Latest news with #RoshanMathew
News18
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Kankhajura Review: Roshan Mathew, Mohit Raina's Thriller Crawls Under Your Skin And Stays There
Last Updated: Kankhajura Movie Review: SonyLiv's latest thriller, Kankhajura, directed by Chandan Arora, stars Roshan Mathew and Mohit Raina. The series focuses on emotions and character depth. Kankhajura Movie Review: The Indian audience has a peculiar love for thrillers. The reason, makers milk the popularity and cash in on it from time to time. The influx of OTT has further boosted the genre's popularity. In the sea of thrillers comes Kankhajura, SonyLiv's latest offering. In a world that is running against time and patience tested every moment, director Chandan Arora dared to come up with a slow-burn thriller, the one that'd make you impatient because the makers want you to zoom in on the actor's emotions. But is sitting through the eight-episode series worth it? Let's find out. Kankhajura boasts a stellar cast. It has Mohit Raina, Roshan Mathew, Sarah Jane Dias, Mahesh Shetty, Ninad Kamat, Trinetra Haldar, Heeba Shah, and Usha Nadkarni. And each character holds a special place in the series. The story begins with Ashu (Roshan Mathew) joining his brother Max (Mohit Raina) for a party after his fresh departure from prison after 14 years in a murder case. He tries to find refuge in his family and seeks validation from his brother. His feelings are reciprocated, but seemingly out of a sense of duty and not affection. One thing leads to another, and Ashu finds himself back where he left off at 14 – feeling bullied and surrounded by treacherous intentions. Max is warned by his friends not to let his just-out-of-prison brother remain in his life, but he is a man who sometimes, only sometimes, lets the heart overrule him. Does his decision cost him lives or hamper his family? Or does Ashu mend his means? These questions are answered over the eight episodes, with each such instance bringing you closer to a conclusion, till you realise that the makers were just playing around with your guessing powers. At the heart of this series is Ashu, Roshan Mathew, who impresses with his act. His performance can be safely deemed as a masterclass in acting. He fumbles when nervous, but there's a catch to it. He looks naïve, someone you would let into your life too, before you realise that's the biggest mistake you've made. Or not. Have you ever wondered why the title Kankhajura, though? Kankhajura means centipede, an insect that crawls through your ear and lodges inside your brain. The name is used as a metaphor here, for Ashu, who, if you let in, will lodge into the brain with no points of exit till you do the unthinkable — even kill yourself. Roshan undoubtedly has the meatiest part in the series. His character arc is treacherous, above everything. You know, you can still trust a person who hates you and doesn't mince their words while telling you so. But when a person who hypes you up and becomes your comfort zone ends up breaking your trust, it feels like you have nowhere to go. That's what Ashu aka Roshan will remind you of. Then there's Mohit Raina (Max), who plays Ashu's elder brother in the series. The series is yet another in his career that proves that the actor is so much more than his brooding personality. Max is a successful real estate agent with a happy family. However, his life goes through an upheaval due to some of his life's decisions – best left for you to watch and decide. His character, seemingly uncomplicated at first, is layered and structured and the actor pulls it off with the utmost finesse. Sarah Jane Dias and Trinetra Haldar, too, make their make but they are sparsely spread across the series. That being said, Kankhajura comes with its own set of flaws. We understand that the makers wanted the audience to focus on a character's emotions. The zoom-in lingers long after the audience gets the point. We also understand that adding comic relief to a story built on a dark undertone takes away the flavour, however, there are times Kankhajura gets too morose and heavy. You would want to take a break and come back to it later. Certain bits seem stretched and dragged, something that the makers could take note of. However, we can't deny that the remake of the Israeli series Magpie has truly retained its original flavour (or even better). Director Chandan Arora does a great job in gifting the audience a series that they can truly relish, question, discuss and not rush through simply because of the notion that thrillers are supposed to be pacy. If you have been racking your brain over whether to invest your time in Kankhajura this week, here's a big nod from us. It's neither loud nor flashy, but it'll stick with you like a memory in the corner of your eye. First Published: May 30, 2025, 12:51 IST
The Hindu
