Ike the wolf

Amtara star Anshuman Pushkar OTT’S hot new find of the season?

It’s very easy to lose oneself in the crowd of actors jostling for prominence in the OTT space today. But, Anshuman Pushkar has repeatedly distinguished himself in web series such as Grahan, Jamtara and Mission Kathmandu. His passionate intensity shines through despite being pitted against talents like Pawan Malhotra and in the face of having to overcome his innate inhibitions when asked to use foul mouth language as required from his character.

I ask Anshuman how he would introduce himself to a 10-year-old, and he nods in approval. “That’s a novel way of asking me to introduce myself. Well, I am an actor, hailing from a small village near Patna, Bihar. My late father was into farming. Our entire family is zealous about films; we used to wake up at seven in the morning to watch Rangoli, a filmsong-based show on our black-andwhite TV set. I act in web shows now and feel most fulfilled when I get to portray a full-fledged character and euphoric when the audience responds to my work with full understanding and appreciation.”

“WHAT YOU DO IN LIFE DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU ENJOY BEING THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION OR NOT. I ENJOY BEING THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION" –ANSHUMAN PUSHKAR

On the hunt

Anshuman, 32, has Leo as his sun sign and he has a feral beast-on-thehunt appeal in his looks as well as his performances, a hunger to locate the character’s truth, and his own as an actor, whether it is as a fishy phisher in Jamtara or a conflicted lover who falls victim to the anti-sikh riots (Grahan).

Curious to know where he draws his intensity from, I learn more about his background. In 2010, Anshuman came to Mumbai, “the city of dreams”, presumably to study for his MBA degree but nurtured other aspirations.

“Like most people, I wanted to be either a cricketer or a film star,” he says. I dispute the generalisation but,