By Yashika Mathur
Mumbai, Mar 17 (IANS): Life after an International Emmy nomination is good for Arjun Mathur. The actor announced his new series "U-Special" on Wednesday. He is currently shooting for the second season of "Made In Heaven", and has a few other projects lined up. With his career rolling in the right direction, the actor says he will never seek validation from anyone but himself.
The actor, who earned an International Emmy nomination in the Best Actor category for "Made In Heaven", says self-validation is priority for him.
"I will never identify myself as a hero. I will always identify myself as an actor," Arjun tells IANS, as he goes on to elaborate why he doesn't agree with the notion that his OTT success has made him popular at a mass level.
"What you need to ask is if I will accept a 'massy' film? I will not. Would I have done something like a 'Coolie No 1'? No. Because it's not me, not my space. I believe the actors who are doing it, own it. I think it is important for actors to own the space they are in. It's important to not put yourself in a position where you are uncomfortable in doing what you are being made to do, only because you think you need to so that masses accept it. If I do so, it will just lead me to please, I don't know who. Let me be very clear, that I work to please myself and not the audience. If the audience connects to my work only when I have first satisfied myself," he adds.
Doesn't every actor eventually want to feel validated by the audience after a point?
"I got validated as an Emmy nomination, how much more do I want? I am not looking for validation from conventional sources of validation. I am filming with Zoya Akhtar (for 'Made In Heaven' season 2) right now, who thinks I am a good actor, and that is my validation," Arjun answers.
Talking about his freshly announced series "U Special", Arjun says, "The show was just announced today and I am excited to be a part of it. It's set in Delhi's North Campus university and it explores one of the largest and longest running education scams in our country and it is a drama series. Like life, it has everything -- romance, thrill, mystery and comedy. It is a drama series and it has a fantastic cast."