed courtesy Scoop, which he hopes will fetch him even better scripts and better parts.

As both believe in miracles and power of self-belief, to whole lot of aspiring and struggling actors, their piece of advice is, “Never give up and never lose hope or focus.” Just as they never do. But mind you neither is sitting on their laurels. Zeeshan’s observation, “I have just scratched the surface, I have a lot more to offer,” could well be true for both of them. Watch out!