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Actor Roshan Mathew discusses the creation of the Malayalam play Bye Bye Bypass, the process and what the team behind it means to him
Actor Roshan Mathew's sophomore directorial play Bye Bye Bypass, co-written with actor Shruti Ramachandran and screen writer and creative director Francis Thomas, is about a set of cousins of the Athimootil family, who lose their ancestral home to the construction of a bypass. The Malayalam play has been inspired by Roshan's own, similar experience, which, he says, he realised was more common than he thought. The six shows of the play have been staged to full houses and received with a lot of love from the audience. He talks about how the play came to be. Edited excerpts from an interview What led you to conceptualising a project like this play, Bye Bye Bypass? I had been carrying the seed of this idea [play] for really long. I had told a whole bunch of people about it and even presented it on stage. I always felt that there was something more to make out of this. But I wasn't sure what. Meanwhile, since 2018-19, we (the group that made the play A Very Normal Family ) are close friends who meet often, we talk often, and there has constantly been conversation about wanting to do another play. My deal was that we have to find that one idea that inspires all of us to sort of jump into it because the process was going to be hard, hectic and long. We needed a one-line that would inspire us. I just didn't realise, at the departure point, that we were looking for this story. The seed or the core thought was this story [the loss of an ancestral home]. When we started working on it, I wanted everybody's input. It was also a story that, I realized, was extremely relatable. That everybody has a story similar to this one. We decided to take all the elements from everybody's version and make something out of it. Obviously my co-writers Shruti and Francis were at the other end of the process — structuring everything, taking what they like out of what we threw at them and putting it down on paper. A lot of it [the play] was developed on the go. In terms of conceptualising it, I had some clarity on what the language of performance should be. Not the spoken language, rather but what kind of a play it should be. The tone, the look and the feel of it. I had some vague ideas when we started off, nothing I could clearly put down in words but I had an idea about what the energy of it should be. As each scene, each character and each moment in the story started taking shape, the whole play also slowly started becoming clearer in our heads. How did the story of Bye Bye Bypass come about? What was the inspiration? There was a childhood home that I really liked, which I lost to a bypass road. It is altogether a very sad story, but of late, I have felt that it is universally relatable and also extremely relevant because suddenly it seemed like we were all surrounded by stories of homes being lost, especially from the perspective of children. It is an absurd thought for a child to process — the idea of losing a home in whatever sense for whatever reason. All of that prompted us to think that maybe now we try and make something out of it. The key decision here was to just flip it [the theme] on its head and make an all out fun, entertaining comedy about it. We were talking about what makes a house, somebody can take the structure of a home from you but can they really take the home away? We were discussing these thoughts, and also figuring out that we wanted to make a fun play out of it. We want to make a happy play out of it; we wanted to tell the story through the perspective of kids. You are busy with films. Why a play now? Movies and theatre are both forms that I really enjoy doing, and when I do one, I miss the other. That is how it has always been. I started off with theatre, movies came a little later. I fell in love with the format and then went after it with all my time and energy. Then I realised 'oh! I have not done theatre in a very long time. I miss that.' I realised that there is a void when I don't do one of the two. And I did not want to believe that it was an either or situation. I always wanted to figure out a way to do both. So, initially, it was just about doing reruns of plays which I was always part of. One way was stepping in as an understudy actor for a play whenever I got the time. Then we got around to making A Very Normal Family (AVNF) in Kochi itself. This was after I approached a couple or theatre-makers in Kochi, trying to find out if they were making something I could be a part of. And when nothing worked out, this idea of getting a group together and making a little something by ourselves started. That is what led to AVNF. All of us have been waiting to get back on stage. This is something that all of us feel, none of us wants to pick one over the other. Almost everyone in this group also does films, we