Jaaved Jaaferi on Padmavyuha: ‘It is a non-judgmental perspective on religion, unlike what we see on Indian news channels’ – bollywood

Actor Jaaved Jaaferi, who has a special appearance in a short film Padmavyuh that explores the various facets of religion, has said that what he liked about it was its non-judgmental approach. Jaaved, along with film director Raj Krishna and co-actor Pooja Bedi talk about their film in an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times.

Padmavyuha, screened at the International Indian Film Festival Toronto last week, traces a professor of religious studies who receives a mysterious phone call . With time, he traverses the tricky path from a non-believer to one who not just believes in faith and religion but is willing to take extreme steps for its sake, unearthing how many play politics in the name of religion. Jaaved has lent his voice for the mysterious caller. Pooja essays a character who went missing years before the story begins in the film. American actor Nikhil Prakash essays the main role of the professor in the film.

Given that Padmavyuha is the brain child of a second-generation NRI, is it an outsider’s view of the religion? “I do not think it is an outsider view. It is not an opinion, it is an out-of-the-box perspective, without being judgemental, The film offers a perspective. And I think that is very important – unlike what we see on Indian news channels – those are all biased opinions – this is one just a perspective. What I really liked about the film was that it did not pass any judgement. You can take what you believe, from it,” Jaaved says.

A poster of Padmavyuha.

Pooja Bedi, who also has a special part in the short, added, “I think it was also vaguely ambiguous because if you take any religion, it would all still apply. It is an exploration of morality.“

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Jaaved further said, “I think when it comes to something like this, a neutral perspective serves best purpose. I think all these questions are very potent. You don’t give the answers but raise the questions, which is very important. I think that was the beauty of it.”

Raj, however, said, “I think I am making these films because I want to explore and understand Hinduism. I am a second generation American Indian (my mom is a Hindi teacher and that is how I know how to read and write Hindi). This is also my way of connecting with my heritage and that part of world.”

He added, “The film is an exploration of faith at its highest level. A religion studies professor has lost his faith and receives a call late night that takes him to a mysterious path. It leads him down a dark path that leads him to mystic puzzles and those puzzles lead him to a discovery of a global conspiracy. That conspiracy also reveals to him some new information about the history of Hinduism. Padmavyuh is a number of things – it is a mystery thriller, it is a Da Vinci Code style of a religious, mystery, puzzle. It is an exploration of faith, it is an exploration of religious fundamentalism.”

About taking up the film, Jaaved said, “I did it for Raj, I respect the intention and objective he has with the film. I like how he has told the story, keeping it neutral so that there are no judgments here. I saw the film and then he told me I would like you to do the voice and I wasn’t very apprehensive – ‘oh, what am I doing it is just a voice’ . Because when I saw it, I realised it (the voice) is an integral character. I have always been doing a voice and I think voice can have an impact if done in the right way, just like it is used in an impactful way in this film. “

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