Amey Wagh on 'Cartel': If it’s an underdog, it has to be played by me

After watching him in Muramba 2017 it was a nobrainer that Marathi actor Amey Wagh would be our first choice from the Cartel cast for interactions Mention that he was brilliant in the 2017 film and he jokes that people only recognise him as ldquothat actor opposite Mithila Palkarrdquo And thus begins our chat as Wagh mdash selfadmittedly shy mdash discusses finding his feet in Hindi showbiz with ALTBalajirsquos Cartel and a role he would have opted for if Dhaval Jadhav hadnrsquot come his wayEdited excerpts from the interviewHow long did the making of Cartel takeWe had to take breaks during the lockdown When we returned it was hard to pick up from where we had left off the last time but it was fun nonetheless It takes patience and hard work to pull off a magnum opus like Cartel All of us have been dealing with the lockdown blues for the past two years but seeing the series made it all worth itHow did the show come your wayI believe you donrsquot choose projects the project chooses you That Ekta Kapoor wants me to be part of a show is a big compliment I was excited about Dhaval Jadhavrsquos arc My friend Jitendra Joshi plays Madhu Bhau in the show That is a character I would have loved to play if I werenrsquot playing Dhaval The moment I saw him enter the set in his getup I knew he owned the characterAlso Read Amey Wagh In a film like zombie comedy you cant really go prepared on setWhat drew you to the role of Dhaval JadhavI have mostly done Marathi films where I played the boynextdoor or the chocolate boy In Cartel all the characters have grey shades I loved that Dhaval is an underdog which is something I can relate to No one in Maharashtra can play the underdog better than me If it is a Maharashtrian underdog it has to be played by me But he is also aggressive and has set out to achieve a lot of thingsWhy do you think you would be perfect to play an underdogI always wanted to be an actor but I never thought how far I would go I am still struggling but there are days when I get up and prove myself Thatrsquos exactly the nature of an underdog mdash they believe in themselves even though the world doesnrsquotHaving worked in Sacred Games 2 and Asur is there a difference in the work culture between Hindi and Marathi industriesThe Marathi industry is not primarily stardriven There have been times when Irsquove stepped out of the Marathi industry thinking lsquoHow will I deal with new people Will I fit into this grouprsquo But everyone has been welcomingDid you have any inhibitions about joining Hindi showbizI did I was confused about the kind of roles I wanted to do unsure about whom to work with and whom to avoid When you are already part of a certain industry people know you and expect a certain level of work Since Maharashtrians also watch Hindi content I didnrsquot want to disappoint them I have to thank the OTT revolution because of which actors like me are getting meaty partsDo you feel the pressure of pleasing the audienceNo I am having fun with the variety of work coming my way The only pressure is to manage the dates After the lockdown when I was with my friends they asked me about work I grumbled that I was working day and night Then one of them made me realise that I should be lucky to have workAlso Read Team Cartel joins Mission Green Mumbai to plant trees in Aarey Forest