Mihir Ahuja has done several supporting roles in his career, including shows like Made In Heaven and films like Vijay 69 and The Archies. Recently, he led the web series Shabad: Reet Aur Riwaaz, and he is enjoying this leading space. Last year, he was seen alongside actor Ibrahim Ali Khan in Sarzameen. Ask him if playing a secondary character to a contemporary came with any apprehension and he denies it.
Mihir Ahuja says, “I’m an actor first, so I look at the part, the story and the creator irrespective of who’s opposite me. Even if it’s a contemporary, that doesn’t matter at all. I respect everyone as an actor if they’ve come to this profession, be it Ibrahim Ali Khan or anyone. He’s anyway a great friend of mine and I respect him. If I’m telling a story and the director and the writer have chosen me for it, nothing else matters at all.”
However, the actor is raring to step into the leading space more. “Of course, I would love to play a leading man. I know that if you make a strong impact as an actor, you will get where you want to be in life, but when you play a leading role, there’s a certain joy about it because you have this pressure on your shoulders. I love that pressure and I’m so ready for it. I’m exploring great parts and I know sooner or later it will happen. But I’m also not denying good roles in the meantime,” he says.
Mihir’s biggest project till date has been Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies, where he played Jughead. While he expected it to be his breakout role, the film’s failure didn’t deter him. “I never keep any expectations from any project. Having said that, we all believed that The Archies will do wonders. But I had nothing to lose. Where I was coming from, I had everything to gain. The film resonated with some people who liked it but some people didn’t. Filmmaking is a gamble, everything is yin and yang. There are positives and negatives about everything. Everything we make is very subjective and everyone has a right and freedom of speech in this country,” he asserts.