want to do theatre and films. Is this a sort of 'homecoming', since you started your journey with theatre? I wouldn't call it a homecoming because I don't really feel like I have left that home [theatre]. Theatre has always been a part of me, it is where I started learning and it also where I realised this [acting] is what I want to do for the rest of my life. Whatever form that I am occupied with, I feel like theatre will always be something that I consider home. How did the collaboration with Shruti and Francis come about. Such collaborative work demands that the stakeholders get along. I met Shruti and Francis for first time some time in 2018-19, when we were discussing whether it would be possible to make a fully original play by ourselves. We became very good friends very quickly. I floated the idea [of the play] with Francis, Shruti and Darshana (Rajendran) were also present, I mentioned that I wanted to maybe make a play. Francis jumped in and said yes, we can work on this. I will write this for you. AVNF started that way. We did a version of the same process as now. We started off with an idea and we started with the rehearsals.. The rehearsals fed the writing process, whatever came out of the writing was being tested at rehearsal and eventually we arrived at a final version of the play. Since then and through that process I realised that I have a good, enjoyable, comfortable working equation with Francis. Darshana was one of the actors in AVNF. Shruti was in it with us throughout. And when, this time, the seed of the idea came to me I went to them almost as soon as the thought came that maybe there is a play in it that we could make. This time both Shruti and Francis said they would write with me. We can be very, very honest with each other and I really value the collaborative equation I have with them. How was it directing a play after six-odd years? You feel you have evolved as a director? I don't know. I really haven't evaluated myself and I feel like that's also probably not my job. These people I have been working with are all mostly close friends. It is for them to do and they do it also, very well. They keep giving me a good sense of what is working and what is not. There is always a reality check around the corner. And I value that working equation with all of them. It is up to them to say what I am. What I am proud about personally is the group we have managed to build. It is a much bigger team, a much bigger cast [than AVNF]. How this group works as an ensemble, how they work with each other, support, respect and make each other feel secure…that group dynamic is what I feel most happy, grateful, content and proud about! Theatre persons talk of the immediacy of feedback vis-a-vis theatre. How was it for you given the rousing response to the play? Yes, of course that is one of the most exciting things about theatre. It obviously only exists then and there. In front of that audience you are performing to. Those one-and-a-half hours — the play does not exist before it or after it. That particular show will never exist again. It will not be repeated; it will be a different show when we do it next. This energy that we feed off of is one of the core building elements of the play itself as that one show is concerned. We are a three-legged piece of furniture, the third leg is what the audience give us. Without them the play would not exist and it is scary and exciting and really really gratifying when you get affirmation from the audience. Something that you hear, sense and when you are losing your audience also you somehow sense it and you are on high alert again. You are thinking about what we can do to get them back into the story, to keep them in the world of the story. That is the prime objective and I feel like that always keeps us on our toes, humbles us, grounds us and inspires us to keep doing more and more of that. Rajesh Madhavan, Darshana Rajendran, Santhy Balachandran…were part of the AVNF. The crew is a mix of the old player and new, how is it this time around? I am most grateful for this group. Rajesh, Darshana, Santhy, Syamaprakash, Sanjay Menon... were all part of AVNF. So we have a very comfortable equation. We have known each other for a very long time. Some of the new actors for this play like Salmanul Faris, Devaki, Nilja K Baby, Aswathy Manoharan, Anoop Mohandas, Vaishakh Shankar… I am equally grateful for these people and am comfortable with them. This group is definitely the biggest strength that all of us fall back on. None of us would be able to individually do what we are doing together as a group. And in a city like Kochi, where not a lot of theatre happens and with the way the art form functions, it takes a lot from each member of the group to make something like this possible. Every member of this group has done everything in their capability, and they continue to do that for the play, so they have been