Siddharth Menon: 'Max Min Meowzaki' is a story about generation gaps, moving on, and most of all acceptance

Siddharth Menon

Pune-based Actor Siddharth Menon recently won Special Jury Mention at the 68th National Film Awards as an actor for his Marathi film 'June' and there has been no stopping since then. The actor recently received the award, making it a very special moment for him and his family. The actor will now be seen in the much-anticipated film 'Max Min Meowzaki' starring Adil Hussain, Mandira Bedi, and Nafisa Ali. The actor has previously worked in some critically acclaimed films like 'Loev', 'Karwaan', 'Qarib Qarib Single' and more. He also played the titular role in the Indian run of the Broadway musical Aladdin and also features prominently in Chappad Phaad Ke on Disney+Hotstar.

1) Congrats on winning The National Award for June! How has been your experience with the film June?

Thank you so much. It's been a rollercoaster ride..literally..we shot the film Oct 2019 and then the lockdown happened. We somehow distantly finished the post-production and then didn't know how to release it. Many festivals worldwide got cancelled. But every film has its destiny. We got our world premiere at IFFI Goa, then it went to New York Indian film fest where I won the best actor then my co-star Neha won at PIFF. Planet Marathi OTT Released the film worldwide and it did extremely well on that platform. It's been a long long long journey but the cherry on the icing was definitely winning the national award. It was really very unexpected. I'm glad I could do that for the team. This film meant a lot to us and I'm glad we had such a successful campaign when all the odds were against us.

2) Please tell us about your upcoming film Max Min Meowzaki and your role in it.

Well, we released the trailer of the film just before the national award ceremony and the response to it was great. We just did our world premiere at Busan International Film Festival and the audiences there loved it as the tagline suggests, it's a film about Folks, Feelings and Felines. I play the titular role of Max. He's a singer who sings ad jingles and is going through a breakup with Min. They have a cat Meowzaki who he's allergic to. But apart from it being just a Rom-Com, the film speaks about a lot of things. It's a story about generation gaps, about friendship, moving on and letting go, and most of all acceptance. There are a plethora of very very interesting plot lines and characters played by amazing actors. Adil Hussain, Nasser, Mandira Bedi, Nafisa Ali, Medha Shankar, and Vidhatri Bandi all play primary roles in the film. And of course the star of the film Radha who plays the cat Meowzaki. I'm proud to say that I got to work with this team of actors and technicians. We are still working on the India release, which should be soon.

Also Read: Vikram to be screened at the Busan International Film Fest

3) Have things changed since you won the award?

There are a lot of changes that are visible. For example, the way people approach me. But the biggest change iv observed is the realization within me. It's been 10 years I have been working in the film industry and it been a tough one..and one really ends up feeling alone in this journey. In spite of the fact that I have had a solid support system, worked with the best makers; but after the win, the amount of love I received from the audiences and the fraternity not only Bollywood..but Marathi, the south industry, and everybody said that if anybody deserves this it's you, which made me realize that there are people who are rooting for me. Audiences who are waiting to watch my work and people who are willing to work with me, there will always be ups and downs in one's career. But I felt this realization that I'm not alone was important for me.

4) Future projects?

Well apart from 'Max Min and Meowzaki', I have a series releasing soon on MX player called Dharavi Bank. Again with an amazing team of actors from Bollywood and the south..I'm really excited about this one. Apart from that I'm reading a lot of scripts and meeting a lot of writers and directors and trying to see which film I should do next..but my experience so far has taught me. That it's the film that chooses you and not the other way around and I'm happy to wait.