Rohan Gurbaxani on ‘Metro in Dino’ and embracing the grey in a world full of green and red flags

Love has different shades. There are green flags and red flags, and characters who are grey. Rohan Gurbaxani has seen and been them all. He was the wholesome green-flag boyfriend in Made in Heaven and the emotionally unavailable Gen Z guy in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. And now, he steps into even more complicated territory playing a complex grey character in Anurag Basu’s Metro... In Dino, starring opposite Konkona Sen Sharma.

In a conversation with Cosmopolitan India, he speaks about embracing the complexities of love, what he learned from working with Anurag Basu, the underrated brilliance of Sharma, and the kind of learning film school can’t teach you.

Cosmopolitan India: Where does your character in Metro... In Dino fall, and how have your roles in Made in Heaven and Kho Gaye Hum Kahan shaped your perception of love and relationships? 

Rohan Gurbaxani: It’s completely grey here (in the film). The movie is full of grey characters and storylines, which is what a director like Anurag Basu is a master at—being able to convey these emotions. Each character is flawed, complicated, and confused. It’s all centred around love. My character, as well, goes through a certain love story with Konkona Sen Sharma’s character. There’s confusion, feelings of not wanting to step on each other’s toes. In love, you don’t want to come across as too desperate, nor do you want to be uninterested. You want to put your best foot forward and want to love and care for the other person. Each character, I think, at some point, has the same trait. They want to fall in love again and again.

I think each of my characters goes through some form of similar situations in all three offerings. I think all of them have been very close to me, and I’ve found something in them to connect with. It’s only informed me about how complicated and deep love is—and how, in spite of the intensity, it’s still worth pursuing rather than being seen as a risk. It’s the most beautiful feeling.

CI: How was it sharing screen space with Konkona Sen Sharma and what did you learn from Anurag Basu?

RG: We’ve all been such massive fans of Life in a... Metro—Konkona, Irrfan Khan, and all the amazing actors in that film. I think I saw the film as a 10-year-old kid. I re-watched it about two years ago, much before I was cast. My first impression was how unbelievable the music was and how it was interwoven with the story. The artists are not only performing but complementing the emotions of each scene. The way it’s woven together with Pritam’s soundtrack and the cast—that form of storytelling was very new to me.

To be able to work with her—that one person from the original cast—was a phenomenal experience. I’ve always thought she’s a very underrated actor who’s phenomenal in every role, even as a director. Even Pankaj Tripathi—and working with Anurag Basu was a dream come true. The latter has a very organic process where you don’t know what to expect every day on set. There’s no script. He only gives you a brief, and with that energy, you’re able to connect with your co-star. And when that person is Konkona Sen, half the job is done.

CI: Who are your favourite characters and arcs from both films?

RG: I’m not being biased, but I loved the track between Konkona Sen Sharma and Pankaj Tripathi. The comedy, love, and realism were something I liked more than the others. When it comes to the original, Kay Kay Menon and Shilpa Shetty, and Khan and Sharma were so phenomenally done, you didn’t feel like one track was more important than the other. And that’s another speciality of Basu sir. There is so much going on in the film—there are different storylines, characters, complexities. To have all of that in synergy with the music, it’s a creative masterpiece for sure.

CI: Lastly, as someone who's studied from one of the best film schools in the world (NYU Tisch), how big an advantage does a budding actor get with such an education?

RG: I think the classroom is a place where you have to be willing to fail. On a set, you should still have that willingness, but I would say there’s a certain level of finesse to it. You have to be mouldable throughout as an actor. In any other profession, you may have an MBA, but if you’ve not had exposure at a company, you won’t succeed. Likewise, as an actor, you could be acting in a class all year doing workshops, but unless you’re on set and have 100 people staring at you, you will not be able to learn about working on a set. And that skill only comes by being there.

In college, I would do internships on movie sets. I worked on the pre-production of Fukrey 2 and Rock On 2. You need that experience and know-how of what happens on set and what the directors and actors are doing. When I was an assistant director, I would distribute the script, but I would keep one with me and make my own notes on the scene, then see what was actually happening and think about why that particular thing was happening. You have to be in that zone, even when you’re not an actor. You have to put yourself out there.

All images: Rohan Gurbaxani / Instagram

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