a part of everything — making it, writing it, devising of it. Even in what kind of music would work, the kind of costumes…it's all of us together. In fact all the characters also at some point during rehearsal has been played by everybody, each character also carries little pieces of everyone else in the group. So there is a sense of ownership that everyone has over every aspect of the play. I think it is very crucial because you don't have the luxury really to be super focussed, to have your blinders on and just focus on what your job is. Once you get on stage you have to actually take a lot of other things as well. It is a community that is required to make something like this happen and these people have made that happen. Are you taking the play to other cities as well? We are performing on May 31 and June 1 at the Chavara Cultural Centre, Kochi, these will most probably be the last set of shows in Kochi. After this we intend to take it to other cities in Kerala and are planning a few international tours as well. We are very excited about it, this is from the six shows that we have performed. I feel like this story resonates with a wide variety of people, the audience is a wide age bracket. We feel this is a story that we can travel with. It can be told at multiple places, to different kinds of people. We are really looking forward to finding the play new homes and new audiences. And that is also the best parts of theatre? Because the play keeps evolving, it keeps growing, it will start showing us what needs fixing or what needs to be changed or what needs to stay or what it needs to work better or differently. So the play changes after each show and that is one of the most exciting parts of the process. With AVNF, I felt like we stopped performing it, we only did seven shows of it. There was a lot more scope for the play, to grow more. But we didn't give it that time, with this one we want to make sure that doesn't happen. We want to do many, many shows of this. We want to do 100 shows and see how it evolves. Bye Bye Bypass will staged at Chavara Cultural Centre, Kochi on May 31 and June 1; tickets on
Pink Villa
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Was Alia Bhatt's stardom a game-changer or creative hurdle for Darlings and Poacher? Kankhajura actor Roshan Mathew reveals
Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt has become one of the most celebrated actresses in the industry. She has given many hits to the industry and her impeccable performances made a special place in the hearts of the audiences. The actress also has a huge fan following not only in India but globally. However, despite her stardom, she is quite a humble person and every individual who has worked with her knows it. Now, Kankhajura actor Roshan Mathew, who has worked with Alia in Darlings and Poacher, shared that her stardom never hindered filmmaking but only helped the process. In an interview with Mid-day, Roshan Mathew opened up on Anurag Kashyap's statement about Malayalma film industry being 'anti-hierarchical' unlike Bollywood. He admitted agreeing to his statement, however, shared that he didn't have any negative experience in Bollywood yet. Roshan also opened up on working with Alia Bhatt and how her stardom proved to be a help. He said, 'I've been lucky that even when I worked with a big star like Alia, I never felt that her stardom was hindering (filmmaking). In fact, her being the star only helped the process, be it Darlings or Poacher.' The actor however shared that in the Malayalam film industry, everybody is equal and people react if any star throws tantrums. Roshan Mathew will soon be seen in Kankhajura in the role of Ashu. The series explored the changing relationships between him and his brother (played by Mohit Raina). Talking about the preparation that went behind the role, he told the portal that he first began knowing about the core of his character. The actor tried to understand what's his base layer that no one else sees because he is pretending in front of almost everyone?" In Kankhajura, the narrative delves into family conflict, buried secrets, and the complex layers of relationships, as Ashu returns to a world that has long moved on without him. On the work front, Roshan Mathew made his Bollywood debut with Anurag Kashyap's Choked in 2020, directed by Anurag Kashyap. He then went on to star in several Hindi films and series like Darlings, Ulajh, and Poacher. For the unversed, in Darlings, Alia Bhatt played the lead role of Badrunissa Sheikh alongside Vijay Varma. Roshan plays a supporting role in the film and develops an interest in the actress' on-screen mother played by Shefali Shah. He also worked with Alia in Poacher. Though she isn't a cast member in the Amazon Prime Video series, she worked as an executive producer. Roshan Mathew was seen in the role of Alan in the crime drama based on a real-life incident.
Mint
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
KanKhajura OTT release date: When and where to watch Roshan Mathew-Mohit Raina's gritty web series online
KanKhajura, a chilling crime thriller, is all set to premiere online. The web series, starring Roshan Mathew and Mohit Raina, is set in the still shadows of Goa. Directed by Chandan Arora, KanKhajura is the Hindi adaptation of the critically acclaimed 2019 Israeli drama series Magpie. Mathew, who plays Ashu in the web series, said the story of KanKhajura is heartwarming and haunting. 'What drew me to KanKhajura was its emotional intensity and the stillness beneath the chaos. Ashu is a deeply layered character, fragile in moments, but with a quiet storm within,' he said. Mathew added that every relationship in the show is cracked in some way, and it's how these characters act on those flaws that makes it so much fun to explore. The gritty tale of KanKhajura will premiere on Sony LIV from May 30 onwards. Sharing the details of KanKhajura's OTT release, Sony LIVE posted, 'What you hear, might not always be the truth. Prepare for a story that will get under your skin... just like Kankhajura gets under theirs.' KanKhajura follows Ashu (Roshan Mathew), a man released early from prison on the condition that he continues working as a police informant. Returning to his hometown in Goa, Ashu seeks to reconnect with his estranged brother Max (Mohit Raina), but their troubled past resurfaces, entangling them in a web of secrets, betrayal, and blurred realities. In addition to Roshan Mathew and Mohit Raina in the lead, KanKhajura also stars Sarah Jane Dias, Mahesh Shetty, Ninad Kamat, Trinetra Haldar, Heeba Shah, and Usha Nadkarni in key roles.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Roshan Mathew opens up on the heavy responsibility behind his most emotionally demanding role yet: Exclusive
Roshan Mathew prepares for his role in 'Kankhajura'. He plays a character who stammers. Roshan focuses on authentic portrayal. He avoids insensitive representation. Roshan collaborates with crew members. They provide insights. He appreciates working across languages. Roshan seeks human connection through his roles. He enjoys experiencing different lives. He looks forward to his next project. In a landscape where versatility is both a privilege and a challenge, Roshan Mathew has quietly carved out a space for himself as one of Indian cinema's most exciting, language-fluid performers. From Moothon to Darlings, from Kuruthi to Choked, Roshan has displayed a striking ability to slip into roles with nuance and authenticity. Now, the actor is readying for his next outing in Chandan Arora 's Kankhajura, where he plays a character who stammers — a role that demanded not just technical precision, but deep emotional sensitivity. Speaking about his preparation in an exclusive interview with ETimes, Roshan reflected on the weight such a character can bring. 'I think it's one of those things that as actors, we all get super conscious about. So all our senses are suddenly very, very sharp,' he admits. The pressure of ensuring the portrayal wasn't insensitive or reduced to a trope was something that weighed heavily on him. 'This idea of it not being an insensitive or an offensive portrayal in any sense — it sort of weighs you down a lot. ' Interestingly, Roshan reveals that the initial drafts of the script had prescribed moments where his character's stammer would emerge. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo But he instinctively felt that this approach might not capture the organic nature of such a lived experience. 'I told Chandan sir that probably is not going to work. Please be patient with me, please give me some time, give me a few days, and I will figure my way around it.' And so, he took his time — days spent quietly observing, intuitively feeling his way through the character's speech patterns. 'Eventually over, I think three or four days, I started finding that in the flow of it, there are words on which it seemed to come to me a little more organically than when I planned it,' he says. 'I like that. I just had to then trust the instinct and go for it fully in those situations.' Helping him along the way were two crew members on Kankhajura who themselves had struggled with stammering earlier in life. Their presence offered Roshan both insight and reassurance. 'I was constantly in conversation with them and also very keenly, secretly observing them,' he shares. 'And they were very, very helpful and sensitive through the whole process.' It's this thoughtful, instinct-driven approach that's come to define Roshan's work, whether he's acting in Malayalam, Hindi, or Tamil films. When asked about whether working across languages has expanded his emotional vocabulary as an actor, Roshan considers the question with characteristic honesty. 'I definitely feel like some kind of expansion is happening. That is what I enjoy about jumping between different industries in the first place,' he admits. But for him, it isn't solely about languages or craft — it's about human connection. 'I don't know if it's the emotional vocabulary expanding or if it's just that as people, we're all constantly seeking connection. Like why does almost everybody love traveling? Why does everyone like to go off to a place and live there for a brief couple of days?' he muses. 'That initial feeling of being uprooted from your home to finding a sort of comfortable home in a different place that is completely unknown to you is very gratifying. ' It's an experience Roshan believes causes a kind of personal evolution. 'As an actor specifically, I'm not exactly sure how to point out what it is,' he says with a laugh, 'but there's something happening, which I am absolutely enjoying. Which is why I'm constantly, very keenly on the lookout for, okay — what's the next thing that I can do, that I can jump to, escape, go live a different life, and come back.' Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
